Michael Cohen (lawyer)
Michael Dean Cohen (born August 25, 1966) is an American and disbarred former lawyer, who served as an attorney for former United States president Donald Trump from 2006 to 2018. Cohen served as vice president of the Trump Organization and personal counsel to Trump, often being described as his fixer. Cohen served as co-president of Trump Entertainment and was a board member of the Eric Trump Foundation, a children's health charity. From 2017 to 2018, Cohen was deputy finance chairman of the Republican National Committee.
This article is about the former lawyer of Donald Trump. For the lawyer, author, and former Harvard professor, see Michael H. Cohen.
Michael Cohen
- Democratic (before 2002; 2004–2017; 2018–present)
- Republican (2002–2004; 2017–2018)
2
Sentence finished, released
- 5 counts of tax evasion
- 1 count of making false statements to a financial institution
- 1 count of willfully causing an unlawful corporate contribution
- 1 count of making an excessive campaign contribution at the request of a candidate or campaign
- 1 count of making false statements to a congressional committee
3 years in federal prison; fines; asset forfeiture; disbarment
Trump employed Cohen until May 2018, a year after the special counsel investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. elections began. In August 2018, Cohen pleaded guilty to eight counts including campaign-finance violations, tax fraud, and bank fraud. Cohen said he violated campaign-finance laws at Trump's direction "for the principal purpose of influencing" the 2016 presidential election. In November 2018, Cohen pleaded guilty to lying to U.S. congressional committees about efforts to build a Trump Tower in Moscow.
In December 2018, Cohen was sentenced to three years in federal prison and ordered to pay a $50,000 fine. In February 2019, the New York Supreme Court, Appellate Division, disbarred him from practicing law in the state. In May 2019, he reported to the federal prison near Otisville, New York. In November 2021, he completed his sentence.
In early 2019, Cohen sued the Trump Organization for allegedly failing to reimburse his legal fees; in July 2023, the parties reached a settlement ahead of a planned trial. In early 2023, Trump sued Cohen for allegedly breaching his legal trust; in October 2023, Trump dropped the suit ahead of a planned deposition.
Early life and education[edit]
Cohen was raised in the town of Lawrence on Long Island, New York.[1] His mother was a nurse, and his father, a Holocaust survivor, was a surgeon.[1][2] Cohen is Ashkenazi Jewish.[3] He attended Woodmere Academy[4] and received his BA from American University in 1988 and his JD from Thomas M. Cooley Law School in 1991.[5]
Career[edit]
Law[edit]
Cohen began practicing personal injury law in New York in 1992, working for Melvyn Estrin in Manhattan.[4][6]
In 2006, Cohen was a partner at the law firm Phillips, Nizer, Benjamin, Krim & Ballon.[5] He practiced law at the firm for about a year before joining The Trump Organization.[6] Following his 2018 felony convictions, Cohen was disbarred in New York.[7]
Business[edit]
In 2003, Cohen was a candidate for New York City Council when he provided a biography to the New York City Campaign Finance Board for inclusion in its voters' guide. The guide listed him as co-owner of Taxi Funding Corp. and a fleet of New York City taxicabs numbering over 200.[8][9][10] At the time, Cohen was a business partner in the taxi business with "taxi king" Simon Garber.[10] He was also CEO of MLA Cruises, Inc., and of the Atlantic Casino.[11] As of 2017, Cohen was estimated to own at least 34 taxi medallions through 17 limited liability companies (LLCs).[10] Until April 2017, another "taxi king", disbarred attorney and convicted felon Gene Freidman,[12] managed the medallions still held by Cohen; this arrangement ended after the city's Taxi and Limousine Commission decided not to renew Freidman's licenses.[10] Between April and June 2017, the New York State Department of Taxation and Finance filed seven tax warrants against Cohen and his wife for $37,434 in unpaid taxi taxes due to the Metropolitan Transportation Authority.[13]
Cohen has been involved in real estate ventures in Manhattan, including the purchase and sale of four apartment buildings between 2011 and 2014. The total purchase price of the four buildings was $11 million and the total sales price was $32 million.[6][14] Cohen sold the four properties at above their assessed values, in all-cash transactions, to LLCs owned by persons whose identities are not public.[15] After this was reported by McClatchy DC in October 2017, Cohen said that all four properties were purchased by an American-owned "New York real estate family fund" that paid cash for the properties in order to obtain a tax-deferred (Section 1031) exchange, but did not specifically identify the buyer.[14]
In 2015, Cohen purchased an Upper East Side apartment building for $58 million.[6]
Politics[edit]
Cohen volunteered for the 1988 presidential campaign of Michael Dukakis.[1] He was also an intern for Congressman Joe Moakley[2] and voted for Barack Obama in 2008, although he later stated that he became disappointed with Obama.[1]
Personal life[edit]
Cohen married Ukrainian-born Laura Shusterman in 1994.[6][241][242] They have a daughter, Samantha, and a son, Jake.[243] Laura Shusterman's father, Fima Shusterman, left Soviet Ukraine for New York in 1975.[242] He was the person who introduced Cohen to Trump, according to a Trump biographer.[223][244]
Cohen has been friends since childhood with Felix Sater, a Moscow-born real estate developer with links to the Russian mafia and a convicted felon. Both men worked together on the Trump Tower Moscow deal.[245]
Cohen served as chairman of the board of directors of Columbia Grammar & Preparatory School through late 2016.
Before joining the Trump Organization, Cohen had purchased several homes in Trump's buildings.[2] A 2017 New York Times article reported that Cohen is known for having "a penchant for luxury"; he was married at The Pierre luxury hotel, drove a Porsche while attending college, and once owned a Bentley.[6]
In January 2019 documents that were released after the prosecution of former police officer Paul Dean revealed that Cohen, Donald Trump, Donald Trump Jr., and others had obtained handgun carry permits after making donations to the Police Athletic League or the New York City Police Foundation despite not having the proper credentials on file. Cohen lawyer Lanny Davis did not comment on the allegations against Cohen.[246]
In addition to his Mea Culpa podcast, in February 2023, Cohen teamed up with Ben Meiselas of the MeidasTouch team on a podcast/YouTube show called Political Beatdown.
In popular culture[edit]
As the Mueller investigation concerning Trump was in the daily news headlines, it became fodder for parody on Saturday Night Live, with Cohen being portrayed by Ben Stiller and Trump by Alec Baldwin.[247]
