Michael Cohen, once Donald Trump’s right-hand man, is not packing his bags anymore. Previously, Cohen had vowed to leave the U.S. if Trump secured another presidential term, but now, he’s staying put.
During a live stream that went off the rails, Cohen grappled with viewers who playfully added filters to his face, one being a turkey, which he didn’t find amusing and seemed to be unable to turn off.
“Can we stop with that? I don’t appreciate the stupid turkeys,” he said, as his frustration grew at the cooked turkey hat he was unintentionally sporting. “Let’s just knock that stupid s**t off.”
Despite the online antics, Cohen made it clear, “I said I was leaving and then the following day get that through your dumb heads, the following day I turned around and I said that, ‘there’s no chance in the world that I’m leaving my country thank you very much.'”
Ok this is the funniest thing I’ve seen in a long time.
Michael Cohen is trying to explain his plans to leave the country after Trump won and is getting increasingly mad as livestream viewers add a Turkey filter to his face.pic.twitter.com/kkLuqt0Gfm
— Matt Whitlock (@mattdizwhitlock) November 8, 2024
Yet, more filters, like glowing green laser-eyes, attempted to undercut his message, but Cohen pressed on.
“Not leaving anywhere, you leave. This is my country. I have every right within which to turn around…” he trailed off as he was haunted by another filter.
A viewer had digitally added an Elvis filter, that included huge sunglasses and the King’s signature hairstyle, prompting Cohen to threaten, “Alright two seconds I’m going to end up blocking this idiot.”
Has Michael Cohen moved out of the country with his falsified passport yet? pic.twitter.com/rNvFDMpaoX
— Vince Langman (@LangmanVince) November 7, 2024
Cohen’s livestream was in response to an MSNBC interview he gave earlier this week, where he claimed that he was already exploring options to acquire citizenship elsewhere if Trump reclaimed the White House.
“If Trump wins, ‘I’m out of here,'” he remarked Nicole Wallace on Tuesday, noting he was considering a foreign passport under a new identity. “I have no choice,” the former Trump lawyer said.
Hey @robreiner , @StephenKing , Michael Cohen.
When can we expect your departure? pic.twitter.com/ZLbBLWh3er
— 🇺🇸 Freedom Piper 🇺🇸 (@FreeThinkerInc) November 6, 2024
Cohen testified against Trump as the star-witness in the Stormy Daniels hush-money case, leading to the President-elect’s multiple convictions.
Once an insider at the Trump Organization since 2006, Cohen switched sides mid-presidency when federal scrutiny about Trump and Daniels intensified.
He aided prosecutors in proving that Trump, as a presidential candidate, used Cohen to silence Daniels and avert scandal before the 2016 election.
Following his conviction, Cohen served three years in prison for crimes tied to his work for Trump, which involved lying to Congress.
During the pandemic, he was placed under home detention, but was later returned to prison for refusing to adhere to social media restrictions.
Before Trump’s landslide victory, Cohen faced a setback when the Supreme Court refused to revive his lawsuit against Trump and others, a move Cohen says was retaliation for his critical book about the President-elect.
In the lawsuit, Cohen sought damages from Trump, former Attorney General William Barr, and federal officials.
He claimed his 2020 return to prison was due to his book, “Disloyal,” angering Trump officials.
Cohen’s petition to the Supreme Court argued, “Presidents are not kings,” and pointed out that the Constitution forbids such retaliatory actions “without consequence.”
In 2020, Judge Alvin K. Hellerstein found the Trump administration’s actions violated Cohen’s First Amendment rights, calling the reimprisonment “retaliatory” for Cohen’s desire to express himself freely.
The legal battle has been arduous for Cohen, with two courts ruling against him, referencing a narrow interpretation of a 1971 Supreme Court decision limiting citizens’ ability to sue federal officials for constitutional violations.
Trump’s attorney, Alina Habba, remarked, “Michael Cohen has exhausted every avenue of his pathetic attempt to drag my client into court time and time again. As expected, the Supreme Court has correctly denied Michael Cohen’s petition and he must finally abandon his frivolous and desperate claims.”