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Trump advises against Michael Cohen's legal services

By REBECCA MORIN

President Donald Trump on Wednesday bashed Michael Cohen as not a "good lawyer" and recommended against his services in his first public comments since the president's former personal lawyer pleaded guilty to eight charges, including for hush money payments he said were designed to sway the election.

"If anyone is looking for a good lawyer, I would strongly suggest that you don’t retain the services of Michael Cohen!" the president wrote in a tweet.

Cohen, who spent more than a decade aiding Trump including as a senior official at the Trump Organization, on Tuesday pleaded guilty in a Manhattan federal court to eight charges that included tax evasion, financial fraud and campaign finance violations.

During his courtroom appearance, Cohen said he was advised by Trump to make payments to adult-film actress Stormy Daniels and ex-Playboy model Karen McDougal in "for the purposes of influencing the election.”

Both Daniels and McDougal claimed to have had an affair with Trump, which the president has denied.

The relationship between Cohen and Trump publicly deteriorated over the past few months, and significantly worsened when it was revealed that Cohen had secretly recorded him.

Cohen's attorney, Lanny Davis, said Wednesday that Trump's meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin was a "significant turning point" for Cohen in deciding to turn against the president.

It's a far cry from when Cohen said in a Fox News interview last year that he would "take a bullet" for Trump and when the then-candidate offered high praise for his longtime lawyer and fixer.

"Michael Cohen is a very talented lawyer. He’s a good lawyer in my firm," Trump said at a news conference in January 2017, shortly before he was sworn in.

Cohen will be sentenced on Dec. 12. He is currently out on $500,000 bail, and is limited to travel within New York City, and to a few notable places, such as Washington, D.C.