GOP Strategist: Cohen 'Knows Where a Lot of the Bodies Are Buried'
*By Amanda Weston*
Michael Cohen may have pleaded guilty to eight criminal counts, but one GOP strategist said President Trump's former personal attorney and fixer could still pose a serious threat, since he "knows where a lot of the bodies are buried."
"Michael Cohen has the keys to the kingdom," said Rick Wilson, author of "Everything Trump Touches Dies."
"He knows about Trump's finances. He knows about Trump's taxes. He knows about Trump's dalliances with various porn stars and models and God knows who else. He is a guy who could cause a lot of damage on the Trump perception front."
Cohen pleaded guilty on Tuesday to charges including tax fraud, false statements to a bank, and campaign finance violations. He also admitted he made payments in 2016 to silence two women who claimed they had affairs with Trump. In his plea, Cohen said he acted at the direction of a candidate for federal office, implicating his former boss and mentor.
Wilson said in an interview on Cheddar Wednesday that Cohen may testify that Trump was aware of a conspiracy to meet with Russian officials in Trump Tower to gather information on Hillary Clinton during the 2016 election.
"He may be able to point to the fact that the president encouraged it," Wilson said. "So, we're in a situation where Trump has got some really serious peril when it comes to the Russia case. But again, he also can expose a lot of other parts of Donald Trump's life that Trump does not want out there."
Cohen [once said](https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2017/09/michael-cohen-interview-donald-trump) he would take a bullet for the president, but his attorney painted a very different picture on Wednesday while discussing a presidential pardon on NBC's "Today."
“He considers a pardon from someone who acted so corruptly as president to be something he would never accept,” Lanny Davis, Cohen’s attorney, [said](https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/white-house/michael-cohen-willing-share-all-he-knows-mueller-lawyer-says-n902801).
Trump later took a jab at Cohen, [tweeting](https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1032247043992023040), "If anyone is looking for a good lawyer, I would strongly suggest that you don’t retain the services of Michael Cohen!"
Still, despite all the drama, Wilson said it's premature to talk about impeachment, calling recent developments "the first inning of the first game of the World Series."
"There has to be a realistic expectation you can move from an impeachment procedure in the House to a conviction in the Senate," Wilson said, adding, "we are very far away from that."
"If the Democrats are smart, they're going to focus on the corruption and not on the impeachment. These things fill in the blank on their own."
For full interview, [click here] (https://cheddar.com/videos/former-trump-attorney-michael-cohen-pleads-guilty).
Following the surprising big beat on estimates for the January jobs report, William M. Rodgers III, vice president and director of the Institute for Economic Equity at the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, joined Cheddar News to break down the data. “We ended 2021 with a strong crescendo to a recovery that had taken hold, and we started 2022 in good fashion." He also discussed the dueling pressures of wage growth and inflation.
Jessica Mason Pieklo, senior vice president and executive editor of the Rewired News Group and co-host of the podcast. "Boom! Lawyered," joins Cheddar Politics to discuss Justice Stephen Breyer's retirement, legacy and potential replacement on the Supreme Court.
The Biden administration delivered a temporary win for student loan borrowers this year by extending the moratorium on federal payments for a few more months. That moratorium is coming to an end on May 1st and borrowers will again have their monthly loan payment plopped in their lap.
Stephanie Vanderslice, a creative writing professor paying off debt through the Parent Plus program, and Mike Pierce, executive director of the Student Borrower Protection Center, join Cheddar Politics to discuss.
2022 was already going to be a big year for the Supreme Court. We have decisions on major issues like abortion and gun rights on the way. Then, Justice Stephen Breyer announced his retirement and that set up a major confirmation fight for later this year. Amy Howe, co-founder of SCOTUSblog, joins Cheddar Politics to discuss.
The Labor Department released a better-than-expected report of 467,000 jobs added in January. Heather Boushey, Council of Economic Advisers Member for President Biden, joined Cheddar to tout the administration's handling of the economy amid the pandemic and the upward revisions for the previous month. "It also shows that, because of the revisions, the economy was stronger over the past couple of months," she said. "I don't think that this can be said enough, but economic forecasting during an historic pandemic is extremely difficult." Boushey also addressed issues involving wage growth versus the rapid rise of inflation.
The Labor Department's January jobs report showed 467,000 jobs were added, compared to the 150,000 that were projected, a sign that employment is continuign to return to pre-pandemic levels. Lindsey Piegza, chief economist at investment bank Stifel, joined Cheddar to break down the report, noting the big gains but adding a note of caution. "Remember, even with this morning's stellar report, we're still millions below that level that we had reached prior to the onset of COVID-19," she said." Yes, we are recapturing jobs. We still have further ground that needs to be made before we can talk about reaching that previous peak." Piegza also discussed the role of the Federal Reserve going forward as the employment figures turn more positive.
As President Biden's poll numbers fall with Black voters, Rep. Ayanna Pressley (D-Mass. 7th District) joined Cheddar to discuss what she feels could help the embattled administration: deliver on policies. Pressley pointed to stalled legislation such as new voting rights laws and Build Back Betters and canceling student loan debt, which would go a long way to improving his standing with Black constituents. "President Biden has the authority and the power to alleviate this burden, which would also help in closing the racial wealth gap, and he can do it by executive action with the stroke of a pen," she said. "And it doesn't require one vote from Congress. So, the Biden administration just needs to deliver to Black America in a tangible and impactful way."
