Who Is Michael Cohen? Trump’s Personal Lawyer Is Focus Of Russia Investigation

The federal investigation into possible collusion with Russia was extended to President Donald Trump’s personal lawyer, Michael Cohen, ABC News reported Tuesday. Cohen was asked to “provide information and testimony” about any connections he had to Russian officials, he confirmed.

“I declined the invitation to participate, as the request was poorly phrased, overly broad and not capable of being answered,” Cohen told ABC News in an email Tuesday.

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Cohen, who was an executive vice president at the Trump Organization, signed on as the president’s personal attorney in January. Cohen had served on the Trump Organization for more than 10 years before taking the position.

The Senate Select Intelligence Committee voted Thursday that its leaders would be allowed to issue any subpoenas they thought were necessary following Cohen’s refusal to participate, according to ABC News.

Before Tuesday's reports, Cohen was involved in the unverified dossier released to the FBI by Sen. John McCain which said Cohen worked with the Russians to hack the 2016 national election. Cohen told ABC News in January that the contents of the dossier were “laughably false.” A portion of the dossier alleged that Cohen had gone to Prague to meet with Russian officials in August, a claim denounced by Trump himself.

“I said, ‘I want to see your passport,’” Trump said a press conference in January. “He brings his passport to my office. I say, ‘Hey, wait a minute. He didn’t leave the country. He wasn’t out of the country.’ They had Michael Cohen of the Trump Organization in Prague. It turned out to be a different Michael Cohen. It’s a disgrace what took place. It’s a disgrace and I think they ought to apologize to start with Michael Cohen.”

Cohen himself has been a longtime champion of Trump, defending him against reports that his campaign was tanking in August.

“I’ve got to stop you for one second,” he said in an August appearance on CNN. “There’s no shake-up. There are no desperate measures. The campaign is on its way to victory and yet you still use these ridiculous words in order to incite something. Please understand that nobody is buying into it anymore.”

According to New York real estate news publication The Real Deal, Cohen made a name for himself within the Trump Organization as a “pitbull” who would go to bat for Trump.

“To those of us who are close to Mr. Trump, he is more than our boss,” Cohen told the Jewish Chronicle before Trump became president. “He is our patriarch."