The Roy Cohn Playbook, from McCarthyism to Trump

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Cohn's rules became Trump's rules, writes my guest Kai Byrd, in his new biography of Cohn called American Scoundrel. Kai Byrd also co-wrote the definitive biography of Robert Oppenheimer called American Prometheus, which was the basis of Christopher Nolan's Oscar winning film Oppenheimer. Early in Roy Cohn's career, he prosecuted Julius and Ethel Rosenberg on charges of espionage. They were sent to the electric chair. In the 1950s, when Senator Joe McCarthy led the subcommittee that investigated and smeared alleged communists and gay people, ruining their careers and sometimes their lives, Cohn was the subcommittee's legal counsel.

This, in spite of Cohn being a closeted gay man himself. Cohn moved on to a more lucrative career as the lawyer for leaders of New York's crime families. He was connected to several prominent New York politicians and helped Ronald Reagan get elected president. Cohn was indicted by the Justice Department on three occasions of bribery, perjury, and extortion and other white collar crimes, and was always acquitted. But in 1986, after being accused of bribery and fraud, he was dispensed.

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