A review of Michael Cohen's book.
President Donald Trump is an enigma to outsiders. In fact, he is a puzzle to his friends and close associates. He is a man of action, but his actions are based on impulse. He never prepares or plans. He acts and reacts only on impulse. Sometimes his instincts serve him well. Sometimes they lead him over the abys, taking others along for the ride.
Michael Cohen worked closely with Trump for over a decade. He saw him in action, his successes and his failures. Drawn into Trump’s orbit he served as Trump’s fixer. When Trump or his brand was threatened, Cohen stepped in wielding a club of intimidation and tricky dealing. Cohen relished the role until it ultimately destroyed him.
Cohen is now a “reformed” man with an obvious axe to grind. So bitter is the animosity between Trump and his former lawyer/fixer that Cohen served part of a 3 year prison sentence for protecting Donald Trump. Released early due to COVID, Cohen soon found himself headed back to prison for writing this book. Why would Trump have our American government’s Department of Justice imprison someone for writing a damn book? That is why Disloyal is a must read.
The Trump real estate and branding empire was built on bluster and deceit with a ton of inheritance thrown in. Cohen was Trump’s first and last call of the day. He knew stuff. He massaged Trump’s ego while enduring a full measure of Trump’s abuse. He bullied people for Trump. He stuck his neck out for Trump. He told a reporter he would take a bullet for Trump. He relished the chaos of Trump’s world. In the end, he lost everything and went to jail for an unindicted co-conspirator referred to as Individual 1. If you don’t know who Individual 1 is, you haven’t been paying attention.
The book begins with a deeply self-searing confession of the author’s own failings. Cohen sees himself transformed from an attack dog lackey for Trump into someone who cares about truth, integrity and redemption. You don’t have to like Cohen or believe in his reformation to gain insights from his book. He was there through most of the events that created our 45th president. If you have been reading the tweets or watching the news, you will recognize much truth in what Cohen has to say.
The picture painted of Donald Trump is both simple and straight-forward. He is a man who takes advantage of opportunities, loopholes and people. He is devoid of conscience and integrity. His actions and rhetoric only serve himself. If you cross Trump or get in trouble for doing his bidding, he hardly knew you. Countless business associates, employees, venders and cabinet officials have found this out the hard way. Cohen relates several episodes from first-hand experience. In one example, Trump ordered inferior paint for the rehabilitation of his Doral resort. When it didn’t hold up, he blamed others. The manufacturer was threatened with a lawsuit and bad publicity. They coughed up 30,000 gallons of premium paint. The painting contractor never got paid and the supplier had to sue. Several similar tales are covered in the book.
There are some great insights into the people of Trump’s world. His view of his own kids is explored. The failings of his first Campaign manager, Cory Lewandowsky are illuminated. Cohen does a fairly good job of explaining how Trump could capture the support of ordinary working Americans. He capitalized on their fears, religious furor, economic woes and need to blame others for their lack of success. In the end he became their messiah, the all-powerful leader who would address all of their woes. Like the Messiah, he would be perfect, decisive and bold.
Though Cohen appears rehabilitated, there are some parts of the book that seem a trifle self-serving. He presents the Trump Tower Moscow project which he initially lied to Congress about as a half-baked deal that never got off the ground. He dismisses the Steele Dossier as poorly researched and full of unverified rumors. At the same time, he gives credibility to the salacious “Pee Tape” by relating a similar account he witnessed with Trump in Las Vegas. He is appalled by the dossier’s frequent mentions of his own involvement with Russians. Apart from the now debunked assertion that he met Russians in Prague, he fails to mention which other parts of the dossier are not true. (To be fair, he included excerpts from Steele’s dossier in an appendix.)
Cohen is also highly critical of the SDNY’s methods in bringing him to justice. He claims the tax evasion charges related to his side business in Taxi medallions was due to a crooked partner. He rightly asserts that he had little or nothing to do with the “catch and kill” payoff scheme for Playboy model Karen McDougal. This would leave the Stormy Daniels payoff to protect Trump his only real crime.
Lastly, Cohen describes how William Barr’s Justice Department did everything possible, to include sending him back to prison, to keep him from telling his story. Whether you like Cohen or not, his victory in court was a big win for our First Amendment rights.
I would recommend you buy and read this book. Many of Cohen’s assets have been seized, and he could lose the proceeds from the book as well. His only remaining asset could be the truth. That is a precious commodity in the Trump Era.
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