During Fox News host Sean Hannity's interview with President Trump that aired Thursday night, the two groused about their former lawyer, Michael Cohen, and credited him with the decision to pay Stormy Daniels $130,000 to stay silent about her alleged affair with Trump.
Discussing Cohen’s House Oversight Committee testimony in which the one-time Trump fixer labeled the president a “conman” and a “cheat,” Trump complained that investigations into him are a “sad thing for our country.” Hannity, who has been described as Trump’s shadow chief of staff, then whined about his own legal association with “the fixer”.
“I was dragged into the Michael Cohen thing,” the Fox host said. “I interviewed him many times on TV. He was never my attorney. He did apologize to me for his attorney saying that in court.”
ADVERTISEMENT
Hannity then set up the president, telling Trump that Cohen had told him “a dozen times that he made the decision on the payments” to Daniels and didn’t tell the president.
“He told me that personally,” Hannity added.
“He did—he made the decision,” Trump responded. “And remember this, he is an attorney. Whatever decision he makes you are supposed to rely on the attorney to make a decision.”
Reiterating that you are supposed to be able to rely on an attorney, Hannity helpfully interjected “attorney-client privilege,” prompting Trump to say “reliance.” Trump said that “people thought” that Cohen was “very bad” in the hearing.
Besides testifying that Trump had him arrange hush payments to hide his alleged affairs during the 2016 presidential election, Cohen also produced a copy of a $35,000 check signed by President Trump in 2017 to reimburse Cohen.
Hannity, meanwhile, said last year after Cohen’s attorney fingered him as Cohen’s mystery third client that he sought Cohen’s advice on real estate but it was only an informal relationship. At the same time, he said on his radio show that he may have paid Cohen ten bucks in order to keep an attorney-client privilege.
