Editing Roy Cohn (section)

{{Short description|American lawyer (1927–1986)}}
{{Good article}}
{{Use American English|date=November 2024}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=February 2023}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| honorific_prefix   = 
| name               = Roy Cohn
| honorific_suffix   = 
| image              = Roy Cohn.jpg
| image_upright      = 
| landscape          =
| caption            = Cohn in 1964
| office        = Special Assistant to the [[United States Attorney General]] 
| term_start    = September 3, 1952
| term_end      = January 20, 1953
| president     = [[Harry S. Truman]]
| 1blankname    = Attorney General
| 1namedata     = [[James P. McGranery]]
| predecessor   = 
| successor     = 
| native_name        = 
| native_name_lang   = 
| pronunciation      = 
| birth_name         = Roy Marcus Cohn
| birth_date         = {{Birth date|1927|2|20}}
| birth_place        = [[New York, New York]], U.S.
| baptised           =
| disappeared_date   =
| disappeared_place  = 
| disappeared_status = 
| death_date         = {{Death date and age|1986|8|2|1927|2|20}}
| death_place        = [[Bethesda, Maryland]], U.S.
| body_discovered    = 
| death_cause        = Complications due to [[HIV/AIDS]]
| resting_place      = 
| resting_place_coordinates =
| burial_place       =
| burial_coordinates =
| monuments          = 
| nationality        =
| other_names        = 
| siglum             = 
| citizenship        =
| alma_mater         = [[Columbia University]] ([[Bachelor of Arts|BA]], [[Bachelor of Laws|LLB]])
| occupation         = [[Activist]] • [[author]] • [[lawyer]] • [[political operative]]
| years_active       = 1948–1986
| era                = [[Second Red Scare]] <br> [[Lavender Scare]] <br> [[Nixon era]] <br> [[Reagan era]]
| employer           = 
| organization       = 
| agent              =
| known_for          = [[Julius and Ethel Rosenberg#Case|Prosecution of Julius and Ethel Rosenberg]] (1951) <br> Chief Counsel to United States Senator [[Joseph McCarthy]] from [[Wisconsin]] (1951–1954) <br> [[Lawyer|Attorney]] to [[Donald Trump]] (1973–1986)
| notable_works      = ''McCarthy'' (1968) <br>
''A Fool for a Client: My Struggle Against the Power of a Public Prosecutor'' (1972) <br> ''McCarthy: The Answer to ‘Tail Gunner Joe’'' (1977) <br> ''How to Stand Up for Your Rights and Win!'' (1981)
| style              = 
| height             =
| television         = 
| title              = 
| term               = 
| party              = [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic]]<ref name="NYTObit" />
| movement           = [[American conservatism]] <br> [[Anti-communism# Anti-communism in different countries and regions|Anti-communism]]
| opponents          = 
| boards             = [[Joint Committee Against Communism]] (1950s) <br> [[Western Goals Foundation]] (1979–1986)
| criminal_charges   =
| criminal_penalty   = 
| criminal_status    = 
| spouse             =
| partner            =
| children           = 
| parents            =
| father             = [[Albert C. Cohn]]
| relatives          = [[Joshua Lionel Cowen]] (maternal great-uncle)
| family             = 
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| awards             = 
| website            =
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}}

'''Roy Marcus Cohn''' ({{IPAc-en|k|oʊ|n}} {{respell|KOHN}}; February 20, 1927 – August 2, 1986) was an American lawyer and prosecutor. He first gained fame as a prosecutor of [[Julius and Ethel Rosenberg]] in their trials (1952-53) and as Senator [[Joseph McCarthy]]'s chief counsel during the [[Army–McCarthy hearings]] in 1954. Cohn had been assisting [[Second Red Scare|McCarthy's investigations]] of suspected [[communists]]. In the 1970s and during the 1980s, he became a prominent legal and political [[Fixer (person)|fixer]] in New York City.<ref name=AOScott>{{cite news |first=A.O. |last=Scott |author-link=A.O. Scott |title='Where's My Roy Cohn?' Review: A Fixer's Progress |work=[[The New York Times]] |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/09/19/movies/wheres-my-roy-cohn-review.html |date =September 19, 2019 |access-date=November 4, 2019}}</ref><ref name=Schaefer>{{cite news |first=Stephen |last=Schaefer |title=Documentary spotlights infamous fixer 'Roy Cohn' |work=[[Boston Herald]] |url=https://www.bostonherald.com/2019/10/01/documentary-spotlights-infamous-fixer-roy-cohn/ |date=September 19, 2019 | access-date=November 4, 2019}}</ref> He represented and mentored [[Donald Trump]] during Trump's early [[Business career of Donald Trump|business career]].<ref name="Guard">{{cite news|title=A mentor in shamelessness: the man who taught Trump the power of publicity |url=https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/apr/20/roy-cohn-donald-trump-joseph-mccarthy-rosenberg-trial|access-date=February 12, 2018 |work=[[The Guardian]]|location=London|date=April 20, 2016}}</ref> 

Cohn was born in [[the Bronx]] in New York City and educated at [[Columbia University]]. He rose to prominence as a [[U.S. Department of Justice]] prosecutor at the espionage trial of Julius and Ethel Rosenberg, where he successfully prosecuted the Rosenbergs, which led to their conviction and execution in 1953. After his time as prosecuting chief counsel during the McCarthy trials, his reputation deteriorated during the late 1950s to late 1970s as he settled in New York City and became a private lawyer to many clients, including real estate magnates, political operatives, Catholic clergy and organized crime.

In 1986, Cohn was [[disbarment|disbarred]] by the [[New York Supreme Court, Appellate Division|Appellate Division of the New York State Supreme Court]] for unethical conduct after attempting to defraud a dying client by forcing him to sign a will amendment leaving his fortune to Cohn.<ref name="Cohn Ko'D">{{cite magazine |title=Cohn Ko'D |magazine=[[Time (magazine)|Time]] |date=July 7, 1986|quote=One hospital attendant testified in a Florida court that Cohn 'tried to take (Rosenstiel's) hand for him to sign' the [[Codicil (will)|codicil]] to his will. The lawyer eventually emerged with a document bearing what the New York judges described as 'a number of "squiggly" lines which in no way resemble any letters of the alphabet.' |url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,961662,00.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070930101043/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,961662,00.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=September 30, 2007 |access-date=March 15, 2008}}</ref> He died five weeks later from [[AIDS]]-related complications, having vehemently denied that he was [[HIV]]-positive.<ref name="obitbg">{{cite news |last=Mower |first=Joan |date=August 3, 1986 |title=Roy Cohn, Ex-Aide to Joseph McCarthy, Dead at 59 |url=https://www.apnews.com/f05ceb7d140f3cae111b379077101bea |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201112000012/https://apnews.com/f05ceb7d140f3cae111b379077101bea |archive-date=November 12, 2020 |access-date=September 19, 2019 |work=[[Associated Press News]]}}</ref> Cohn has been the subject of many media portrayals before and since his death.