Donald Trump, Michael Cohen, and the designated fall guy
A few days ago, after the FBI launched a raid against him, and before we learned he was in even more serious legal trouble than initially believed, Michael Cohen began telling associates that he was worried he’d end up being Donald Trump’s fall guy. This sounded to us like Cohen was considering flipping on Trump. Now we’re seeing some signs that perhaps Trump or his allies may have interpreted Cohen’s words in the same manner.
We’ve since learned that the Feds seized communications between Cohen and Trump. Considering how vehemently (if ineptly) Trump’s new attorney is now fighting to keep those communications out of the hands of prosecutors, it suggests the contents are incriminating. We’ve also learned that Robert Mueller has evidence that Cohen was indeed in Prague in 2016, meaning the entirety of the Trump-Russia dossier looks more legitimate than ever. Cohen appears to be hosed, and he may have little choice but to cut a deal if he wants to ever see daylight again. That’s why a particular news item caught our eye.
The New York Post tends to be, how can we say this, Trump-friendly. It’s not quite into Fox News territory, but the Post will tend to abide by Trump’s agenda as best it can. But last night the Post ran an article whose first sentence went like this: “Michael Cohen is a fraud of a lawyer who works exclusively for President Trump, federal prosecutors charged Friday.” The article never did go on to defend Cohen or present his side in any way.
So in light of Michael Cohen’s own words about not wanting to be the fall guy, and the fact that he’s rapidly becoming the fall guy, we can’t help but wonder if Donald Trump’s allies in the media are trying to nudge Cohen under the bus. It would be a dumb strategy, but it’s how Trump began acting toward Michael Flynn and others once he feared they were going to flip on him. Let’s keep an eye on this and see if it becomes a pattern with Trump-friendly news outlets over the weekend.
