Michael Cohen's former lawyer Lanny Davis advocates for presidential pardon in Donald Trump's hush money trial sentencing

By Juna Tharakan
Published on : 12:21 PST, Jun 19, 2024

(L-R) Lanny Davis, former lawyer for Michael Cohen, said Donald Trump should be pardoned (Getty Images)

WASHINGTON, DC: Lanny Davis, former lawyer and adviser to Michael Cohen, has made a surprising plea for clemency for Donald Trump.

In a column for RealClearPolitics, Davis advocated for a presidential pardon and argued that the former president's sentence be commuted.

WASHINGTON, DC - FEBRUARY 27: Lanny Davis, lawyer of Michael Cohen, listens during a hearing before the House Oversight Committee on Capitol Hill February 27, 2019 in Washington, DC. Last year Cohen was sentenced to three years in prison and ordered to pay a $50,000 fine for tax evasion, making false statements to a financial institution, unlawful excessive campaign contributions and lying to Congress as part of special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential elections. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images) — Lanny Davis, former lawyer for Michael Cohen has advocated for presidential pardon for Donald Trump (Getty Images)

Lanny Davis asks Joe Biden to 'show grace' in pardoning Donald Trump

Davis requested President Joe Biden to "show grace and the necessary deflating of the hyper-partisanship of the 2024 presidential campaign by announcing his support for a pardon and commutation for his opponent" in his column.

On May 30, Trump, the presumptive 2024 Republican presidential nominee, was convicted in the hush money criminal case.

He was found guilty of all 34 felony counts of falsifying business documents in connection with concealing payments to adult film star Stormy Daniels before the 2016 election.

The former president was accused of arranging a $130,000 payment for his "fixer" and then-lawyer Cohen to pay Daniels to keep quiet about an alleged sexual encounter.

The payment was falsely recorded in Trump Organization records as "legal fees" which prosecutors argued was part of an unlawful attempt to influence the election outcome at the time.

The 77-year-old politician's guilty verdict makes him the first former president with a felony record in American history.

Trump is set to be sentenced on July 11 in Manhattan in the hush money trial, according to Newsweek.

Donald Trump was found guilty in hush money case (Getty Images)

Lanny Davis says election of president should not be decided in a courtroom

Davis further pointed out that the decision to pardon and commute Trump's sentence ultimately lies with Kathy Hochul, New York's Democratic governor, given that the former president's conviction was for a state crime.

However, the former lawyer for Cohen believes Hochul "would be receptive to the president's entreaties, especially if he assured her privately of his sincerity."

"By announcing his support for a Trump pardon, Joe Biden will also be upholding another fundamental principle: that the most important decision in our Republic – the election of the president of the United States – should be decided at the ballot box and not in a courtroom," read Davis's column.

Deep ties between Michael Cohen and Lanny Davis

Davis' advocacy is particularly notable given his close ties to Cohen who hired Davis in 2018 to represent him while testifying before Congress regarding his dealings with Trump.

In August 2018, Davis represented Cohen when he pleaded guilty to tax fraud, bank fraud, and violation of campaign finance laws.

Michael Cohen hired Lanny Davis in 2018 (Andrea Renault/Star Max/GC Images)

Amid the testimony during Trump's hush money trial, Davis was a vocal supporter of Cohen during various televised shows.

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