President Donald Trump is scheduled to conduct a phone interview Thursday with his former attorney Michael Cohen on Cohen's New York City radio show. This broadcast will mark the first public conversation between the two men in eight years, following a period of public conflict during the president's first term. Cohen, who began hosting the radio program last month, stated that he and the president have already met privately three times to reconcile.
The scheduled interview follows a history of legal and personal disputes. Cohen previously served as a key witness for New York prosecutors in a 2024 case where Trump was convicted on 34 counts of falsifying business records. In that trial, Cohen testified that he had engaged in lying and bullying on behalf of his former employer. Prior to their recent reconciliation, Cohen had also publicly criticized the president, including comments in 2024 regarding the Jan. 6 Capitol riot.
In an interview prior to the scheduled broadcast, Cohen said he was uncertain if the discussion would include the topic of presidential clemency. Cohen was sentenced to three years in prison in 2018 on charges related to payments made to conceal an affair involving the president. While Cohen noted that he has previously submitted pardon applications to both the Trump and Biden administrations, he stated he is unsure if he will formally request clemency during this interaction.
The interaction between a sitting president and a former witness against him also draws attention to the use of executive clemency powers. Presidential pardons can be issued at any time during a term, and if granted to Cohen, it would remove the legal record of his federal conviction related to the 2018 hush money charges. This development would impact the Department of Justice records and the New York bar association's oversight of Cohen’s professional standing.
Beyond the immediate legal implications for Cohen, the public reconciliation sets a precedent for how the executive branch interacts with individuals who have provided testimony in criminal proceedings against the officeholder. The scheduled interview on Thursday will serve as the first public indicator of the terms of their reconciliation. Following the broadcast, the next steps depend on whether a formal clemency request is filed or granted, though Cohen stated he has not yet decided if or when he will make such a request.
What happens next: The interview is set to air this Thursday. There is currently no deadline or confirmed date for a decision on a potential pardon, as Cohen stated he does not know if he will pursue the request "down the road."