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We have what seems to be the big news of the day: Michael Cohen’s lawyers are leaving the case. But there are conflicting accounts of just what that means. ABC News kicked the story off by breaking the news of the lawyers’ imminent departure and that Cohen is “likely to cooperate with federal prosecutors in Manhattan”, according to sources who spoke to ABC.
Other organizations followed but with less clarity on cooperation. The Journal confirmed that the lawyers are leaving but that Cohen “hasn’t yet decided whether he will cooperate with prosecutors in the case”, though his desire “to hire a lawyer with close ties to the Manhattan U.S. attorney’s office” seems like a pretty good indication of where things are going. Meanwhile, the Times again confirms the lawyers’ departure but references sources who claim the issue is “primarily over payment of the legal bills of one of his lawyers, Stephen Ryan.”