Michael Cohen, Trump's former "fixer," meets with Manhattan D.A. investigators - CBS News

Michael Cohen, erstwhile President Donald Trump's ex-attorney and "fixer," met Tuesday day with investigators from the Manhattan District Attorney's Office, the latest motion that its years-old probe into Trump whitethorn beryllium picking up steam.

Cohen confirmed that helium was asked for an interrogation by investigators for the D.A., Alvin Bragg, arsenic helium arrived for the gathering astatine a authorities bureau gathering successful downtown Manhattan. 

"They're calling maine successful for the 14th time, truthful we'll spot what happens," Cohen said, adding that helium hasn't met with investigators since the existent territory lawyer took bureau much than a twelvemonth ago. "This is my archetypal clip gathering with Alvin Bragg."

The interrogation comes 4 days aft 2 Trump Organization companies were sentenced to wage a combined $1.6 cardinal penalty stemming from a December condemnation connected 17 transgression counts related to taxation fraud.

A spokesperson for Bragg declined to remark Tuesday.

After the astir two-hour interview, Cohen declined to picture the speech helium had with investigators, but said, "It appears that I'll astir apt beryllium gathering with them again."

"They're professional, and they're going to beryllium doing their job," Cohen said.

The Manhattan District Attorney's Office has been investigating Trump and his institution since 2018, astatine archetypal focusing connected alleged "hush money" payments arranged by Cohen to big movie histrion Stormy Daniels. The investigation, launched nether Bragg's predecessor Cyrus Vance Jr., yet became a sweeping probe of Trump's finances that included a palmy Supreme Court conflict for his taxation returns. 

The Trump Organization companies and erstwhile main fiscal serviceman Allen Weisselberg were indicted successful July 2021 successful the taxation fraud case. Trump was not personally charged and has denied wrongdoing.

Weisselberg entered a blameworthy plea and was sentenced to 5 months successful jail. The institution went to proceedings and was convicted connected each counts. 

Cohen himself pleaded guilty to taxation evasion and run concern charges successful 2018 related to the payments to Daniels and was sentenced to 3 years successful national prison. He was released to location confinement astatine the opening of the COVID-19 pandemic, and finished serving his condemnation successful November 2021.

Michael Cohen, erstwhile idiosyncratic lawyer to erstwhile President Donald Trump, leaves from national tribunal successful New York connected Monday, Nov. 22, 2021. Jefferson Siegel/Bloomberg via Getty Images

Last Friday, Bragg said the company's sentencing "closes this important section of our ongoing probe into the erstwhile president and his businesses. We present determination connected to the adjacent chapter." He did not supply immoderate details connected what that "next chapter" mightiness entail.

The D.A.'s probe into Trump appeared to person slowed successful aboriginal 2021 erstwhile respective apical prosecutors moving connected the probe resigned.

Bragg declined to sermon some Daniels and Cohen during an interrogation with CBS News connected Friday.

"I'm not going to corroborate oregon contradict immoderate of the threads that we whitethorn beryllium looking at. It's conscionable important for immoderate charges we whitethorn bring for maine not to speech astir them astatine this time," Bragg said.

Cohen's 2019 legislature grounds astir Trump sparked aggregate investigations, including the Manhattan transgression probe and a civilian suit filed by New York Attorney General Letitia James alleging wide fraud astatine the company.

Cohen is 1 of astatine slightest 2 radical who were antecedently interviewed by investigators and person heard from them again successful caller days, according to a source.

In the fall, investigators began reexamining immoderate of the investigation's earliest threads, including the alleged payments to Daniels, according to different source. 

Bragg has said repeatedly that the probe remained active. Duncan Levin, an lawyer for Jennifer Weisselberg, the erstwhile CFO's ex-daughter-in-law who turned implicit boxes of evidence successful 2021, said Bragg's bureau ne'er appeared to beryllium backing away.

"The information is that the communications to america from the D.A.'s bureau person consistently been that the probe is ongoing. So it doesn't travel arsenic overmuch of a astonishment to america that the D.A.'s bureau is actively doing witnesser interviews," Levin said.

The latest question successful the Manhattan D.A.'s probe comes arsenic Trump is facing ineligible peril connected aggregate fronts. A peculiar expansive assemblage successful Fulton County, Georgia, earlier this period completed its seven-month enquiry into Trump's activities pursuing the 2020 election, delivering to the territory lawyer determination a lengthy study and perchance charging recommendations. The study has not been released to the public. And successful Washington, D.C., a peculiar counsel is reviewing Trump's handling of delicate authorities documents recovered astatine his Mar-a-Lago location and imaginable obstruction of efforts to retrieve them.

Trump has repeatedly decried each 3 investigations, calling them a "witch hunt," and claiming that prosecutors were determined to indict him retired of governmental animus.

Levin said that successful his meetings with Manhattan investigators it "was not my decision that they were focused successful immoderate mode connected indicting erstwhile President Trump."

"They seemed precise focused connected conscionable gathering facts," said Levin, who is simply a erstwhile Manhattan prosecutor. "They ne'er seemed to beryllium pushing the probe successful a peculiar direction."

Jericka Duncan contributed reporting.

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• Michael Cohen
• Donald Trump