This article is an opinion piece that expresses skepticism about former Trump lawyer Michael Cohen's claims of turning against the president and seeking redemption. A journalist from The Daily Beast recounts an experience where Cohen, on behalf of Donald Trump, threatened to sue them for publishing a story in 2015, and notes that they never believed Cohen's later claims of switching sides. The article suggests that Team Trump is interested in using Cohen as a tool to go after their enemies.
Written by the local model on 2026-08-28,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
Story summary
Here's a summary of the news story:
Michael Cohen, a former lawyer for Donald Trump, is being considered by Team Trump to use as a way to go after their enemies. In recent years, Cohen has switched sides and become a key witness in cases against Trump, including a civil fraud case and a criminal hush-money case. The article suggests that Team Trump sees an opportunity to discredit Cohen's testimony by painting him as a snitch or a liar. This comes after Prince Andrew was stripped of his royal title last year, which the author notes is relevant because it shows how quickly public opinion can turn against someone who has been accused of wrongdoing.
Written for “Michael Cohen Strategy Revealed” on 2026-08-31,
grounded in this article and the 0 other(s) covering the same event.
Why this leaning score
The article's own words the score was based on. Each is quoted
verbatim and was checked against the article text before being
stored, so you can find it in the original.
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You gotta hear this…
right the author is mocking the way Cohen presented himself
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Cohen made an ass out of himself by spouting borderline-illiterate bullshit about spousal rape
right the author is criticizing Cohen's behavior and language
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I never once bought it. You can scroll through my public output and social media posts.
right the author is expressing skepticism about Cohen's claims
Leaning score +0.85 for article 3019 (high confidence, 3 verified quotes) · logged 2026-08-28
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How trust is scored.
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On this day in 2021, Britain’s Prince Andrew was served with a U.S. federal lawsuit alleging he sexually abused a teenager, Virginia Giuffre, under the auspices of Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell.
asserted
he → serve → Epstein
The suit was ultimately settled for around $16 million.
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suit → settle → million
Last year, Andrew was stripped of his royal title.
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Andrew → strip → title
We made it to Thursday!
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We → make → Thursday
It’s Swin again.
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It → ’ → ?
If you work in political media and you, for a second, bought former Trump lawyer and fixer Michael Cohen’s schtick of turning on the president and earnestly seeing the error of his mean and Trumpy ways, you might want to consider early retirement.
uncertain
you → work → retirement
Your readers or listeners could use the upgrade.
uncertain
readers → use → upgrade
In today’s ’First Draft,’ we’ll dig into Team Trump’s growing interest in weaponizing the man they once dubbed MAGA-land’s premier sniveling snitch.
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they → dig → man
Plus, anti-vax Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. says the deaths of two unvaccinated people in Pennsylvania during a growing measles outbreak are totally not his fault, and Donald Trump has an interview love-in with [checks notes from the Age of Obama] Glenn Beck.
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notes → say → Beck
Let’s read on.
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’s → let → ?
When I was working at the Daily Beast’s Washington bureau in 2015, future President Donald Trump, via his attorney Michael Cohen, threatened to destroy my best friend and colleague, Tim Mak.
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Trump → work → friend
I vividly recall the moment Tim stepped out of our mini conference room, clicking his little recorder and telling us as he chuckled: You gotta hear this…
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You → recall → this
Tim had just reached out to the 2016 Trump campaign for comment for a story that would soon be headlined: “Ex-Wife: Donald Trump Made Me Feel ‘Violated’ During Sex.”
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Me → reach → Sex
Trump did not appreciate it, so he sicced Cohen on my future best man.
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he → appreciate → man
The Trump attorney shouted and swore, vowing to sue Tim and the Beast into oblivion.
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attorney → shout → oblivion
(You can listen to some of the hilarious audio here, of a reporter standing his ground and of a small man trying to make himself sound big.)
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himself → listen → man
The Beast published the story, Cohen made an ass out of himself by spouting borderline-illiterate bullshit about spousal rape, and his promised world-altering lawsuit didn’t happen.
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lawsuit → publish → rape
In the years that followed, Cohen got raided by the feds, very publicly fell out with President Trump, cuddled up to the anti-MAGA “resistance,” and became a key witness in New York Attorney General Letitia James’s civil fraud case against Trump, as well as in Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s criminal hush-money case against Trump.
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Cohen → follow → Trump
Bragg’s case, of course, is the reason Trump became America’s first felon president, a label Trump bitterly resents.
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Trump → become → course
In all those years of Cohen claiming he’d seen the light and had made an anti-Trump turnaround, I never once bought it.
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I → claim → it
You can scroll through my public output and social media posts.
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You → scroll → output
It was always clear to me (not just as a close friend of someone he profanely threatened with financial ruin, but as a political reporter employing a shred of common sense and instinct) that Cohen was still the same guy: a gross habitual liar.
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Cohen → threaten → sense
It was just that his circumstances and benefactors changed.
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circumstances → change → ?
Now Cohen – who is seeking a federal pardon, which Trump has the power to grant – has switched sides again.
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Trump → seek → sides
And the Trump-Vance administration has taken notice.
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administration → take → notice
