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.