Michael Cohen Breaks Silence About Donald Trump, “I Put Family And Country First”

Longtime lawyer of President Donald Trump, Michael Cohen, has finally broke his silence on the federal criminal investigation of him in an off-camera interview with ABC’s George Stephanopoulos.

Cohen has made it clear that he would “put family and country first” when it comes to the investigation. When asked about his previous vow to “take a bullet” for the president, Cohen said, “to be crystal clear, my wife, my daughter, and my son and this country have my first loyalty.”

50 Celebrities Who Have Died In 2018 – Tribute Slideshow

Stephanopoulos then asked is the former lawyer if he was considering cooperating with the prosecutors. Cohen says that if he is charged with anything he would look to his new lawyer, Guy Petrillo, for advice.

SLIDESHOW: DONALD TRUMP’S 30 CRAZIEST TWEETS

Cohen also is preparing himself just in case the president and his legal team try to discredit all the work her did for Trump in the past decade. “I will not be a punching bag as part of anyone’s defense strategy,” Cohen said. “I am not a villain of this story, and I will not allow others to try to depict me that way.”

Despite being the center of the investigation, he refused to criticize the federal investigators in charge of going through his business dealings and his legal work. “I respect the prosecutors,” he said. “I respect the process. I would not do or say anything that might be perceived as interfering with their professional review of the evidence and the facts.”

When asked about the infamous Stormy Daniels scandal, in which Cohen reportedly paid her $130,000 of his own to money to keep silent about her alleged 2006 affair with the president, he refused to give a comment but assured that “one day [he] will answer.”

Stephanopoulos asked Cohen in he has any regrets in this whole ordeal or if he wished he handled the situation different, Cohen shared that he is not perfect, and “obviously” would rather not be in this situation. “As an attorney and as an employee, I tried to make good faith judgments in the past. I also acknowledge that I am not perfect. I would prefer not to be in this situation at all, obviously.”

“I want to regain my name and my reputation and my life back,” Cohen said.