One of the details that immediately jumped off the pages of Southern District of New York (SDNY) prosecutors’ Friday sentencing memo for
Michael Cohen has to do with “Individual-1,” also known as President
Donald Trump.
Prosecutors were pretty open about who Individual-1 was from the start and how he came to “direct” Cohen to commit felonies:
On approximately June 16, 2015, Individual-1, for whom Cohen worked at the time, began an ultimately successful campaign for President of the United States. Cohen had no formal title with the campaign, but had a campaign email address, and, at various times advised the campaign, including on matters of interest to the press. Cohen also made media appearances as a surrogate and supporter of Individual-1. During the campaign, Cohen played a central role in two similar schemes to purchase the rights to stories – each from women who claimed to have had an affair with Individual-1 – so as to suppress the stories and thereby prevent them from influencing the election. With respect to both payments, Cohen acted with the intent to influence the 2016 presidential election. Cohen coordinated his actions with one or more members of the campaign, including through meetings and phone calls, about the fact, nature, and timing of the payments.
Then came to key line: “In particular, and as Cohen himself has now admitted, with respect to both payments, he acted in coordination with and at the direction of Individual-1.”
Federal Prosecutors ‘Concluded that President of the United States Committed a Felony’