In May 2016, a Twitter account with the handle @WomenForCohen popped up, with the bio, “Women who love and support Michael Cohen. Strong, pit bull, sex symbol, no nonsense, business oriented, and ready to make a difference!” And for several months, the account posted pictures of Donald Trump’s then-attorney alongside hashtags like #mcm and #fangirl, and retweeted posts by Michael Cohen himself and other accounts praising him.
But suddenly, that December, the tweets mysteriously stopped, and we now know why: The account was run by an IT firm called RedFinch Solutions LLC — which Cohen had reportedly hired to tweet about his looks (and then never paid the full fee).
The revelation stems from a new report by The Wall Street Journal, which states that in 2015, Cohen gave RedFinch owner John Gauger a Walmart bag with upward of $13,000 in cash — and a boxing glove purportedly worn by an MMA fighter — to rig online polls in Trump’s favor. According to the WSJ, Gauger had asked for $50,000 for the job but never received the rest of it. (Cohen reportedly asked Trump in early 2017 for a reimbursement to cover RedFinch’s fee). Cohen said in a Thursday tweet that he did this “at the direction of and for the sole benefit” of Trump.
Beyond the poll rigging, the WSJ report delved into Gauger’s other work for Cohen, namely, the Twitter account intended to “elevate his profile”:
During the presidential race, Mr. Cohen also asked Mr. Gauger to create a Twitter account called @WomenForCohen. The account, created in May 2016 and run by a female friend of Mr. Gauger, described Mr. Cohen as a “sex symbol,” praised his looks and character, and promoted his appearances and statements boosting Mr. Trump’s candidacy.
What a great looking guy! Always dressed to impress!
Women For Cohen (@WomenForCohen) May 4, 2016