President Trump’s former personal attorney Michael Cohen, who is under a criminal investigation in New York, said his family is his “first loyalty” — possibly signaling his willingness to cooperate with the feds.
“My wife, my daughter and my son have my first loyalty and always will,” Trump’s longtime confidant and fixer told George Stephanopoulos in an off-camera interview on “Good Morning America” that aired Monday.
“I put family and country first,” he added in the first in-depth interview since the FBI raided Cohen’s Rockefeller Center office and his Park Avenue hotel room in April, seizing business records, including documents related to a hush payment he made to porn star Stormy Daniels.
Prosecutors in New York obtained a search warrant after receiving a referral from special counsel Robert Mueller’s team, the group handling the sweeping probe into Russian meddling in the election.
When asked what he’d do if prosecutors forced him to choose between protecting the president and his family, he said his family is “my first priority.”
“Once I understand what charges might be filed against me, if any at all, I will defer to my new counsel, Guy Petrillo, for guidance,” he told Stephanopoulos.
The former Trump loyalist, who once vowed to “do anything” to protect the president, added: “To be crystal clear, my wife, my daughter and my son, and this country have my first loyalty.”
Once Petrillo takes over as Cohen’s lead counsel, a joint defense agreement Cohen shared with Trump, which allowed their attorneys to share material with each other, will come to an end, ABC News has learned.
When asked how he might respond if Trump or his lawyers try to discredit him and the work he did for the president over the last 10 years, Cohen said he would “not be a punching bag as part of anyone’s defense strategy.”
“I am not a villain of this story, and I will not allow others to try to depict me that way,” he added.
Cohen paid Daniels $130,000 in the waning days of the 2016 presidential election — a possible violation of campaign finance law — to keep mum about an alleged decade-old sexual liaison with the president.
The White House has denied that Trump had a sexual encounter with Daniels, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford, though the president has more recently said he was aware Cohen was making the payment at the time.
Cohen has said he made the payment through a Delaware-based LLC.
Stephanopoulos asked Cohen if Trump had directed him to make the payment or promised to reimburse him.
“I want to answer. One day I will answer,” he said, though in the past he said he acted on his own initiative. “But for now, I can’t comment further on advice of my counsel.”
Cohen is under investigation in the Southern District of New York for possible bank and wire fraud, as well as campaign finance violations.
He has not been charged with any crime, but on advice of his counsel, Cohen also declined to address specific questions about matters that are under investigation.
“I respect the prosecutors. I respect the process,” he said. “I would not do or say anything that might be perceived as interfering with their professional review of the evidence and the facts.”
Last month, it was reported that Cohen — who has reportedly felt “let down” and “isolated” by the president — was considering cooperating with the special counsel.
Trump said recently that he was no longer being represented by his longtime confidant.
In the “GMA” interview, Cohen separated himself from the president — including Trump’s criticism of the way the government has been conducting its probe.
Trump has described the FBI’s raid on Cohen’s properties as “an attack on our country,” but Cohen expressed a different view of the bureau’s actions.
“I don’t agree with those who demonize or vilify the FBI. I respect the FBI as an institution, as well as their agents,” Cohen said.
“When they searched my hotel room and my home, it was obviously upsetting to me and my family,” he continued. “Nonetheless, the agents were respectful, courteous and professional. I thanked them for their service and as they left, we shook hands.”
Cohen also refused to criticize the Mueller probe, which Trump has repeatedly labeled a “witch hunt.”
“I don’t like the term ‘witch hunt,’” he said, adding that he condemned Russia for meddling in the 2016 election.
“As an American, I repudiate Russia’s or any other foreign government’s attempt to interfere or meddle in our democratic process, and I would call on all Americans to do the same,” he said.
Cohen also denied any personal involvement with Russian attempts to interfere in the US election and said he never colluded with the Russians in any way.
He did criticize the members of the Trump campaign — Donald Trump Jr., Jared Kushner and Paul Manafort — who took part in the infamous Trump Tower meeting in June 2016 with several Russians after being promised dirt on rival Hillary Clinton.
“I believe it was a mistake by those from the Trump campaign who did participate,” he said. “It was simply an example of poor judgment.”
When asked if President Trump knew about that meeting before it happened, Cohen again declined to answer.
“I can’t comment under advice of my counsel due to the ongoing investigation by the US Attorney’s Office in the Southern District of New York,” Cohen said.
Cohen said he hopes the interview would be a first step in achieving a “resolution.”
“I want to regain my name and my reputation and my life back,” he said.