Michael Cohen’s revenge
Architect and Third Reich Minister of Armaments Albert Speer once said words to the effect that if Hitler ever had a friend, he was Hitler’s friend. The same might also be said of Michael Cohen as regards Donald Trump. If Trump ever had a friend it was probably Michael Cohen.
Trump isn’t exactly what you’d call a “friend person.” So we’re lucky to have someone like Mr. Cohen who came so close to being Trump’s friend. Trump betrayed Cohen, of course. Sooner or later Trump betrays everybody. But this time the guy Trump betrayed wrote a book about it. Lucky us, unlucky Trump.
Cohen’s book (“Disloyal”) is useful in providing insights into what makes the world’s most infamous malignant narcissist tick. Cohen proved to be very good at seeing patterns in Trump’s behavior. It was Cohen, for instance, who warned the House Oversight Committee two whole years ago that Trump would never accept the results of the 2020 election. Cohen understood what very few did, that malignant narcissists don’t admit defeat.
Cohen also keeps abreast of current events via Twitter, and he had some interesting observations about the recent Supreme Court ruling that will lead to Trump releasing his taxes to a New York prosecutor and their impaneled grand jury. “The Supreme Court has now proclaimed that no one is above the law,” Cohen tweeted, “Trump will, for the first time, have to take responsibility for his own dirty deeds.”
Trump must turn over eight years of tax documents. This is the end of the road for Trump’s lawyers. There are no more appeals to file, no more delays to be made. The process of turning over the tax returns has begun and should be completed in the next few days.
The Supreme Court ruling does not necessarily mean that Trump’s taxes will become available to the general public. It depends on what the New York prosecutors do with them. If they find anything inculpatory — and it’s hard to believe they won’t, considering how hard Trump has fought to keep them hidden — then they will almost certainly use Trump’s tax returns against him in a prosecution. And it will be at that point, finally, that the details of Trump’s returns will become public knowledge.
Trump once promised to release his tax returns to the public if he got elected president. Once elected, Trump lied when he said he couldn’t release his taxes because he was under audit by the IRS. However, nothing prevents a taxpayer from releasing his or her own tax returns. The IRS has confirmed that individuals are free to share their own tax information with anyone at any time for any reason, irrespective of whether or not they are under audit. Trump continues to use the lie that he couldn’t release his returns because he’s under audit, bafflingly, because no one has ever confronted him about it.
Well now Trump has no choice but to release them to the New York prosecutor. That should happen in the next few days. Michael Cohen believes this means Trump’s “dirty deeds” will be exposed for all the world to see. Mr. Cohen has been proved right every time so far, it’s doubtful that this time will prove an exception.
Cohen doesn’t limit himself to commentary on Trump. Monday, when Palmer Report tweeted “F**k you, Ted Cruz,” Mr. Cohen retweeted it with the observation, “You took the words right out of America’s mouth.” And, as ever, ladies and gentlemen, brothers and sisters, comrades and friends, stay safe.
Robert Harrington is an American expat living in Britain. He is a portrait painter.