What to Know
- Michael Cohen threatened to take legal action against Fordham University if it released President Donald Trump’s educational records in 2015
- Trump attended Fordham before transferring to the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania
- Fordham's Assistant Vice President for Communications on Wednesday confirmed the school had received the letter
Michael Cohen threatened to take legal action against Fordham University if it released President Donald Trump’s educational records back in 2015, he testified Wednesday — a claim the school has confirmed.
Trump's former attorney and fixer on Wednesday provided the House Oversight Committee with a letter he sent to Fordham University’s president, Rev. Joseph McShane, on May 5, 2015 — a little over a month before Trump launched his presidential campaign.
Trump attended Fordham before transferring to the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.
“It has come to my attention that several media outlets have asked for the release of my client’s records,” Cohen wrote in the letter. “We have turned down these requests.”
“... [I]f in the event any of his records or released or otherwise disclosed without his prior written consent, we will hold your institution liable to the fullest extent of the law including damages and criminality,” he went on to say.
Fordham’s Assistant Vice President for Communications and Special Adviser to the President Bob Howe on Wednesday told News 4 the school “received a call from someone on the Trump campaign as now-President Trump was gearing up for his run.”
The school later “received a follow-up letter from one of Mr. Trump’s attorneys summarizing the call and reminding us that they would take action against the University if we did, in fact, release Mr. Trump’s records,” Howe confirmed.
“We told the caller that Fordham is bound by federal law, and that we could not/would not reveal/share any records (as we would not reveal any student records) with anyone except Mr. Trump himself, or any recipient he designated, in writing,” Howe wrote in an email.
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“Our stance remains the same: we obey federal law and don’t release student records to anyone but the student/graduate or anyone that the student designates, in writing,” he added.
