RNC Confirms Michael Cohen Remains Deputy Finance Director
President Trump’s personal attorney and long-time “fixer” Michael Cohen remains in his position as deputy finance chair of the Republican National Committee, even though he’s under criminal investigation related to the payment of $130,000 to the porn star, Stormy Daniels, RNC spokeswoman Kayleigh McEnany told Cheddar on Friday.
"There's ongoing litigation, and we'll take it step by step, but yes, he is still” in the position within the party, McEnany told Cheddar’s J.D. Durkin.
The Justice Department announced last month that Cohen had been under criminal investigation for months over his business dealings in New York City, and his office and home were raided by the FBI which seized records about Cohen’s clients and personal finances.
According to The Washington Post, among the records seized were those related to Cohen’s 2016 payment to Daniels, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford, which ensured that she would not discuss her claims to have had a sexual encounter with Trump years before he became president.
Among the avenues of investigation are wire fraud and campaign finance violations related to the payment to Daniels.
In the interview with Cheddar, McEnany was asked if she had concerns with a person being investigated for campaign finance violations also being responsible for overseeing campaign finance at the RNC.
“I have concerns about the violation of attorney-client privilege when the Southern District of New York invaded his office, swept up material, violating the president’s privacy, his client’s privacy, Michael Cohen’s privacy,” she said. “That’s where my concerns lie.”
Only a few days ago, Evgeny Friedman, a business partner of Cohen, who was known as the Taxi King of New York, pleaded guilty to charges of criminal tax fraud and grand larceny and agreed to cooperate with prosecutors in state and federal investigations.
The plea deal led to speculation that Friedman could provide the government leverage to pressure Cohen into working with Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s probe of Russian meddling in the 2016 election.
For the full interview, [click here](https://cheddar.com/videos/rnc-stands-by-michael-cohen-despite-ongoing-investigation).
Face to face for just over two hours, President Joe Biden and Russia’s Vladimir Putin squared off in a secure video call Tuesday as the U.S. president put Moscow on notice that an invasion of Ukraine would bring enormous harm to the Russian economy.
Ahead of Instagram head Adam Mosseri's congressional hearing on the mental impact of the social platform on teens, the company announced a number of updates aimed at teen safety.
Troubled Chinese real estate giant Evergrande is once again nearing the brink of collapse. Shares of Evergrande sunk to a new record low on Monday, closing down 20 percent, as debt default fears resurfaced. Drew Bernstein, co-chairman at consultancy MarcumBP, joined Cheddar's Opening Bell to discuss. He said U.S. investors have to understand that "there is no company in China that's too big to fail, that's for sure," and that the Chinese government will be prioritizing the social welfare of the populace. Bernstein did note that it would be a managed collapse in some form.
Joan Greve, a politics reporter at The Guardian US, joined Wake Up With Cheddar to break down the implications of the Biden administration announcing a diplomatic boycott of the 2022 Beijing games in response to allegations of human rights abuses against Uyghur Muslims. She noted the significance of the move, assessing the already frayed relationship between the U.S. and China. "The Chinese have said that a boycott would be politically manipulative, and now they are actually threatening countermeasures," she said. "And that will certainly have an impact on the spirit of the games at the very least."
The Biden administration has reached an agreement with the Mexican government to resume the "Remain-in-Mexico" policy under court order. By reinstating a Trump-era border policy, asylum-seekers will be forced to stay in Mexico until their U.S. immigration court date. The program is set to resume on Monday. Ryan Devereaux, a reporter for The Intercept, joins Cheddar News to discuss.
The U.S. announced it will not send any official representation to the upcoming Beijing winter Olympics. Cheddar's Hena Doba speaks with East Asia expert Michael Swaine about the reasons behind the diplomatic move.
COVID-19 is still battering the nation's criminal justice system, causing a massive backlog in cases and delaying verdicts for months on end. This, combined with the fear of crowded prisons during a pandemic, has prompted many defendants to plead guilty in exchange for time served or probation. Tina Luongo, attorney-in-charge of the Criminal Defense Practice, joined Cheddar to discuss the court backlog, the rise in plea bargains, and why this was an issue long before the pandemic.
With so many high-profile court cases taking over the media, from the trial over the murder of Ahmaud Arbery to the trial of Kyle Rittenhouse to the ongoing Elizabeth Holmes trial, Cheddar took a look at these cases and why there is such a big interest in them. Rachel Fiset, a white collar criminal defense lawyer and partner with Zeiback, Fiset, and Coleman, and Bryan Hance, attorney-at-law, professor, and academic program director of the pre-law and paralegal studies program at National University, joined Cheddar for a roundtable discussion on why there is so much public interest in so-called courtroom drama.
