WASHINGTON -- President Donald Trump's longtime lawyer and fixer Michael Cohen signaled in a new interview that he is ready to cooperate with federal prosecutors even if doing so undercuts the interests of the president -- a potentially significant development that poses legal peril for Trump.
In his first interview since federal agents raided his home and hotel room three months ago as part of an investigation into his business dealings, Cohen made clear that protecting Trump is not his priority.
"My wife, my daughter and my son have my first loyalty and always will," Cohen told ABC News' George Stephanopoulos, according to a story posted Monday morning on the network's website.
Reminded that he had previously vowed to "take a bullet" or "do anything" to protect the president, Cohen said the president is not his top priority: "To be crystal clear, my wife, my daughter and my son, and this country have my first loyalty," he said.
Cohen is under intensifying scrutiny from federal prosecutors in Manhattan who are examining his business practices, as well as special counsel Robert Mueller, who is continuing to investigate episodes involving Cohen as part of his probe of Russian interference in the 2016 election.
A series of recent reports that had appeared driven by Cohen and his allies had suggested that Cohen felt abandoned by the president, whom he had served for a decade, and might now turn on Trump and provide information about him or his family to prosecutors.
But the 45-minute off-camera interview with ABC represented a distinct escalation for the man often called Trump's fixer, a possible signal to investigators that he is ready to deal.
Robert Mintz, a former federal prosecutor now in private practice, said that Cohen "has sent every signal he possibly can to prosecutors that he will put his own interests first and will jump at any deal that may save him from going to jail."
"I viewed his statements as saying, 'I'm going to cooperate if I can get a good deal,'" said John Martin, a New York lawyer who has worked as both a federal judge and a federal prosecutor. "When he talked about loyalty to his family, what he seemed to be saying was he wants to limit his exposure and potential jail time. That's cooperation."
But while acknowledging that Cohen sounded like a man in search of a cooperation deal, other legal experts said prosecutors almost always prefer to negotiate such deals in private -- not on morning television shows.
"If he really wanted to send a signal that he was looking to cooperate, he could just pick up the phone and call the prosecutors," said Matthew Miller, who served as director of public affairs for the Justice Department under President Barack Obama. "He wouldn't have to do this complicated dance in the media."
Miller offered a different theory on Twitter on Monday: Cohen's interview was likely directed at the president as a "not-so subtle request for a pardon."
If that was Cohen's goal, however, several people close to Trump who spoke on the condition of anonymity said the interview was a miscalculation. Instead, it sparked a furious effort to distance the president from his one-time lawyer and undermine Cohen's credibility.
Cohen, said one person close to the Trump Organization, had never been given major responsibilities at the real estate company that served as Trump's springboard to the White House. Despite his title as Trump's personal counsel, the person said that Cohen had been seen internally as a minimally competent lawyer who too nakedly craved the approval of his boss.
Cohen did not respond to requests for comment Monday from The Washington Post.
White House spokesman Sarah Huckabee Sanders would not comment on whether the president was concerned about the possibility Cohen would strike a deal with prosecutors.
"I'm not going to weigh in to this issue and I refer you to outside counsel," she said.
The new assessments of Cohen's role in Trump's orbit stand in contrast with years of company profiles that depicted Cohen as a close adviser entrusted with all manner of sensitive and personal tasks, and a confidant not just of Trump but also of his adult children -- Donald Jr., Ivanka and Eric.
In a May interview, for instance, Trump attorney Rudy Giuliani told Stephanopoulos that Cohen was routinely asked to handle issues that could pose personal embarrassment to Trump, such as the claim of an affair from adult-film actress Stormy Daniels.
Trump has denied the affair but Cohen directed that Daniels, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford, be paid $130,000 just before the November 2016 election to ensure her silence.
In response to the interview on ABC, Michael Avenatti, Clifford's lawyer, suggested that Cohen was "playing games."
Stephanopoulos said that Cohen, who has not been charged in either probe, came across "as his own man" during the weekend interview and said he will "not be a punching bag" if Trump's team tries to discredit him as part of a legal strategy.
"I will not be a punching bag as part of anyone's defense strategy," Cohen said. "I am not a villain of this story, and I will not allow others to try to depict me that way."
SEIZED, NOW SURRENDERED
In New York, federal investigators are scrutinizing Cohen for possible bank fraud, wire fraud and campaign finance violations as they examine his efforts to squelch damaging information about Trump in the run-up to the 2016 election, including the allegations of an affair made by Daniels.
On Monday, a special master turned over to the government more than 1.3 million items that were seized by the FBI from Cohen's New York home, office and hotel room in April. A judge had appointed the special master to determine whether some documents were subject to attorney-client privilege and should be withheld from prosecutors.
In a filing, the special master told Judge Kimba Wood that the Trump Organization, facing a Thursday deadline, was still reviewing about 22,000 items to see if they might object to those being turned over to the government. But the hand-over of the vast majority of the documents taken in the raids marks an important milestone as Manhattan prosecutors weigh whether to charge Cohen.
In Washington, Mueller also has been examining Cohen's role in at least two episodes involving Russian interests.
People close to the case have said that Cohen will soon be switching lawyers, with the departure of Washington litigator Stephen Ryan, who has worked closely with Trump's lawyers during the court-ordered document review.
Ryan will be replaced by New York attorney Guy Petrillo, a veteran of the Manhattan federal prosecutor's office, who could open negotiations on Cohen's behalf with his former colleagues.
Stephanopoulos said he asked Cohen repeatedly if he was considering cooperating with prosecutors in their investigation. Cohen responded that if he is charged with anything, he would defer to Petrillo for advice.
Petrillo did not immediately respond to a request for comment. There's been no indication that he's been in contact with prosecutors about his client cooperating.
NO COMMENT
During the interview, Cohen declined to discuss specifics of particular cases and offered circumspect responses to some questions.
Stephanopoulos, for example, said he asked Cohen if Trump had directed him to make the payment to Daniels in exchange for her silence. Cohen has previously said he acted on his own, without guidance from Trump, though Giuliani has said Trump reimbursed his lawyer.
"I want to answer. One day I will answer," Cohen told Stephanopoulos during the Saturday interview. "But for now, I can't comment further on advice of my counsel."
Stephanopoulos said that in several instances, Cohen broke with Trump in characterizing the federal investigations.
"I don't like the term 'witch hunt,'" Cohen said, taking issue with the way Trump has characterized Mueller's investigation.
"As an American, I repudiate Russia's or any other foreign government's attempt to interfere or meddle in our democratic process, and I would call on all Americans to do the same," Cohen said.
Cohen also declined to criticize FBI agents who served the search warrants on his New York home, hotel room and office, as Trump has done.
"I don't agree with those who demonize or vilify the FBI," Cohen said. "I respect the FBI as an institution, as well as their agents."
"When they searched my hotel room and my home, it was obviously upsetting to me and my family," Cohen said. "Nonetheless, the agents were respectful, courteous and professional. I thanked them for their service and, as they left, we shook hands."
According to Stephanopoulos, Cohen also repeated his previous denials of personal involvement with Russian attempts to interfere in the U.S. election.
But Cohen did criticize Trump campaign aides who took part in a June 2016 meeting in Trump Tower with several Russians after being promised damaging information about Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton.
"I believe it was a mistake by those from the Trump campaign who did participate," Cohen said. "It was simply an example of poor judgment."
Cohen declined to say whether Trump knew about the meeting before it happened, citing the advice of his lawyer.
He also told ABC he did not agree with Trump's recent tweet repeating Russian President Vladimir Putin's claim that Russia did not interfere in the election.
"Simply accepting the denial of Mr. Putin is unsustainable," Cohen said. "I respect our nation's intelligence agencies' ... unanimous conclusions."
Cohen said he hoped that coming forward would help put his legal troubles behind him. "I want to regain my name and my reputation and my life back," he said.
Information for this article was contributed by John Wagner, Rosalind S. Helderman and Tom Hamburger of The Washington Post; by Tom Hays of The Associated Press; by Margaret Talev, Shahien Nasiripour and Shannon Pettypiece of Bloomberg News; and by Alan Feuer of The New York Times.
A Section on 07/03/2018