Everything Michael Cohen Said About Potential Trump Pardon

Michael Cohen was asked whether he'd petitioned President Donald Trump for a potential pardon during an appearance on CNN Thursday, ahead of Trump's appearance on Cohen's New York radio program, 77 WABC.

Key points

• Trump and Michael Cohen had a close professional and personal relationship for roughly 15 years, beginning when Cohen joined the Trump Organization in 2006.
• Cohen remarked his full interview with the president is due to air on his Sunday show, When You Know You Know, at 5 p.m.
• Cohen adamantly informed Tapper that he refuses to be pulled back into "yesterday's news" and that he truly believes "there is forgiveness between Donald Trump and myself."
• Newsweek reached out to the White House via email Thursday evening for comment.
• During the radio preview clip with Cohen, Trump remarked that he respected the fact that Cohen "recanted."

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While Cohen referred to the president as "boss." The preview aired after Cohen appeared on CNN with anchor Jake Tapper, where Cohen said his relationship with Trump is "being resuscitated.", trump appeared on Cohen's radio program in a roughly 15-minute preview segment that aired Thursday, with the two discussing 2016, Iran, poll numbers, gasoline rates and more.

Newsweek reached out to the White House via email Thursday evening for comment. Has Cohen Asked Trump for a Pardon?

When Tapper asked whether he has asked the president for a pardon, he replied, "I have not."

He went on to note that he had a pardon application in with former President Joe Biden, but it was denied.

"So, what I did is I took that same application, with the same documentation, and I just rewrote the cover letter, removing the name of President Joe Biden and inserting the name President Donald Trump, " Cohen remarked.

He continued that he has not received an acknowledgment that they have the application and intends to call tomorrow to follow up.

Legal analyst Elie Honig remarked on CNN after Cohen's interview with the outlet, "It's a fascinating social experiment; he took the exact same pardon application, backed by a bunch of liberal prominent voices. It was not acted on by Biden, and now he's resubmitted it to Trump. I don't know if the same individuals will stand by him now that he has come out and stated I felt pressured and coerced."

"There never does seem to be a full final end to a relationship between Donald Trump and anyone else, but man I never would have expected this, " Honig afterwards went on.

Cohen became one of Trump's most trusted advisers and was frequently described as his personal lawyer and "fixer, " handling sensitive matters for the businessman-turned-politician. Cohen was a staunch defender of Trump during his 2016 presidential campaign and afterwards stated he had been willing to "take a bullet" for him. Their relationship began to unravel in 2018 as federal investigators examined Cohen's business dealings and his role in alleged payments created during the 2016 campaign.

As well as afterwards admitting that he had lied to Congress concerning efforts to build a Trump Tower in Moscow, the rupture became particularly bitter after Cohen pleaded guilty in 2018 to federal charges involving tax and bank fraud and campaign-finance violations. Cohen subsequently became a vocal critic of Trump and a key prosecution witness, including during Trump's New York criminal trial over the handling of a payment to Stormy Daniels. Trump, in turn, publicly attacked Cohen and questioned his credibility. A Manhattan jury ultimately discovered Trump guilty on 34 felony counts of falsifying business records in 2024.

Cohen notably remarked in January that he felt "pressured and coerced" by prosecutors from the Manhattan District Attorney's Office and New York Attorney General's Office to provide information and testimony that would assist build their cases against Trump. Cohen has maintained that prosecutors pushed for testimony that fit their narrative, a claim that Trump has since seized on.

Thursday's interview highlights a remarkable turn in the pair's history. "This is the first public conversation between the president and myself, " Cohen previously informed Newsweek. "Two friends for 15 years."

Cohen informed CNN last month that he and the president had buried the hatchet after years of estrangement and described their relationship as "cordial and growing."

Trump has not publicly offered the same detailed account of the reconciliation as Cohen, so the full interview may provide the clearest indication yet of just how much their relationship has seemingly changed.

Cohen remarked his full interview with the president is due to air on his Sunday show, When You Know You Know, at 5 p.m. ET on the same channel. Contact Newsweek editors on this story: Gray R. Thomas.

Taken together, the developments around everything Michael Cohen Said About Potential Trump Pardon point to a situation that is still moving, and the coming days should bring more clarity.