Michael Cohen, the one-time personal attorney and self-proclaimed “fixer,” for President Donald Trump, has hired a new attorney, Guy Petrillo, Vanity Fair reported Tuesday. The move comes a week after it was reported that he had parted ways with his legal team, Stephen Ryan and Todd Harrison.
According to his website, Petrillo has represented clients in civil and criminal litigation and that from 2008 to 2009 he served as Chief for the criminal division U.S. Attorney’s office for the Southern District of New York, the district that is handling the Cohen investigation.
Ryan and Harrison are expected to remain on the case until the privilege review of the more than 3.7 million seized items from his home, office, and hotel, is complete, ABC news reported Tuesday. Prosecutors and Cohen’s attorney’s have settled on June 25th as the date the review, with special master Barbara Jones overseeing the process, is to be completed.
On Wednesday as reported by ABC news Cohen has resigned his post as deputy chair of the RNC’s Finance Committee.
Citing an email ABC quotes Cohen as writing to the RNC Chairman, Ronna McDaniel that, “This important role requires the full time attention and dedication of each member. Given the ongoing Mueller and SDNY investigations, that simply is impossible for me to do.”
He adds according to ABC a rare criticism of the administration, specifically their policy of separating children from their parents at the border, “as the son of a Polish holocaust survivor, the images and sounds of this family separation policy is heart wrenching. While I strongly support measures that will secure our porous borders, children should never be used as bargaining chips.”
CNN news reported on Wednesday that his resignation was confirmed to them by an RNC official, who said McDaniel accepted Cohen’s resignation.
Cohen’s resignation from the finance committee is the third one this year, in January Steve Wynn resigned over allegations of sexual misconduct, followed in April by another deputy chair, Elliott Broidy, who stepped down when it was reported he allegedly paid off a Playboy playmate with whom he had an affair.
Also on Wednesday it was reported first by the Wall Street Journal, then confirmed via CNN, that the National Enquirer has been served a subpoena in connection to the Southern District of New York’s investigation into Cohen’s financial dealings.
The subpoena is for records that pertain to the $150,000 dollar payment that the Enquirer paid former Playboy model Karen McDougal, who sued, then settled with, American Media Inc, the Enquirer’s parent company, in order to be freed to talk about her alleged affair with President Trump.
In a statement, while American media inc did not address the subpoena directly they stated, via CNN, that the company “has, and will continue to, comply with any and all requests that do not jeopardize or violate its protected sources or materials pursuant to our first amendment rights.”
Michael Cohen has not been charged with any crimes.
