In an interview with ABC’s George Stephanopoulos released Monday morning, Cohen, the president’s former lawyer, said, “My wife, my daughter and my son have my first loyalty and always will.” He then added that “I put family and country first.” Cohen went on to defend the validity of the Mueller investigation into Russian meddling in the election and pointedly rejected Vladimir Putin’s denials of that meddling.
Cohen’s newfound love of family and country stands in marked contrast to earlier protestations of supreme devotion to his client Donald Trump. Cohen, now under investigation for alleged violations of campaign finance laws and other business irregularities, once said he’d “take a bullet” for Donald Trump. In April, the president tweeted, “most people will flip if the government lets them out of trouble, even if it means lying or making up stories. Sorry, I don’t see Michael doing that.”
As Talking Points Memo observed, the interview was filled with hints from Cohen that he will spill the beans on major scandals: “Tantalizingly, Cohen then hinted heavily that he has information to share on two hot-button and possibly damning episodes for the President: the infamous Trump tower meeting when ‘dirt’ on Hillary Clinton was promised, and the $130,000 hush money payout made to Stormy Daniels during the election.”
If Cohen’s revelations live up to his insinuations, Donald Trump is in for a rocky ride.