Attorney Alan Dershowitz said on a Sunday show panel that authorities’ recent focus on President Trump’s personal lawyer, Michael Cohen, foretells “an epic battle for” the Trump confidant’s “soul and cooperation.”
“Oh, it’s a very serious threat,” Dershowitz told ABC’s “This Week” when asked how serious the threat is to the president and Cohen after the FBI raided Cohen’s office.
{mosads}“This is an epic battle for the soul and cooperation of Michael Cohen. And prosecutors have enormous weapons at their disposal.”
Cohen is reportedly under criminal investigation and the FBI earlier this month raided the lawyer’s office, reportedly seizing evidence related to Cohen’s payment to adult-film star Stormy Daniels. Daniels, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford, claims she had an affair with Trump over a decade ago.
Trump, whose legal team is reportedly preparing for Cohen to cooperate with federal officials, said Saturday that he thinks Cohen will maintain his loyalty.
“The New York Times and a third rate reporter named Maggie Haberman, known as a Crooked H flunkie who I don’t speak to and have nothing to do with, are going out of their way to destroy Michael Cohen and his relationship with me in the hope that he will ‘flip,’ ” Trump wrote on Twitter Saturday, referring to a report in The New York Times by reporter Maggie Haberman, who has interviewed Trump multiple times.
Trump in the Saturday tweets slammed the Times story that said his legal team was preparing for Cohen to cooperate with investigators.
“Sorry, I don’t see Michael doing that despite the horrible Witch Hunt and the dishonest media!” the president added.
Dershowitz, who is also an opinion contributor to The Hill, said prosecutors have “enormous abilities” to pressure witnesses in criminal investigations.
“They can threaten essentially with life imprisonment. They can threaten his parents. They can threaten his spouse,” Dershowitz said. “They have these enormous abilities to really put pressure and coerce a witness.”