Former Trump fixer and lawyer Michael Cohen considering run for New York House seat

Michael Cohen, one of Donald Trump’s most prominent former lawyers and now critic who spent more than a year in jail for campaign finance violations and fraud, is considering a long-shot bid for a deep-blue Manhattan congressional district.

Cohen would run as a Democrat for New York’s 12th congressional district, he confirmed to POLITICO, which is currently held by Rep. Jerry Nadler. But any run to topple the 31-year incumbent would be difficult, given Nadler’s longtime status in the area and deep support among powerful Jewish communities in his district.

Semafor reported the news first on Thursday evening.

The former lawyer worked for Trump for more than a decade, doing stints in the Trump Organization, the Trump 2016 campaign and at the RNC. Cohen was sentenced to federal prison in December 2018 after he pleaded guilty to campaign finance violations and related crimes that stemmed from his time working for the former president.

Those charges concern hush money, which he admitted he paid to adult film star Stormy Daniels under the direction of Trump — a controversy that has led to a New York state indictment against the former president. Cohen testified to that grand jury before it made its charges, and he is likely to serve a key role in the coming trial.

His conviction got him disbarred, and he emerged from prison as a critic of Trump. Despite his work for the former president, Cohen has volunteered and worked for various Democrats throughout his life, and he registered as a Democrat after his prison sentence, according to his lawyer.

New York’s 12th congressional district, which was shaken up last year to encompass the Upper East Side and Upper West Side of Manhattan, includes some of the most affluent areas of the country. Nadler easily defeated former Rep. Carolyn Maloney in a rare primary showdown of House committee chairs last year after the two were drawn into the same district.