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Michael Cohen is selling Trump-themed prison jumpsuits

It’s the latest trolling gesture from the former Trump ally

Josh Marcus
San Francisco
Monday 01 March 2021 13:25 EST
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Michael Cohen's lawyer says he will not accept pardon from 'criminal' Donald Trump

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Donald Trump’s former lawyer and fixer Michael Cohen has come a long way since promising he would “take a bullet” for the ex-president.

First, he was sent to prison for three years for lying to Congress and arranging hush money payments during the campaign to women who said they’d had affairs with Mr Trump. Then he began a podcast, “Mea Culpa,” which is sharply critical of the president, and often featured trolling interviews with guests from Mr Trump’s past, like the porn star Stormy Daniels, one of the women who said she had an affair with the ex-president, which he denies.

Now, he’s fully cashed in on being a Trump critic, and the podcast is selling orange prison jumpsuits for $59.95, which can be customized with names or a “45,” a reference to the 45th president, Donald Trump.

“That was my favorite item we came out with,” Mr Cohen told the The New York Post’s Page Six.

There are also t-shirts with a black-and-white American flag and the letters “8645,” which some have interpreted as a coded message meant either to suggesting tossing out—or killing—the president.

Last but not least, there is a “Get Out of Jail Card,” a reference to the classic card from the board game Monopoly.

Mr Cohen was sent to prison for three years after being convicted of campaign finance violations in 2018 for arranging for hundreds of thousands of dollars to go to Ms Daniels, whose legal name is Stephanie Clifford, and Karen McDougal, aPlayboy model. He only served about a year-and-a-half of his sentence before being released to home confinement in 2020 due to coronavirus considerations.

Meanwhile, many of the less wealthy, white, and well-connected remain in jail during the pandemic, where coronavirus has caused massive outbreaks in prisons and made conditions even more trying, as solitary confinement is used for quarantining and family visitation is reduced or eliminated altogether.

Many of Mr Trump’s former associates have a similar relationship with the ex-president, becoming sharp critics at the same time as they sell tell-all memoirs devoted to the their time with the president. Few have embraced it with as much gusto as Mr Cohen, however, who has the podcast, a memoir, and now merch to match.

And despite the cheeky jail humour from Mr Cohen, few of the president and his associates have faced lasting legal consequences in the face of the various things they’ve been accused or even convicted of, as the president pardoned a number of close allies before leaving office and escaped impeachment.

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