If the President’s personal attorney Michael Cohen is faced with criminal charges, he will likely turn on President Trump, according to a longtime Trump legal adviser and former prosecutor.
Jay Goldberg told the Wall Street Journal and CNN that Trump called him on Friday seeking advice and he cautioned him against trusting Cohen. He even warned Trump in their 15 minute conversation that Cohen could even agree to wear a wire.
“Michael will never stand up (for you)” if he’s charged, Goldberg told the WSJ, recalling what he told Trump last week. He said he told Trump to “be alert” no matter what Cohen tells him.
Goldberg represented Trump during the 1990s and early 2000s on real estate matters and his divorces from Ivana Trump and Marla Maples and told CNN that he advised the President based on his own experience as a prosecutor.
“Anybody who is facing 30 years never stands up,” he told CNN. “Without exception, a person facing a prison term cooperates.”
Cohen’s office, hotel and home were raided by the FBI last week. Agents seized documents related to his alleged hush payments to a porn actress who reportedly had an affair with Trump a decade ago, as well as his taxi business, the WSJ and other outlets have reported.
Goldberg is not the only Trump ally who is nervous about the President’s personal lawyer’s cooperation and the records the FBI may have seized.
While Cohen has not been charged with any crimes, he is reportedly known for recording business and personal conversations as collateral. Many people within Trump’s inner circle are concerned about whether the recordings were seized and what they might entail and have told the media in recent days that they think Cohen will likely flip on Trump.
Read the WSJ’s full report here.
