This Michael Cohen disaster just keeps getting better
The news for the Fixer, Michael Cohen, continues to get worse by the minute. According to an exclusive story published by STAT, in early 2017, Cohen “reached out to Novartis’s then-chief executive officer Joe Jimenez, promising to help gaining access to Trump and influential officials.” According to one Novartis employee “familiar with the matter,” Cohen “promised access to not just Trump, but also the circle around him. It was almost as if we were hiring him as a lobbyist.”
That last word, lobbyist, might present Cohen with additional difficulties. According to Novartis, the Mueller team met with Novartis and Novartis provided all the information the lawyers requested. That likely included any evidence of the agreement entered between Cohen/Essential Consultants LLC and Novartis.
If the documentation or the relationship is deemed to be lobbying, then Cohen would have been required to register as a lobbyist under 2 U.S. Code Section 1603- Registration of lobbyists. Lobbying is defined by 2 U.S. Code Section 1602(8)(A) by setting forth what it means for “lobbying contact.” Based on what the Novartis employee has indicated, there are two likely fits:
(ii) the formulation, modification, or adoption of a Federal rule, regulation, Executive order, or any other program, policy, or position of the United States Government;
(iii) the administration or execution of a Federal program or policy (including the negotiation, award, or administration of a Federal contract, grant, loan, permit, or license).
There may of course be others, and given Michael Cohen had no formal role in the Donald Trump administration or government, the exemptions do not appear to apply. Failure to comply with registration can result in fines of up to $200,000, “depending on the extent and gravity of the violation” and if one “knowingly and corruptly fails to comply,” one is subject to imprisonment of up to five years. If Cohen did not have this issue on his radar, it is another potential item of concern in his growing list of legal woes.
Daniel is a lawyer writing and teaching about SCOTUS, and is the author of the book “The Chief Justices” about the SCOTUS as seen through the center seat.