As Donald Trump’s personal attorney Michael Cohen finds himself in mounting legal trouble, Rachel Maddow said the president could be on the verge of pardoning his lawyer in an attempt to “fix” the investigation.
In her broadcast on Wednesday, the MSNBC star said that Trump’s previous behavior makes it pretty apparent: Trump issues pardons whenever he feels like it, no matter how reckless it is.
Video:
Rachel #Maddow warns that Trump could be on the verge of pardoning Michael Cohen. #Trump #Cohen #Pardon #ctl #p2 pic.twitter.com/mjUioeWwNZ
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Maddow explained:
Just as in the Mueller investigation, the separate and now looming investigation into the president’s attorney, Michael Cohen, has had this big question hanging over it. Will the president try to fix this for his personal attorney by using his pardon power? The president has already pardoned at least a couple of people without going through any kind of Justice Department process. There is a whole process at the justice department for dealing with pardons. He has not used that. He’s just pardoned people when he felt like it. Will he do the same thing about the possibility of a Michael Cohen pardon? Would that even help Michael Cohen get out of this fix? Good questions.
Trump will do anything to save himself
For Donald Trump, the bottom line is always about how he will benefit from any given decision he makes.
In other words, Trump wouldn’t pardon Michael Cohen simply because he wants to protect his lawyer. Instead, it’s about protecting himself.
Given how closely the legal fate of Trump and Cohen are linked, it’s likely that if his attorney goes down – he does, after all, have all of Trump’s skeletons in his closet – then the president will fall with him.
This week, Trump called it a “stupid question” when he was asked whether he planned to pardon Michael Cohen. However, like in most cases, just the opposite of what Trump said is true.
Instead, a potential pardon of Cohen will speak volumes about how dangerous the president sees the investigation. We’ve already been given hints of how frightened Trump is since Cohen’s offices were raided.
If he pardons Michael Cohen, we’ll know for sure.
Sean Colarossi currently resides in Cleveland, Ohio. He earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in Journalism from the University of Massachusetts Amherst and was an organizing fellow for both of President Obama’s presidential campaigns. He also worked with Planned Parenthood as an Affordable Care Act Outreach Organizer in 2014, helping northeast Ohio residents obtain health insurance coverage.
