Michael Cohen, President Trump’s former personal lawyer, says he is providing “critical information” as part of special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. election and possible coordination between Russia and the Trump campaign, reports the Associated Press. Michael Cohen, who pleaded guilty last month to campaign finance and other charges, said Thursday he is providing the information to prosecutors without a cooperation agreement. Trump’s longtime fixer-turned-foe could be a vital witness for prosecutors as they investigate whether Trump’s campaign coordinated with Russians. For more than a decade, Cohen was Trump’s personal lawyer, and he was a key player in the Trump Organization and a fixture in Trump’s political life.
Cohen pleaded guilty to eight federal charges and said Trump told him to arrange payments before the 2016 election to buy the silence of porn actress Stormy Daniels and a former Playboy model who had both alleged they had affairs with Trump. It was the first time any Trump associate implicated Trump himself in a crime. Whether or when a president can be prosecuted remains a matter of legal dispute. On Thursday, Cohen tweeted: “Good for @MichaelCohen212 for providing critical information to the #MuellerInvestigation without a cooperation agreement. No one should question his integrity, veracity or loyalty to his family and country over @POTUS @realDonaldTrump.” ABC News reported that Cohen has met several times for several hours with investigators from the special counsel’s office.