Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

Michael Cohen tweets story warning that his meetings with DA are ‘not good news’ for Trump

Manhattan DA investigating whether ex-president or his company committed tax fraud, insurance fraud or falsification of business records

Nathan Place
New York
Saturday 13 March 2021 21:47 GMT
Comments
Trump confirms daughter in law will run for office at dog event

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

Former Trump lawyer Michael Cohen appeared to imply on Saturday that bad news is headed for his former boss.

Quoting a legal expert on MSNBC, Cohen retweeted a story on Twitter that his many meetings with Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance were “not good news for #Trump.”

Mr Vance has been investigating the Trump Organization for possible financial crimes since 2018. Recently, Cohen has had seven meetings with the Manhattan DA, and has reportedly been invited to an eighth – a sign that Donald Trump may be indicted soon, analysts have suggested.

“The fact that he’s been there seven times and is rumoured to be going back for an eighth time is not good news for Trump,” said Joyce Vance, the legal expert Cohen quoted.

Ms Vance was the US Attorney for the Northern District of Alabama from 2009 to 2017, and specialised in fraud cases. (She is not related to Cyrus Vance.)

“Michael Cohen can explain a lot of the evidence the Manhattan DA has in hand," Ms Vance told MSNBC’s Ali Velshi. "He may have been around a lot of the transactions, he may be able to look at the underlying taxes and tell them who was in the room. He can help guide them to the best evidence and help them understand transactions that may have been criminal conduct."

The Manhattan DA is investigating whether Mr Trump or his company committed tax fraud, insurance fraud or falsification of business records.

Other experts have said they expect indictments soon as well. John Dean, the former White House counsel who testified against President Nixon, said he knew “from personal experience” that the DA would not hold so many meetings with Mr Cohen unless it was planning to bring charges.

“It is only a matter of how many days until DA Vance indicts Donald & Co,” Mr Dean tweeted on Wednesday.

Earlier this month, Mr Vance’s office won a huge victory when the US Supreme Court allowed it to obtain millions of pages of Mr Trump’s tax returns, business records, and documents from his accountants.

Mr Cohen called the ruling a “holy grail.”

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in