Michael Cohen released the foreword of his upcoming book on Thursday, teasing what he claims is a behind-the-scenes expose of his acts as President Donald Trump’s fixer, alleges that Trump worked with Russia to win the 2016 presidential election — from stiffing contractors on a business deal to lying about extra-marital affairs to the President’s attempts to “insinuate himself into the world of President Vladimir Putin.”
“I know where the skeletons are buried because I was the one who buried them,” Cohen wrote in the foreword, which was published Thursday on a website for his tell-all book “Disloyal: A Memoir. The true story of the former personal attorney to President Donald J. Trump.”
“In some ways, I knew him better than even his family did because I bore witness to the real man, in strip clubs, shady business meetings, and in the unguarded moments when he revealed who he really was: a cheat, a liar, a fraud, a bully, a racist, a predator, a con man,” Cohen wrote in the 3,700-word release.
The White House responded to Cohen’s upcoming book, calling it “fan fiction.”
“Michael Cohen’s book is fan fiction. He readily admits to lying routinely but expects people to believe him now so that he can make money from book sales. It’s unfortunate that the media is exploiting this sad and desperate man to attack President Trump,” White House deputy press secretary Brian Morgenstern said.
The White House did not address specific claims made by Cohen in the book’s foreword.
The website and foreword are kick-starting the publicity campaign for Cohen’s claimed to expose on the decade he spent working as Trump’s fixer. Cohen has said he plans to release the book in September so it would be available before the presidential election.
Skyhorse Publishing told in a statement Thursday night that it is the publisher of Cohen’s book. The publishing house has published books by other controversial authors, including Woody Allen’s autobiography and a book by National Enquirer editor Dylan Howard.
On his website, Cohen is selling signed copies for $40 and unsigned hardcovers for $32.50.
Cohen pleaded guilty in 2018 to multiple crimes, including lying to Congress. He was released last month to home confinement after suing the Department of Justice, alleging he was taken back into custody in retaliation for the book. A judge agreed and prosecutors dropped their request to restrain Cohen’s communication with the media.
Now, Cohen is launching his publicity campaign. It began Thursday when Cohen tweeted “coming soon” along with a copy of the book cover, which depicts a photo of him dressed in a suit that is imposed over the bars of a prison cell.
In the foreword, Cohen writes that he has received threats, contemplated suicide and had a panic attack the day of his public testimony before Congress, in what would be the first public airing of his years working for Trump following his guilty plea.
Cohen wrote that he was a “demented follower” who acted as Trump’s bully, fixer and designated thug.
“I stiffed contractors on his behalf, ripped off his business partners, lied to his wife Melania to hide his sexual infidelities, and bullied and screamed at anyone who threatened Trump’s path to power,” Cohen wrote.
“Our cellphones had the same address books, our contacts so entwined, overlapping and intimate that part of my job was to deal with the endless queries and requests, however large or small, from Trump’s countless rich and famous acquaintances,” he wrote.
Cohen also addressed the investigation by former special counsel Robert Mueller into Russia’s interference in the 2016 election and his role on the Trump Tower Moscow project.
When Cohen pleaded guilty, he admitted that he lied when he told Congress that the discussions about the project ended before Trump’s campaign began in earnest — in truth, he said, they continued well into 2016 campaign — and about his communications with members of the Trump family.”
Trump had colluded with the Russians, but not in the sophisticated ways imagined by his detractors. I also knew that the Mueller investigation was not a witch-hunt. Trump had cheated in the election, with Russian connivance, as you will discover in these pages, because doing anything — and I mean anything — to ‘win’ has always been his business model and way of life,” Cohen wrote.
Cohen doesn’t provide details of how Trump allegedly cheated.
He alleges that Trump “attempted to insinuate himself into the world of President Vladimir Putin and his coterie of corrupt billionaire oligarchs. I know because I personally ran that deal and kept Trump and his children closely informed of all updates, even as the candidate blatantly lied to the American people saying, ‘there’s no Russian collusion, I have no dealings with Russia…there’s no Russia.'”
In a court filing, Cohen also said that the book will provide “graphic and unflattering details about the President’s behavior behind closed doors” including Trump’s “pointedly anti-Semitic remarks and virulently racist remarks against such Black leaders as President Barack Obama and Nelson Mandela, neither of whom he viewed as real leaders or as worthy of respect by virtue of their race.” He said the book will be based on personal anecdotes and “documentary evidence.”
Trump’s attorneys sent Cohen a cease-and-desist letter earlier this year to block the publication of the book. Cohen’s attorney, Danya Perry, told CNN’s “New Day” last month that letter said Cohen signed a non-disclosure agreement but the attorney had no recollection of having signed one.
Perry said at the time she wouldn’t be surprised if there wasn’t another legal effort to block the book’s publication.
“Certainly there’s a pattern there, but I expect, just as with some of the previous rulings that we have seen, that attempt will not be successful and this book will be published before the election,” she said.
Last week Cohen informed the judge overseeing his release that an unnamed political action committee has offered him employment to provide consulting services and media appearances. Cohen cannot start any employment without the approval of the Bureau of Prisons, according to the terms of his confinement.
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