Scaramucci visits Cohen in prison
Former White House communications director Anthony Scaramucci visited President Trump’s former personal lawyer Michael Cohen at a New York prison on Friday, Scaramucci confirmed to Fox Business.
“I went to see Michael as a friend,” Scaramucci wrote to the network, while insisting the pair did not discuss the president during an hours-long meeting.
{mosads}Scaramucci added that Cohen has “bigger fish to fry” than talking about Trump, such as getting his sentence reduced.
“I’m not sure how I can help with that. His legal team is working on it,” Scaramucci said.
The former Trump official, who only served in his White House role for 11 days, has previously described Cohen as a “good friend” and said in May that he would “100 percent” go visit the former attorney behind bars.
“Pretty simple stuff,” Scaramucci told Fox Business. “I grew up in a neighborhood and we don’t back away from our friends when they have issues.”
Cohen is currently serving a three-year sentence at the Federal Correctional Institution in Otisville, N.Y., after pleading guilty to charges of bank and tax fraud, as well as campaign finance violations.
The sentences stem from Cohen’s time working for Trump as his personal “fixer.” Cohen pleaded guilty to taking part in a scheme to silence two women who alleged they had affairs with Trump: adult-film star Stormy Daniels and ex-Playboy model Karen McDougal. Trump has denied having affairs with either woman.
Federal prosecutors in New York implicated Trump in the crime, saying Cohen “acted in coordination with and at the direction of” Trump in making the payments.
Both Scaramucci and Cohen were fierce allies of the president before their relationships soured and they began speaking out against Trump.
Cohen testified before Congress in February and denounced the president as a “racist,” a “con man” and a “cheat.”
Scaramucci long defended Trump after his quick ouster from the White House in 2017 but in recent months has become a vocal Trump critic.
He has compared the president to an infamous cult leader and called him a “full-blown demagogue.”
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