Michael Cohen (lawyer)

Michael Cohen
Cohen in 2024
Born	Michael Dean Cohen (1966-08-25) August 25, 1966 (age 58) Lawrence, New York, U.S.
Education	American University (BA) Cooley Law School (JD)
Political party	Democratic (before 2002; 2004–2017; 2018–present) Republican (2002–2004; 2017–2018)
Spouse	Laura Shusterman ​ (m. 1994)​
Children	2
Criminal information
Criminal status	Sentence finished, released under Court supervision of 3 years
Conviction(s)	Fraud; perjury
Criminal charge	5 counts of tax evasion 1 count of making false statements to a financial institution 1 count of willfully causing an unlawful corporate contribution 1 count of making an excessive campaign contribution at the request of a candidate or campaign 1 count of making false statements to a congressional committee
Penalty	3 years in federal prison; fines; asset forfeiture; disbarment

Michael Dean Cohen (born August 25, 1966) is an American lawyer who served as an attorney for former United States president Donald Trump from 2006 to 2018. Cohen served as vice president of the Trump Organization and personal counsel to Trump, often being described as his fixer. Cohen served as co-president of Trump Entertainment and was a board member of the Eric Trump Foundation, a children's health charity. From 2017 to 2018, Cohen was deputy finance chairman of the Republican National Committee.

Trump employed Cohen until May 2018, a year after the special counsel investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. elections began. In August 2018, Cohen pleaded guilty to eight counts including campaign-finance violations, tax fraud, and bank fraud. Cohen said he violated campaign-finance laws at Trump's direction "for the principal purpose of influencing" the 2016 presidential election. In November 2018, Cohen pleaded guilty to lying to U.S. congressional committees about efforts to build a Trump Tower in Moscow.

In December 2018, Cohen was sentenced to three years in federal prison and ordered to pay a $50,000 fine. In February 2019, the New York Supreme Court, Appellate Division, disbarred him from practicing law in the state. In May 2019, he reported to the federal prison near Otisville, New York. In November 2021, he completed his sentence.

In early 2019, Cohen sued the Trump Organization for allegedly failing to reimburse his legal fees; in July 2023, the parties reached a settlement ahead of a planned trial. In early 2023, Trump sued Cohen for allegedly breaching his legal trust; in October 2023, Trump dropped the suit ahead of a planned deposition.