Last Updated Jun 14, 2018 4:50 PM EDT
CBS News has learned that Michael Cohen, President Trump’s longtime personal attorney, believes the president and his allies are turning against him. Sources familiar with Cohen’s legal problems say that he is increasingly feeling isolated from Mr. Trump and his allies, and Cohen appears to be moving closer to a legal strategy of cooperating with investigators given the gulf that now exists between him and Mr. Trump.
A source says about Cohen, “the signals are crystal clear” that they are turning on him.
These new developments come as Cohen fields inquiries about whether he is going to “flip” and cooperate with investigators.
Cohen’s associates say that in recent days he has become increasingly irritated by statements made in the media by the president’s lawyer in the Russia investigation, Rudy Giuliani. A source tells Pegues the president’s allies are trying to attack Cohen in the event that he does flip.
“This is the worst move the White House could be making at a time when the president is potentially most vulnerable and others are most vulnerable,” a lawyer close to the case tells CBS News.
As a source tells CBS News, “It’s clearly never a good feeling when you’re in a mess because of somebody else and then that individual or the individuals around him are trying to discredit you.”
Since early April, when Cohen’s home and office were raided, Cohen has faced the pressure of an intense investigation into possible bank fraud charges in the Southern District of New York. In the case, referred by special counsel Robert Mueller, FBI agents raided Cohen’s office, home and hotel room where they seized documents and electronic devices.
Within days of the April 9 raid, Mr. Trump’s allies publicly debated whether Cohen would hold up to the scrutiny and whether he would then cave and cooperate with investigators.
Over the years, Cohen, who has acted as Mr. Trump’s personal attorney and fixer, has been one of Mr. Trump’s most loyal supporters. He routinely handled the jobs most would not do for the Trump Organization and for Mr. Trump himself. The attorney for adult film star Stormy Daniels has accused Cohen of paying her hush money in 2016 to cover up a relationship with Mr. Trump.
Cohen has also been a key figure in some of the Trump Organization business deals including one that would have led to a Trump Tower in Moscow. But since 2016, Cohen’s activities have been under scrutiny by the FBI. He was prominently mentioned in the unsubstantiated dossier compiled by a former British spy which alleged coordination between the Trump campaign and Russian operatives. Cohen has dismissed the allegations in the dossier and he has repeatedly maintained that he has done nothing illegal.
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