The fall of Michael Cohen

For years, Michael Cohen described himself as being staunchly loyal to President Trump, going as far as saying that he would "take a bullet" for him. But according to <i>The New York Times</i>, Trump treated Cohen "poorly, with gratuitous insults, dismissive statements and, at least twice, threats of being fired."

In February, Cohen (middle) admitted to paying $130,000 (about €112,000) to porn star Stormy Daniels (right) to keep quiet about an affair she had with Trump (right). Prosecutors had been trying to ascertain whether Cohen violated any campaign-finance laws by making the payment ahead of 2016 election.

In April, FBI agents raided Cohen's office, apartment and hotel room on a referral from Special Counsel Robert Mueller, who is investigating whether the Trump campaign colluded with Russia in swaying the 2016 presidential election. They took away millions of electronic files from his various devices and reams of documents, including pieces of paper from a shredder.

In June, Trump said Cohen was no longer his attorney, adding that he hadn't spoken to him in a long time. Trump's new attorney Rudy Giuliani had said earlier that Cohen was not representing the US president after the FBI raids on his home and office.

In July, Cohen's lawyer, Lanny Davis, released a secret audio recording in which Trump was seemingly heard admitting to knowledge of a hush-money payment made to former Playboy model Karen McDougal, who claimed to have had an affair with him. It was Cohen, who had made the recording that Trump said was "perhaps illegal."

On Tuesday, Trump's former fixer entered into a plea agreement with federal prosecutors to plead guilty to tax and bank fraud charges and campaign finance violations.