Geraldo Rivera: Cohen cooperating with prosecutors will lead to probe of Trump’s business dealings

Fox News correspondent Geraldo Rivera said Friday that President Trump’s longtime former attorney Michael Cohen’s cooperation with federal investigators will lead to a probe into Trump’s business dealings.

“@MichaelCohen212 is soft underbelly of @realDonaldTrump,” Rivera tweeted on Friday. “We all have secrets-incl @POTUS– To have your secret keeper cooperating w a hostile govt agency-as Cohen is apparently doing-insures this scandal has legs & will pivot from porn stars & collusion to Trump’s business dealings.”

@MichaelCohen212 is soft underbelly of @realDonaldTrump We all have secrets-incl @POTUS– To have your secret keeper cooperating w a hostile govt agency-as Cohen is apparently doing-insures this scandal has legs & will pivot from porn stars & collusion to Trump’s business dealings

— Geraldo Rivera (@GeraldoRivera) July 27, 2018

Cohen, who worked as the top lawyer at the Trump Organization for several years, often referred to himself as Trump’s “fixer.”

An ally of Cohen’s said last month that Cohen is “willing to give” information on Trump and his business to investigators with special counsel Robert Mueller‘s office.

“He knows a lot of things about the president and he’s not averse to talking in the right situation,” the source told CNN. “If they want information on Trump, he’s willing to give it.”

The feud between Trump and Cohen escalated this week following the release of a secret recording Cohen made of a conversation the two had in private in September 2016.

The leaked audio reveals Trump and Cohen discussing the rights to former Playboy model Karen McDougal’s story after American Media, the publisher of the National Enquirer, paid her $150,000 for it. 

Cohen reportedly formed a shell company with the intent of using it to pay for the story, but the sale never went through, The Wall Street Journal reported this week.

McDougal’s story was never published and she is now suing American Media.

Lanny Davis, Cohen’s lawyer and a columnist for The Hill, said Cohen routinely recorded conversations instead of taking notes.

“Cohen recorded everything,” said Bryan Lanza, a former Trump campaign official. “The juiciest parts may be yet to come.”

More than 100 of Cohen’s recordings, including conversations with reporters and others discussing topics related to the president, have been seized by the government.

Cohen is under investigation in New York for reported bank fraud and possible campaign finance violations regarding his payment to adult-film star Stormy Daniels, who is suing Trump and Cohen. Daniels is suing to void a nondisclosure agreement in connection with her alleged extramarital affair with Trump. 

Cohen set up a shell company and arranged a $130,000 payment to Daniels days before the 2016 presidential election to keep her quiet about her alleged sexual encounter with Trump in 2006.

Trump originally denied knowledge of the payment and Cohen took full responsibility, saying he used his own funds to pay Daniels.

Trump’s lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, later revealed that Trump reimbursed Cohen for the payment. 

Trump has denied the allegations from McDougal and Daniels.