Michael Cohen's Former Lawyer Says Donald Trump Should Be Pardoned
Former Trump attorney Michael Cohen (L) and his then-attorney Lanny Davis (R) arrive for a closed hearing before the House Intelligence Committee at the U.S. Capitol March 6, 2019 in Washington, DC. Inset: Former President Donald Trump speaks during a rally in Racine, Wisconsin, on Tuesday, June 18, 2024.
Michael Cohen's former lawyer and adviser, Lanny Davis, wrote in a column for RealClearPolitics that former President Donald Trump should be pardoned and have his sentence commuted.
In his column, Davis said Democratic President Joe Biden should "show grace and the necessary deflating of the hyper-partisanship of the 2024 presidential campaign by announcing his support for a pardon and commutation for his opponent."
Trump was found guilty on May 30 of all 34 felony counts of falsifying business records in connection with a hush-money payment to adult film actress Stormy Daniels. He was accused of arranging a $130,000 payment before the 2016 election for Cohen, his then-lawyer and longtime "fixer," to pay Daniels to keep quiet about a sexual encounter she alleges she had with the then-real estate mogul.
The money was listed in The Trump Organization records as "legal fees," which prosecutors said was part of an unlawful attempt to influence the outcome of the 2016 presidential race. Trump, the presumptive 2024 Republican presidential nominee, became the first former president with a felony record in American history. He is scheduled to be sentenced in Manhattan on July 11.
Davis noted that Kathy Hochul, New York's Democratic governor, would have to make the official decision on a pardon and commutation since Trump's hush-money conviction was a state case. However, he believes Hochul "would be receptive to the president's entreaties, especially if he assured her privately of his sincerity."
"By announcing his support for a Trump pardon, Joe Biden will also be upholding another fundamental principle: that the most important decision in our Republic – the election of the president of the United States – should be decided at the ballot box and not in a courtroom," Davis's column concludes.
Cohen and Davis have deep ties. In 2018, Cohen hired Davis to represent him during his testimony before Congress regarding his work and dealings with Trump. Davis also represented Cohen in August 2018 when he pleaded guilty to tax fraud, bank fraud and violation of campaign finance laws.
Davis frequently spoke out in support of Cohen during televised interviews amid his much-anticipated testimony during Trump's hush-money trial.
Newsweek emailed Davis on Wednesday morning for comment.
When reached for comment about Davis's column, Cohen replied to Newsweek's email Wednesday by saying only that Davis was his "former adviser."
Davis, who was special White House counsel to President Bill Clinton and was appointed by George W. Bush to serve on a panel to advise the president after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, said he was "once angry" with President Gerald Ford's decision to pardon former President Richard Nixon in 1974. However, he now believes that Ford made the right decision for the country.
"In his wisdom, Ford realized that the healing process could never begin as long as Nixon's behavior was the subject of criminal prosecutions. Since Donald Trump was tried and convicted, a cornerstone our democracy – the rule of law – has been upheld. Incarcerating Trump would undermine that message by making him a martyr to his followers," Davis wrote.
Davis also argued in the column that Hunter Biden, President Biden's son, should receive a pardon from Trump, if he were to win a second term as president.
Hunter Biden was convicted of all three felony counts in his federal gun trial on June 11. A jury in Wilmington, Delaware, found the president's son guilty of lying to a federally licensed gun dealer, making false claims on the application by saying he was not a drug user and illegally having the revolver for 11 days.
"And I would hope that Trump – were he to win in November – would personally pardon Hunter Biden," he wrote.
Davis says in the column that he "fervently hopes" Trump doesn't win, but he believes Biden can "forestall that disaster" by pardoning his political rival.
"Although Ford's decision in 1974 was politically courageous, and right for the country, it came with a steep political cost. Ford almost certainly lost the 1976 presidential election because of the Nixon pardon," Davis wrote.
"But President Biden is in a different situation. I believe that in this case the right thing for the country would also be politically popular, albeit not among most of his most vocal anti-Trump Democratic base. Donald Trump was indicted and convicted by a jury of his peers. So a fundamental principle of our Constitution – that no person is above the law – has been upheld."
Newsweek emailed the Biden and Trump campaigns Wednesday afternoon for comment.
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