Michael Cohen Hints at Flipping: My First Loyalty Is Not to Trump

Michael Cohen—President Donald Trump’s longtime personal attorney—has signaled that he may be ready to talk to investigators examining Russian meddling in the 2016 election, saying his “first loyalty” is to his family and the country and not the president. In his first interview since the FBI raided his office and homes in April, Cohen hinted to ABC News that he was willing to cooperate with special counsel Robert Mueller. “My wife, my daughter, and my son have my first loyalty and always will,” Cohen told George Stephanopoulos. “I put family and country first.” The lawyer responded angrily when asked how he would respond if Trump’s legal team tried to lay any blame at his door, saying: “I will 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 broke with Trump’s story that the investigation is a “witch hunt” against the president, and appeared to confirm that he believes there was Russian meddling in the election. “I don’t like the term witch hunt,” he said. “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.”