Michael Cohen is the most serious threat against President Donald Trump right now, according to political consultant Rick Wilson.
“A lot of the things that Trump’s business enterprise is involved in are things that Cohen has a hand in,” explained Wilson, adding that the president's personal lawyer is involved in everything from adult film star Stormy Daniels to Trump’s business dealings around the world, including in Russia.
He “is the nexus of all these things,” said Wilson. “This guy is the Rosetta Stone of sleaze for this organization.”
Being the bridge that connects many of Trump’s controversies could end up forcing Cohen to flip on his long-time client, explained Wilson.
“You’re going to see this guy having to really consider if he’s willing to go to prison for Donald Trump and spend hard time behind bars,” said Wilson. “He’s a guy in a really tight situation right now.”
Cohen paid off two women, including Daniels, to keep them silent about their alleged sexual encounters with the president. The infamous [Steele dossier](https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/3259984-Trump-Intelligence-Allegations.html), which alleges collusion between Russia and the Trump campaign team, also names Cohen as taking part in a secret meeting in Prague in 2016.
The FBI is looking into all of those dealings, seizing files from Cohen's office, hotel room, and apartment earlier this month. Defense lawyers, arguing those documents are protected by attorney-client privilege, lost a battle this week to get access to them before prosecutors, though exactly how they'll be reviewed remains a question.
But the big revelation from Monday's hearing in New York was that Fox News host Sean Hannity is one of Cohen's clients.
“What else could this drama devolve into?” asked Wilson. “In a Hollywood screenplay, this would have been considered too over the top.”
In his broadcast Monday night, Hannity distanced himself from Cohen, saying their only dealings were over real estate. On Tuesday Fox issued a statement saying executives were surprised to learn of the relationship between the anchor and Cohen, but that Hannity, "continues to have our full support."
For full interview, [click here](https://cheddar.com/videos/president-trumps-biggest-threat-michael-cohen-or-stormy-daniels).
U.S. and Chinese officials say a trade deal between the world’s two largest economies is drawing closer. The sides have reached an initial consensus for President Donald Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping to aim to finalize during their high-stakes meeting Thursday in South Korea. Any agreement would be a relief to international markets. Trump's treasury secretary says discussions with China yielded preliminary agreements to stop the precursor chemicals for fentanyl from coming into the United States. Scott Bessent also says Beijing would make “substantial” purchases of soybean and other agricultural products while putting off export controls on rare earth elements needed for advanced technologies.
A new poll finds most U.S. adults are worried about health care becoming more expensive.
The White House budget office says mass firings of federal workers have started in an attempt to exert more pressure on Democratic lawmakers as the government shutdown continues.
President Donald Trump says “there seems to be no reason” to meet with Chinese leader Xi Jinping as part of an upcoming trip to South Korea after China restricted exports of rare earths needed for American industry. The Republican president suggested Friday he was looking at a “massive increase” of import taxes on Chinese products in response to Xi’s moves. Trump says one of the policies the U.S. is calculating is "a massive increase of Tariffs on Chinese products coming into the United States." A monthslong calm on Wall Street was shattered, with U.S. stocks falling on the news. The Chinese Embassy in Washington hasn't responded to an Associated Press request for comment.
Most members of the Federal Reserve’s interest-rate setting committee supported further reductions to its key interest rate this year, minutes from last month’s meeting showed.
From Wall Street trading floors to the Federal Reserve to economists sipping coffee in their home offices, the first Friday morning of the month typically brings a quiet hush around 8:30 a.m. eastern, as everyone awaits the Labor Department’s monthly jobs report.
The Supreme Court is allowing Lisa Cook to remain as a Federal Reserve governor for now.
Rep. John Moolenaar has requested an urgent briefing from the White House after Trump supported a deal giving Americans a majority stake in TikTok.
A new report finds the Department of Government Efficiency’s remaking of the federal workforce has battered the Washington job market and put more households in the metropolitan area in financial distress.
A new poll finds U.S. adults are more likely than they were a year ago to think immigrants in the country legally benefit the economy. That comes as President Donald Trump's administration imposes new restrictions targeting legal pathways into the country. The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research survey finds Americans are more likely than they were in March 2024 to say it’s a “major benefit” that people who come to the U.S. legally contribute to the economy and help American companies get the expertise of skilled workers. At the same time, perceptions of illegal immigration haven’t shifted meaningfully. Americans still see fewer benefits from people who come to the U.S. illegally.
