Attorneys who have been representing President Donald Trump‘s lawyer Michael Cohen during a federal criminal investigation will be leaving the case, according to a new report from ABC News. The report also seems to confirm recent fears expressed by Trump’s allies, as sources told the network that Cohen is now likely to cooperate with prosecutors.
Stephen Ryan and Todd Harrison of the law firm McDermott, Will & Emery LLP were representing Cohen during a legal battle regarding the seizure of Cohen’s files in FBI raids of his home, hotel room, and office. Cohen’s team is in the process of going through millions of documents to sift out privileged materials, but with a deadline for this approaching on Friday, the firm will reportedly not be involved in the matter afterwards.
This news comes after a recent Vanity Fair report that Cohen was worried he may be arrested in the near future, although Cohen denied that this was true.
The same report cited Trump allies who claimed that Cohen’s situation was “at least as ominous as the obstruction investigation,” as far as the president is concerned.
“Donald is very worried,” one Republican said to be close to Trump said.
“Trump should be super worried about Michael Cohen [flipping],” a former White House official said, noting, “If anyone can blow up Trump, it’s him.”
Law&Crime reached out to both Mr. Ryan and Mr. Harrison for comment, but they did not immediately respond.
The investigation is reported to be regarding possible campaign finance violations related to the $130,000 payment made to adult film star Stormy Daniels in exchange for her silence regarding an affair she claims to have had with Trump. Additionally, investigators are looking into possible bank fraud.
Matt Naham contributed to this report.
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