Disloyal: The True Story of the Former Personal Attorney to President Trump by Michael Cohen

Early in this book, the author describes how his boss, Donald Trump, long before becoming president, would stiff contractors and other people out of payments promised to them. Cohen, who was so pleased when he got the job working with Trump, was gleeful and overjoyed and he became Trump’s go-to man or fixer. He also would deceive other people and withhold funds due to them and work closely with Donald Trump when he was running his real estate business. Cohen described how his boss was a “cheat, liar, a predator, and a con man” (and a lot more). Cohen agreed that he himself had many of these characteristics when interacting with other people especially in his role as Trump’s special personal attorney. He was also very blunt about how exciting and energizing this kind of behavior was for him.

Initially, Cohen thought that he would be continuing this role when Trump entered the White House. However, he soon found himself as the target of federal prosecutors for things that he had done in the past, many of them for Trump. At this time, Cohen admitted that he manipulated and deceived in regard to paying federal taxes as well as other illegal activity. He gave the reader the impression that he felt that the charges against him were obviously based on truth. He believed he was forced to agree to lesser charges and accept a guilty plea; otherwise, not only would he be charged with more severe crimes but his wife, who had nothing to do with illegal activities according to Cohen, would also be charged. Cohen ended up in a low security prison sentenced to 36 months, most of it being spent at a prison for nonviolent offenders and eventually on home arrest. Cohen related how Trump distanced himself from Cohen once he was in the White House and Trump and his attorneys actually tried to prevent Cohen from writing this book and therefore illegally taking away his freedom of speech. Obviously, they failed as the book is now published.

It is amazing that despite the fact that Cohen himself was always willing to do anything for his boss and obviously did a lot more than he acknowledged in the book, Trump nevertheless totally abandoned him. Michael Cohen, while admitting his own crimes, made it absolutely clear that President Trump has been a liar, a cheat, and a criminal. As of this writing, it appears that Cohen will serve out his sentence probably at home arrest or in a low security prison

It remains to be seen if Trump will figure out how to be elected to a second term and what criminal charges will be made against him should he become a private citizen, Of course the question is whether Trump, if he loses the election will himself have to go to jail? (2020)