Lanny Davis has said he consulted with senior Trump aides, including former White House chief strategist Steve Bannon and several other associates and lawyers. | Joseph Kaczmarek/AP Photo Michael Cohen hires Clinton scandal veteran Lanny Davis

President Donald Trump's embattled former personal lawyer Michael Cohen, who has dropped hints that he may cooperate with federal prosecutors investigating his former boss, has hired an attorney and PR man who led former President Bill Clinton's public defense against multiple scandals in the 1990s.

Lanny Davis, who spent countless hours defending Clinton more than two decades ago, said on Thursday that he’s now representing Cohen in the tightening federal probe.


“Like most of America, I have been following the matter regarding Michael Cohen with great interest,” Davis said in a statement. “As an attorney, I have talked to Michael many times in the last two weeks. Then I read his words published on July 2, I recognized their sincerity. Michael Cohen deserves to tell his side of the story — subject, of course, to the advice of counsel.”

Davis was referring to Cohen’s interview published Monday by ABC News in which the president’s longtime personal attorney said he’d “put family and country” ahead of Trump. Many legal and political observers interpreted that as a signal that Cohen is preparing to cooperate with federal prosecutors investigating Trump.

Davis will be working alongside Guy Petrillo, a New York-based lawyer hired last month to replace Stephen Ryan and Todd Harrison. Both men have been representing Cohen as he deals with the fallout from the FBI raid in early April of his office and residences.

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Cohen is under investigation by the U.S. Attorney’s office in Manhattan on a referral in part from special counsel Robert Mueller that includes potential fraud charges tied to his role in arranging a $130,000 payment before the 2016 election to adult-film actress Stormy Daniels in exchange for her silence about an alleged sexual affair a decade earlier with Trump.

Davis served as an official Clinton White House legal adviser as it fended cascading investigations from independent counsel Kenneth Starr. After leaving the White House, Davis maintained his role as prominent on-air surrogate for the Democratic president as he faced impeachment proceedings related to an affair with White House intern Monica Lewinsky.

More recently, Davis penned a 2018 book criticizing former FBI Director James Comey for his handling of the federal investigation into Hillary Clinton’s use of a private email server while secretary of state, saying the probe cost Clinton the 2016 presidential election. Davis is particularly close to Hillary Clinton, Trump's 2016 campaign nemesis.

Davis has said he consulted with senior Trump aides, including Steve Bannon and several other associates and lawyers, as they sought advice on responding to Mueller's probe.

Joseph diGenova, an informal legal adviser to Trump, said Cohen made a smart move by hiring Davis.

“Very professional, very skilled and articulate public spokesman,” said diGenova. “It sounds like Michael Cohen should use a spokesman and shut up and get off television. That might be the best use of his time.”