WASHINGTON -- Donald Trump’s personal attorney Michael Cohen, touting his close relationship with the U.S. president, offered to provide consulting services to Ford Motor Co. but his overture was quickly rejected, even before any specific fees were discussed, a person briefed on the matter told Reuters on Friday.
The office of Robert Mueller, special counsel in the investigation of potential Russian interference in the 2016 election, learned of Cohen’s January 2017 offer and has asked Ford for information and records about it, the person said. Mueller’s team has also interviewed Ford’s head of government affairs, Ziad Ojakli.
An attorney for Cohen did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.
Cohen’s outreach to Ford was first reported by the Wall Street Journal, which cited people familiar with the matter.
Randall Stephenson, the CEO of AT&T Inc., said on Friday it was a “big mistake” to have hired Cohen for advice on working with the Trump administration.
AT&T paid Essential Consultants LLC, a firm set up by Cohen, a total of $600,000 over 2017 for the advice. Cohen and others were hired to help navigate “a wide range of issues,” including its proposed $85 billion merger with Time Warner Inc., Stephenson said in a memo seen by Reuters.