Cohen adds ex-Clinton official to legal team: report

Michael Cohen, President Trump’s former personal lawyer, has reportedly hired Clinton administration White House official Lanny Davis.

{mosads}New York Times reporter Maggie Haberman on Thursday tweeted a statement from Davis saying he has spoken to Cohen “many times in the last two weeks” and that he “recognized his sincerity” in an ABC News interview that aired earlier this week.

“Michael Cohen deserves to tell his side of the story — subject, of course to the advice of counsel,” Davis, who served as White House special counsel under former President Clinton, said in the statement. He currently works as a legal crisis manager. 

NEWS – @LannyDavis, the Clinton-era White House official, tells me he’s been retained by @MichaelCohen212 as he prepares for a potential legal onslaught from prosecutors and a potential PR onslaught from Trump associates.

— Maggie Haberman (@maggieNYT) July 5, 2018

Davis in statement on Cohen retaining him: pic.twitter.com/KIV3Kt0Aym

— Maggie Haberman (@maggieNYT) July 5, 2018

Davis’s team did not immediately respond to a request for comment from The Hill.

Cohen, who served as Trump’s longtime personal lawyer and “fixer,” told ABC News in an interview that aired on Monday that his loyalty is to his “family and country first.”

“To be crystal clear, my wife, my daughter and my son, and this country have my first loyalty,” Cohen said.

Cohen is under criminal investigation for bank fraud and campaign finance violations.

There is widespread speculation that Cohen could “flip” on Trump. In the ABC News interview, he did not defend Trump. He also removed his affiliation with Trump from his Twitter bio earlier this week.

Legal experts told The Hill that Cohen’s recent interview is a “marked difference” from his past comments fiercely defending Trump.

Davis is a columnist for The Hill.