Michael Cohen, President Donald Trump’s former personal lawyer and fixer and former deputy finance chair of the Republican National Committee, has undergone quite the change of heart since pleading guilty to eight federal charges back in August. His latest act: encouraging people to get out and vote — against Trump.
Michael Cohen now wants to get out the vote
He would also like to remind you of his GoFundMe page.
Emily Stewart covered business and economics for Vox and wrote the newsletter The Big Squeeze, examining the ways ordinary people are being squeezed under capitalism. Before joining Vox, she worked for TheStreet.
“Listen, here’s my recommendation. Grab your family, grab your friends, grab your neighbors, and get to the poll, because if not, you are going to have another two or another six years of this craziness,” Cohen, 52, told CNN on Friday. “So, make sure you vote, all right?”
Cohen changed his party registration back to Democrat earlier this month. He had been a Democrat for years but switched his registration in March 2017. He told CNN he’d been a Democrat “for pretty much my whole entire life” but switched at the RNC’s request. “Couldn’t be the vice chair of the RNC and be a Democrat,” he said.
Cohen recently put out a get-out-the-vote tweet, too.
Cohen was for years seen as one of Trump’s most loyal allies, even going as far as to boast that he would “take a bullet” for the president. But he’s since said his loyalty is to his family and to his country, and as prosecutors have put the squeeze on, he’s begun to talk.
He pleaded guilty to eight crimes in August, including campaign finance violations related to hush money payments he made to porn actress Stormy Daniels ahead of the 2016 election for her to keep quiet about her alleged affair with Trump. Cohen implicated the president in his plea, saying he’d made the payments “in coordination with and at the direction of a federal candidate for office,” as in, Trump. Trump has denied all of this.
Cohen is reportedly speaking with special counsel Robert Mueller as part of his investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election and potential ties between the Trump campaign and Russia. In September, he tweeted and deleted praise for himself speaking with Mueller.
Progressives shouldn’t be welcoming Michael Cohen with open arms
According to CNN, Cohen is also willing to campaign for Democrats and against Trump in the 2018 midterms and in 2020. But that doesn’t mean liberals want to embrace him: Cohen’s change of heart has come after he was caught for his bad behavior, he’s not some Democratic hero.
And it’s not just liberal affection Cohen is after, it’s their money as well. The same day he entered his guilty plea back in August, he launched a GoFundMe page to help cover his legal fees. Others caught up in the Trump whirlwind, including Daniels, former FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe, and former FBI official Peter Strzok, have made similar plays.
Thus far, Cohen has raised more than $175,000 of his $500,000 goal. He’s not been shy about wanting more. In August, he tweeted a thanks for birthday wishes with a link to his GoFundMe page. He retweeted another user’s link to the page in September.
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