President Trump’s personal lawyer Michael Cohen on Wednesday tried to distance himself from Evgeny Freidman after the “Taxi King” entered into a plea deal with the state attorney general that could result in him cooperating in the federal investigation into Cohen.
“I am one of thousands of medallion owners who entrust management companies to operate my medallions according to the rules of the NYC Taxi and Limousine Commission,” Cohen wrote on his Twitter account. “Gene Freidman and I are not partners and have never been partners in this business or any other.”
In a statement from Freidman, read aloud on CNN’s “Anderson Cooper 360” Tuesday evening, Freidman acknowledged his business relationship with Cohen.“I plead guilty to a felony. I am humble and shamed. This is me taking responsibility for my action. Michael is a dear, dear personal friend and a passive client. That’s it,” Freidman said in the statement, sent to and read on the show by New York Times reporter Maggie Haberman.
Freidman pleaded guilty in Albany to one count of evading $50,000 worth of taxes. He had been facing four counts of criminal tax fraud and one count of grand larceny.
He faces five years of probation instead of 100 years in prison.
Cohen’s home and office were raided by the FBI last month in a search of business records, emails and documents about a $130,000 payment he made to porn star Stormy Daniels.
The lawyer paid off Daniels less than two weeks before the 2016 election to keep quiet about an affair she alleges she had with Trump in 2006.
Cohen is under “criminal investigation” by the US attorney in Manhattan.
Kaja Whitehouse contributed reporting.