Michael Cohen is often referred to as Donald Trump’s former “fixer.” And in Cohen’s testimony before the House Oversight Committee on Wednesday, he offered some insight into what that job actually entailed.
Michael Cohen: I probably threatened people for Trump hundreds of times
Cohen estimated that he threatened litigation or got into arguments on his former client’s behalf more than 500 times.
Jen Kirby is a senior foreign and national security reporter at Vox, where she covers global instability.
In a remarkable exchange, Rep. Jackie Speier (D-CA) asked Cohen, “How many times did Mr. Trump ask you to threaten an individual or entity on his behalf?”
“Quite a few times,” Cohen responded. That led to a wild back-and-forth:
Speier: “50 times?”
Cohen: “More.”
Speier: “100 times?”
Cohen: “More.”
Speier: “200 times?”
Cohen: “More.”
Speier: “500 times?”
Cohen: Probably, over the 10 years.
Cohen quickly clarified that any threats referred to litigation “or an argument with a nasty reporter that is writing an article.”
Speier didn’t follow up by asking him to provide any specific examples, but Cohen himself provided some in his testimony. Among the evidence he brought to lawmakers to back up his claims, Cohen provided a letter he wrote in 2015 to administrators at Fordham University threatening legal action if the institution released Trump’s academic records without Trump’s consent. A Fordham University spokesperson later confirmed the university had received the letter and a follow-up phone call.
There have been other examples of Cohen’s attempts to clean up problems for the president — including those nasty arguments with reporters Cohen mentioned.
In 2015, Cohen threatened a reporter who was working on a story about Trump’s divorce settlement with his first wife, Ivana. “So I’m warning you, tread very fucking lightly, because what I’m going to do to you is going to be fucking disgusting. You understand me?” Cohen wrote in a lengthy, expletive-filled email.
Cohen, of course, has broken completely with the president. And though it won’t undo his guilty plea or reduce his prison sentence, it’s obviously in Cohen’s interest to portray Trump as someone who bullied him into doing his dirty work. (Cohen has also pleaded guilty to lying to Congress.)
But Cohen has long described himself as Trump’s fix-it guy, telling the Wall Street Journal in a January 2017 interview: “Anything that he needs to be done, any issues that concern him, I handle.”
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