Former Donald Trump fixer Michael Cohen has been schmoozing the president since June 2025, revealed journalist Tara Palmeri when speaking to CNN, and there’s a big reason why.
The journalist told the network in a Friday morning interview that Cohen asked her for Trump’s phone number last year and he teased that he thought he could get back “in” with Trump. Not long after she handed over the number, Palmeri said that Cohen met with Trump at his Bedminster club in New Jersey.
According to Palmeri this all goes back to Cohen wanting a pardon.
“This is absolutely about a pardon,” she said flatly.
She noted that when President Joe Biden left office without giving Cohen a pardon, he complained that Hunter Biden got a pardon when he didn’t.
“He was very angry when he didn’t get one,” she recalled. “You even heard him again, back on MS NOW saying, ‘I’m someone’s son, too’ after Hunter Biden got a pardon and he didn’t. He then created this proposal to pardon all nonviolent felons, 70 million, including himself. This was something he proposed during the Biden administration.”
Now Cohen has proposed the same in the Trump administration.
“This was always about getting a pardon,” she explained. “And he’s very useful to President Trump. I mean, he does hold on to all of his secrets. He was a fixer for so many years. He handled cases like Karen McDougall and Stormy Daniels. Ostensibly, any other people that have had these issues with President Trump in the past. And Trump was particularly vulnerable. I think he saw an opening.”
Palmeri went on to say that since that intial contact with Trump he’s alleged that Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg “coerced” his testimony.
If he’s able to prove that in court, it could get Trump’s conviction of 34 felony counts thrown out.
“So, they need each other. In a way, this is a convenient reunion,” Palmeri alleged. “They’re being, I think, they’re being opportunistic, both of them. But maybe there is this sick love affair happening. I mean, even on the stand, [Cohen] admitted that he had this obsession with President Trump. I mean, it’s very interesting to me, that Michael Cohen can make these flip-flops, but he does the same thing in conversations. He’ll say one thing and then he’ll say another. And it’s almost — it’s very difficult to follow him.”
If he doesn’t get a Trump pardon, Palmeri said she expects Cohen to be furious.