Michael Cohen has long been the personal lawyer of US President Donald Trump. Not so long ago, he entered into a voluntary plea agreement with the country's federal prosecutor's office. Cohen confessed to a number of crimes, including paying compensation for silence to two of his client's "girls", during an election campaign, which opens up the issue of impeaching the president again.
Deal with conscience
In April of this year, FBI agents, at the request of the prosecutor's office, searched the work office and hotel room where the lawyer lived. All this happened as part of an investigation into possible cooperation between the Trump campaign and the Russian authorities.
In court, Michael Cohen pleaded guilty to the 8-count charges, including bank fraud, misrepresentation to financial departments and tax evasion. He actually betrayed his client by confessing that, asDonald Trump's confidant made large cash payments during the presidential campaign to adult film actress Stormy Daniels and Playboy magazine model Karen McDougal for keeping quiet about love affairs. Although Trump's attorney Michael Cohen did not name the women and his client specifically, saying he did so on behalf of an "unnamed candidate", the amounts and dates match those of the transfers sent to the two girlfriends.
Will the Fifth Amendment help?
Michael Cohen is due to take part in the lawsuit filed against Donald Trump by Stephanie Clifford, who is better known to the public from a pornographic film with the stage name Stormy Daniels.
A woman who received $130,000 from Cohen for her silence is seeking to quash a 2016 agreement in which she pledges not to disclose the details of her "close" relationship with Trump. The lawyer intends not to testify against himself, taking advantage of the fifth amendment to the US Constitution.
President Trump vehemently denies having had an affair with the girl and has stated that he knows nothing about payments made for so-called silence.
