Will he be another John Dean, who was Richard Nixon's lawyer who turned on him and revealed some of the darkest Watergate secrets? Or will he be loyal to the end, remaining silent and receive, he would hope, a presidential pardon from Trump? Each choice is fraught with risk.
I don't know if I agree with this statement by the article's author: "Trump, for his part, has enormous power to punish ... Cohen. As President, Trump can ... use the full law-enforcement power of the federal government to punish him."
Not really. Federal law prevents any President from ordering the Justice Department to prosecute someone. And if Cohen is already working with federal prosecutors and testifying against Trump, those prosecutors will work on the plea deal and, by law, cannot be directed by the White House.
Cohen has made vague noises in recent days that he is inclined to squeal and deal rather than remain silent. He said in an interview that his greatest loyalty was to his family, not the President.
Of course, of greatest interest to the general public is -- what does Cohen know? Prosecutors would only offer him a plea deal if he has knowledge and evidence of any criminal acts by Trump himself, so presumably something is there, given ongoing discussions between Cohen's lawyers and Justice Department lawyers.
Special Counsel Robert Mueller, who is conducting the criminal investigation in to Donald Trump, brilliantly handed off the Cohen matter to the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York. So if Trump can somehow derail Mueller's investigation or fire him, the case against Cohen will continue.
But the biggest question of all will be if Cohen sings and tells of Trump's criminal deeds, will Republicans in Congress continue to look the other way? Or will the American people grow so outraged that members of Congress put their own reelection chances ahead of any loyalty to Trump.
Time will probably tell. Stay tuned.
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