On the eve of congressional testimony, Michael Coh
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Michael Cohen, the former longtime personal attorney of President Trump, was officially disbarred Tuesday.
A panel of five justices at the New York Supreme Court ruled that Cohen had ceased to be an attorney when he was convicted in federal court in November 2018 of making false statements to Congress. The judicial panel ruled that Cohen “ceased to be an attorney upon his federal conviction of making false statements to the United States Congress.”
Back in August 2018, President Trump tweeted: “If anyone is looking for a good lawyer, I would strongly suggest that you don’t retain the services of Michael Cohen!” Today, the justices said that Cohen’s name would be “stricken from the roll of attorneys and counselors-at-law in the State of New York.”
In addition to a felony conviction for lying to Congress, Cohen was also convicted for tax fraud, making false statements to a financial institution, and breaking campaign finance laws. New York state codes make it clear that felony convictions are grounds for losing the ability to practice law.
The official word came Tuesday evening, after the disbarment was widely reported and disputed by a supervisor at the New York Supreme Court’s office. The document was uploaded to the court's public docket later in the day.
Cohen’s conviction for lying to Congress stemmed from false testimony about the timing of a proposed Trump Organization business deal in Russia, dubbed Trump Tower Moscow, which eventually fell through. The Senate Intelligence Committee is widely suspected to have grilled Cohen about his motivation for those lies during his testimony today.
The disbarment wasn’t the only last-minute development on the eve of Cohen's public congressional testimony. Reports emerged that Cohen planned on publicly accusing Trump of criminal activity Wednesday. Democrats rejected last-minute Republican requests for Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein to testify alongside Cohen. And Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., made waves with his personal attack on Cohen.
Wednesday's questioning is likely to be a free-for-all, as Democrats press Cohen on Trump’s business dealings and personal behavior, while Republicans point to his felony conviction for lying as proof of his dishonesty.
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