Editing Roy Cohn

{{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)
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| 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.

==Early life and education==
Born to an affluent [[Jewish]] family in [[the Bronx]], New York City, Cohn was the only child of Dora ({{nee}} Marcus)<ref>{{cite news |url=https://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F10A12FA385E137A93C4A9178DD85F438685F9|title=Mrs. Albert C. Cohn Dies. Roy Cohn's Mother, 74 |date=June 6, 1967|work=[[The New York Times]]|access-date=April 4, 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131104203619/https://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F10A12FA385E137A93C4A9178DD85F438685F9|archive-date=November 4, 2013|url-status=dead|url-access=subscription }}</ref> and Justice [[Albert C. Cohn]]; Cohn's father was an [[Assistant District Attorney|assistant district attorney]] of Bronx County at the time, who was appointed as a judge of the Appellate Division of the New York State Supreme Court, later in his life.<ref>{{cite web |title=Albert Cohn |url=https://history.nycourts.gov/biography/albert-cohn/ |website=Historical Society of the New York Courts |access-date=October 29, 2022}}</ref><ref name="NYTObit">{{cite news |last=Krebs |first=Albin |date=August 3, 1986 |title=Roy Cohn, Aide to McCarthy and Fiery Lawyer, Dies at 59 |url=https://partners.nytimes.com/library/national/science/aids/080386sci-aids.html |access-date=December 26, 2018 |work=[[The New York Times]]}}</ref> His maternal great-uncle was [[Joshua Lionel Cowen]], the founder and long-time owner of the [[Lionel Corporation]], a manufacturer of toy trains.<ref name=lionel>{{cite encyclopedia|url=https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/joshua-lionel-cowen|title=Joshua Lionel Cowen|encyclopedia=[[Jewish Virtual Library|JVL]]|access-date=October 15, 2019}}</ref>

Cohn and his mother were close; they lived together until her death in 1967 and she was constantly attentive to his grades, appearance and relationships.<ref name=":2">{{Cite web|last=Marcus|first=David L.|date=September 27, 2019|title=5 Things You May Not Know About My Vile, Malicious Cousin Roy Cohn (Guest Blog)|url=https://www.thewrap.com/roy-cohn-cousin-5-things-to-know/|access-date=June 20, 2020|website=[[TheWrap]]}}</ref> When Cohn's father insisted that his son be sent to a summer camp, his mother rented a house near the camp and her presence cast a pall over his experience. In personal interactions, Cohn showed tenderness which was absent from his public persona, but he was vain and deeply insecure.<ref name=":2" />

Cohn's maternal grandfather Joseph S. Marcus founded the [[Bank of United States]] in 1913. The bank failed in 1931 during the [[Great Depression]], and its then-president Bernie Marcus, Cohn's uncle, was convicted of fraud. Bernie Marcus was imprisoned at [[Sing Sing]], and the young Cohn frequently visited him there.<ref name="vanityfair">{{cite news |last=Brenner |first=Marie |authorlink=Marie Brenner |url=https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2017/06/donald-trump-roy-cohn-relationship |title=How Donald Trump and Roy Cohn's Ruthless Symbiosis Changed America|work=[[Vanity Fair (magazine)|Vanity Fair]] |date=June 28, 2017 |access-date=August 7, 2021 |archive-date=August 8, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210808020730/https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2017/06/donald-trump-roy-cohn-relationship}}</ref> 

After attending [[Ethical Culture Fieldston School|Fieldston School]] and the [[Horace Mann School]] and completing studies at [[Columbia College (New York)|Columbia University]] in 1946, Cohn graduated from [[Columbia Law School]] at the age of 20.<ref>{{cite news|first=Walter|last=Goodman|url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9A0DE5DB123DF935A25753C1A962958260&sec=&spon=&pagewanted=all |title=In Business for Profit; Imagine That? |newspaper=[[The New York Times]]|date= October 16, 1994|access-date= April 4, 2008}}</ref><ref>{{cite news  |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1960/04/22/archives/in-a-neutral-corner-roy-marcus-cohn.html |title=In a Neutral Corner; Roy Marcus Cohn |work=[[The New York Times]]|date= April 22, 1960|access-date= April 4, 2008|quote=By the time he was 20, Cohn, an alumnus of the Fieldston School in …}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |url=https://archive.org/details/ldpd_12981092_008|title=Columbia College Today |date=1961 |publisher=Columbia College, Office of Alumni Affairs and Development|location=New York, N.Y.}}</ref>

==Early career==
After graduating from law school, Cohn worked as a clerk for the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York for two years. In May 1948, at age 21, he was old enough to be [[Admission to the bar in the United States|admitted]] to the New York bar.<ref>{{cite web |title=Roy Cohn |url=https://www.britannica.com/biography/Roy-Cohn |website=Encyclopedia Britannica |access-date=15 February 2025}}</ref> He became an [[assistant U.S. attorney]] later that month.<ref name=Gottlieb>
{{cite news
| first = Marvin
| last = Gottlieb
| title = New York Court Disbars Roy Cohn on Charges of Unethical Conduct
| work = [[The New York Times]]
| url = https://www.nytimes.com/1986/06/24/nyregion/new-york-court-disbars-roy-cohn-on-charges-of-unethical-conduct.html
| date = June 2, 1986
| access-date = August 5, 2019}}</ref><ref name=UPIobit>
{{cite news
| title = Roy Cohn Dies at 59
| work=[[United Press International]]
| url = https://www.upi.com/Archives/1986/08/04/Roy-Cohn-dies-at-59/1617523512000/
| date = August 4, 1986
| access-date = August 5, 2019}}</ref> That same year, Cohn also became a board member of the [[American Jewish League Against Communism]].<ref name="Krause">{{cite journal |last1=Krause |first1=Allen |title=Rabbi Benjamin Schultz and the American Jewish League Against Communism: From McCarthy to Mississippi |date=2010 |volume=13 |pages=167, 208 |url=https://www.jewishsouth.org/system/files/sjh_v._13_2010_krause.pdf |access-date=October 29, 2022 |journal=[[Southern Jewish History]] |publisher=[[Southern Jewish Historical Society]] |location=Marietta, Georgia }}</ref>

As an Assistant U.S. Attorney, Cohn helped to secure convictions in a number of well-publicized trials of accused [[Soviet]] [[mole (espionage)|mole]]s. One of the first began in December 1950 with the prosecution of [[William Remington]], a former [[United States Department of Commerce|Commerce Department]] employee and member of the [[War Production Board]] who had been charged with [[espionage]] following the defection of former [[KGB]] [[handler (espionage)|handler]] [[Elizabeth Bentley]].<ref name="wmreming">{{cite web |last1=Simkin |first1=John |title=William Remington |url=https://spartacus-educational.com/William_Remington.htm |website=spartacus-educational.com |publisher=Spartacus Educational |access-date=October 29, 2022}}</ref> Although an indictment for espionage could not be secured, Remington had denied his long-time membership in the [[Communist Party USA]] under oath on two separate occasions and was later convicted of [[perjury]] in two separate trials.<ref name="wmreming" />

While working in [[Irving H. Saypol]]'s office for the Southern District of New York, Cohn assisted with the prosecutor's case against 11 senior members of the American Communist Party for advocating for the violent overthrow of the [[U.S. Federal Government]], under the [[Smith Act]].<ref>{{Cite book |title=The Great Fear: The Anti-Communist Purge Under Truman and Eisenhower|last=Caute|first=David|publisher=[[Simon and Schuster]] |date=1978|isbn=0671226827|location=New York|pages=63|oclc=3293124}}</ref>

==Rosenberg trial==
{{Main|Julius and Ethel Rosenberg}}

[[File:Julius_and_Ethel_Rosenberg_NYWTS.jpg|thumb|[[Ethel and Julius Rosenberg]] after their jury conviction in 1951]]
Cohn played a prominent role in the 1951 espionage trial of [[Julius and Ethel Rosenberg]]. Cohn's [[direct examination]] of Ethel's brother, [[David Greenglass]], produced testimony that was central to the Rosenbergs' conviction and subsequent execution. Greenglass testified that he had assisted the espionage activities of his brother-in-law by acting as a courier of classified documents that had been stolen from the [[Manhattan Project]] by [[Klaus Fuchs]].

Greenglass would later change his story and allege that he committed [[perjury]] at the trial in order "to protect himself and his wife, Ruth, and that he was encouraged by the prosecution to do so."<ref>{{cite news|title=False testimony clinched Rosenberg spy trial |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/1695240.stm|publisher=[[BBC News]]|date=December 6, 2001|access-date=May 26, 2010}}</ref> Cohn always took great pride in the Rosenberg verdict and claimed to have played an even greater part than his public role. He said in his autobiography that his own influence had led to both Chief Prosecutor Saypol and Judge [[Irving Kaufman]] being appointed to the case. Cohn further said that Kaufman imposed the death penalty based on his personal recommendation.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Zion |first1=Sidney |title=The Autobiography of Roy Cohn |date=1988 |publisher=Lyle Stuart |pages=76–77 |isbn=9780818404719 |url=https://archive.org/details/autobiographyofr00cohn/page/76}}</ref> Cohn denied, however, participation in any illegal {{lang|la|[[ex parte]]}} discussions.<ref>{{cite book|title=The Rosenberg File |last1=Radosh |first1=Ronald |last2=Milton |first2=Joyce |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QpKjGSHAcaYC&pg=PA278 |pages=277–278 |publisher=[[Yale University Press]]|location=New Haven, Connecticut|isbn=0300072058|date=1997|orig-year=1983}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|title=Executing the Rosenbergs: Death and Diplomacy in a Cold War World|last=Clune|first=Lori|publisher=[[Oxford University Press]]|location=Oxford, England |date=2016|isbn=978-0190265885 |page=15}}</ref>

Consensus among historians is that Julius Rosenberg was guilty of being a highly valued [[NKVD]] [[spymaster]] against the United States, but that his trial was marred by [[prosecutorial misconduct]]—mainly by Cohn—and that the Rosenbergs should not have been executed.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.weeklystandard.com/rosenbergs-redux/article/2002765|title=Rosenbergs Redux |last=Radosh |first=Ronald |author-link=Ronald Radosh |date=June 10, 2016 |work=[[The Weekly Standard]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160703012517/http://www.weeklystandard.com/rosenbergs-redux/article/2002765|archive-date=July 3, 2016|url-status=dead|access-date=December 26, 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|first1=Frankie Y. |last1=Bailey |first2=Steven |last2=Chermak |title=Crimes and Trials of the Century|year=2007|publisher=[[ABC-CLIO]]|location=Santa Barbara, California |page=205 |isbn=978-1-57356-973-6}}</ref> Distilling this consensus, [[Harvard Law School]] professor [[Alan Dershowitz]] wrote that the Rosenbergs were "guilty—and framed."<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1995-07-19-me-25407-story.html|title=Rosenbergs Were Guilty – and Framed: FBI, Justice Department and judiciary conspired to convict a couple accused of espionage |first=Alan M. |last=Dershowitz |author-link=Alan Dershowitz|date=July 19, 1995|newspaper=[[Los Angeles Times]]|access-date=June 18, 2017}}</ref>

==Work with Joseph McCarthy==
{{Main|Army–McCarthy hearings}}
[[File:Joseph_McCarthy_with_Roy_M._Cohn_and_G._David_Schine.jpg|thumb|Roy Cohn, [[Joseph McCarthy]], and [[G. David Schine]] in 1953]]
The Rosenberg trial brought the 24-year-old Cohn to the attention of [[Federal Bureau of Investigation]] (FBI) director [[J. Edgar Hoover]]. With support from Hoover and [[Cardinal Spellman]], Hearst columnist [[George Sokolsky]] convinced [[Joseph McCarthy]] to hire Cohn as his chief counsel, choosing him over [[Robert F. Kennedy]].<ref>{{cite book |first=Jason |last=Epstein |author-link=Jason Epstein |title=Eating: A Memoir |date=19 October 2010 |publisher=Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group |location=New York City |page=123 |isbn=9781400078257| quote= Cohn's position as Joseph McCarthy's chief counsel was a job Joseph P. Kennedy had wanted for his son Bobby.}}</ref><ref name="The Press: The Man in the Middle">{{cite magazine |title=The Press: The Man in the Middle |url=https://content.time.com/time/subscriber/article/0,33009,823411,00.html |access-date=February 2, 2022 |magazine=[[Time (magazine)|Time]] |date=May 24, 1954}}</ref> Cohn assisted McCarthy with his work for the [[United States Senate|Senate]] [[Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations]], becoming known for his aggressive questioning of suspected Communists. Cohn preferred not to hold hearings in open forums, which went well with McCarthy's preference for holding "executive sessions" and "off-the-record" sessions away from the Capitol to minimize public scrutiny and to question witnesses with relative impunity.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/CPRT-107SPRT83869/html/CPRT-107SPRT83869.htm|title=Executive Sessions of the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations of the Committee on Government Operations|date=January 2003|website=Government Publishing Office}}</ref> Cohn was given free rein in pursuit of many investigations, with McCarthy joining in only for the more publicized sessions.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.senate.gov/artandhistory/history/minute/Have_you_no_sense_of_decency.htm|title=U.S. Senate: 'Have You No Sense of Decency?' |website=senate.gov|access-date=December 28, 2018}}</ref>

Cohn played a major role in McCarthy's anti-Communist hearings.<ref name="ppppnav">{{cite web |url=http://www.out.com/entertainment/popnography/2013/04/26/9-things-to%C2%A0know-about-lavender-scare |title=Lavender Scare |website=[[Out.com]] |date=April 26, 2013|access-date=July 11, 2013}}</ref> During the [[Lavender Scare]], Cohn and McCarthy alleged that [[Soviet Bloc]] [[intelligence service]]s had [[blackmail]]ed multiple U.S. Federal Government employees into committing espionage in return for not exposing their [[closeted]] [[homosexuality]].<ref name="ppppnav" /> In response, President [[Dwight Eisenhower]] signed [[Executive Order 10450]] on April 27, 1953, to ban homosexuals, whom he considered a [[national security]] risk, from being employed by the federal government. According to David L. Marcus, Cohn's cousin, many Federal employees in Washington, D.C., who were exposed as homosexuals by Cohn and McCarthy committed [[suicide]]. As time went on, it became well known that Cohn was himself gay, although he always denied it.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Romano |first1=Lois |title=The Closing Arguments of Roy Cohn |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/1985/12/21/the-closing-arguments-of-roy-cohn/856fb2d8-c11c-40d6-bace-3bc891b90384/ |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] |date=December 21, 1985}}</ref> McCarthy and Cohn were responsible for the firing of many gay men from government employment, and strong-armed opponents into silence using rumors of their homosexuality.<ref name="johnson">{{cite book |last=Johnson |first=David K. |url=https://archive.org/details/lavenderscarecol00john_0/page/15 |title=The Lavender Scare: The Cold War Persecution of Gays and Lesbians in the Federal Government |date=2004 |publisher=[[University of Chicago Press]] |isbn=978-0-226-40481-3 |location=Chicago, Illinois |pages=[https://archive.org/details/lavenderscarecol00john_0/page/15 15–19]}}</ref> Former U.S. Senator [[Alan K. Simpson]] wrote: "The so-called 'Red Scare' has been the main focus of most historians of that period of time. A lesser-known element…and one that harmed far more people was the witch-hunt McCarthy and others conducted against homosexuals."<ref>{{cite book |last1=Simpson |first1=Alan K. |title=Dying for Joe McCarthy's Sins: The Suicide of Wyoming Senator Lester Hunt  |last2=McDaniel |first2=Rodger |date=2013 |publisher=WordsWorth Press |isbn=978-0983027591 |location=Cody, Wyoming |page=x |chapter=Prologue |authorlink1=Alan K. Simpson}}</ref>

[[File:McCarthy Cohn.jpg|thumb|Senator Joseph McCarthy chats with Cohn at the [[Army–McCarthy hearings]] in 1954]]

Sokolsky introduced [[G. David Schine]], an anti-Communist propagandist, to Cohn, who invited him to join McCarthy's staff as an unpaid consultant.<ref name="The Press: The Man in the Middle" /> When Schine was drafted into the [[US Army]] in 1953, Cohn made extensive efforts to procure special treatment for him, even threatening to "wreck the Army" if his demands were not met.<ref>{{cite magazine |date=March 22, 1954 |title=The Self-Inflated Target |url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,819554,00.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071114193839/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,819554,00.html |archive-date=November 14, 2007 |access-date=March 11, 2008 |magazine=[[Time (magazine)|Time]] |quote=Roy Cohn had threatened to "wreck the Army" in an attempt to get special treatment for one Private G. David Schine.}}</ref> That conflict, along with McCarthy's claims that there were Communists in the Defense Department, led to the [[Army–McCarthy hearings]] of 1954, during which the Army charged Cohn and McCarthy with using improper pressure on Schine's behalf, and McCarthy and Cohn countercharged that the Army was holding Schine "hostage" in an attempt to squelch McCarthy's investigations into Communists in the Army. The Army-McCarthy hearings ultimately contributed to McCarthy's censure by the Senate later that year. After resigning from McCarthy's staff, Cohn returned to New York and entered private practice as an attorney.<ref>{{cite news |last1=O'Harrow |first1=Robert Jr. |last2=Boburg |first2=Shawn |date=June 17, 2016 |title=The man who showed Donald Trump how to exploit power and instill fear |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/investigations/former-mccarthy-aide-showed-trump-how-to-exploit-power-and-draw-attention/2016/06/16/e9f44f20-2bf3-11e6-9b37-42985f6a265c_story.html |access-date=December 28, 2018 |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]}}</ref>

==Legal career in New York==
After resigning from McCarthy's staff, Cohn had a 30-year career as an attorney in New York City. His clients included [[Donald Trump]];<ref>{{Cite news|first=Michael|last=Kruse|url=https://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2018/03/06/donald-trump-loyalty-staff-217227|title=I Need Loyalty|work=[[Politico]]|date=March 6, 2018|access-date=March 14, 2018}}</ref> [[New York Yankees]] baseball club owner [[George Steinbrenner]];<ref name="Guard"/> [[Aristotle Onassis]];<ref name="Auletta" /> [[American Mafia|Mafia]] figures [[Anthony Salerno|Tony Salerno]], [[Carmine Galante]], [[John Gotti]] and [[Mario Gigante]]; [[Studio 54]] owners [[Steve Rubell]] and [[Ian Schrager]]; the [[Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New York]]; Texas financier and philanthropist [[Shearn Moody Jr.]];<ref name=fortune>{{cite news |title=Who's Crazy: The IRS or Mr. Moody? |work=[[Fortune (magazine)|Fortune]] |url=https://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/fortune_archive/1995/08/21/205403/index.htm |access-date=March 5, 2011 |first=Andrew E. |last=Serwer |date=August 21, 1995}}</ref> and business owner Richard Dupont. Dupont, then 48, was convicted of aggravated harassment and attempted [[grand larceny]] for his attempts at coercing further representation by Cohn for a bogus claim to property ownership in a case against the actual owner of 644 Greenwich Street, Manhattan, where Dupont had operated Big Gym, and from where he had been evicted in January 1979.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1981/09/25/nyregion/ex-client-is-guilty-of-pestering-cohn.html|title=Ex-Client Is Guilty Of Pestering Cohn|newspaper=[[The New York Times]]|date=September 25, 1981}}</ref> Cohn's other clients included retired Harvard Law School professor [[Alan Dershowitz]], who has referenced Cohn as "the quintessential [[fixer (person)|fixer]]".<ref>{{cite interview |interviewer=Jim Gilmore|subject-last1=Dershowitz|subject-first1=Alan|date=July 10, 2018|title=Trump's Showdown: Alan Dershowitz |url=https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/frontline/interview/alan-dershowitz/ |access-date=January 25, 2019 |website=[[Frontline (American TV program)|Frontline]] |publisher=[[PBS]]}}</ref> In the 1960s, [[Robert Morgenthau]] as U.S. Attorney for the [[Southern district of new york|Southern District]] indicted Cohn three times in six years on charges ranging from extortion and blackmail to bribery, conspiracy, securities fraud, obstruction of justice and [[witness tampering]], and he was accused in New York of financial improprieties related to city contracts and private investments. He was acquitted on all charges.<ref name="NYTObit" />

== Political activities ==
[[File:President Ronald Reagan and Nancy Reagan with Roy Cohn.jpg|thumb|Cohn with President [[Ronald Reagan]] and [[Nancy Reagan]] at the White House in 1982]]
In 1979, Cohn became a member of the [[Western Goals Foundation]]; he served on the board of directors with [[Edward Teller]].<ref name=
"westgoal">{{cite news|last1=Dorfman|first1=Zach|title=The Congressman Who Created His Own Deep State. Really. |url=https://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2018/12/02/larry-mcdonald-communists-deep-state-222726|access-date=November 6, 2019|work=Politico|date=December 2, 2018}}</ref> Although he was registered as a Democrat, Cohn supported most of the [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]] presidents of his time and Republicans in major offices across New York.<ref name="NYTObit" /> He maintained close ties in [[American conservatism|conservative]] political circles, serving as an informal advisor to [[Richard Nixon]] and [[Ronald Reagan]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Letter, Ronald Reagan to Roy Cohn |url=https://www.reaganlibrary.gov/public/digitallibrary/whormsubject/me001/40-654-12019891-024-009-2018.pdf |website=Ronald Reagan Library |date=May 2, 1983}}</ref> While aligning himself with Republicans he simultaneously forged close ties to Democrats including New York mayor [[Ed Koch]],<ref name="westgoal" /> Secretary of State [[Carmine DeSapio]],<ref name="Auletta" /> and Brooklyn [[Political boss|party boss]] [[Meade Esposito]].<ref>{{Cite news |last=Margolick |first=David |date=1983-07-01 |title=LOYALTY IS THE THEME AS ROY COHN FEASTS FRIENDS |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1983/07/01/nyregion/loyalty-is-the-theme-as-roy-cohn-feasts-friends.html |access-date=2024-04-28 |work=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331}}</ref>

In 1972, he helped Nixon discredit the candidacy of [[George McGovern]]'s Vice Presidential running mate [[Thomas Eagleton]] by leaking Eagleton's medical records to the press. Eagleton's medical record unveiled that he had been treated for depression.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Matthews |first=Dylan |date=2016-04-12 |title=Richard Nixon would've loved the Donald Trump campaign. He said so himself. |url=https://www.vox.com/2016/4/12/11413804/nixon-trump-letter-1987 |access-date=2024-05-06 |website=Vox }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Mary Ellen Mark |url=https://www.maryellenmark.com/bibliography/magazines/article/life/the-snarling-death-of-roy-mcohn/L |access-date=2024-05-06 |website=www.maryellenmark.com}}</ref>

During the years of debate over the passage of New York's first gay rights bill, Cohn would align himself with the Archdiocese of New York and express his conviction that "homosexual teachers are a grave threat to our children".<ref>{{cite book |last1=Zion |first1=Sidney |url=https://archive.org/details/autobiographyofr00cohn/page/61 |title=The Autobiography of Roy Cohn |date=1988 |publisher=Lyle Stuart |isbn=9780818404719 |page=61}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Fariello |first1=Griffin |title=Red Scare: Memories of the American Inquisition. An Oral History |date=1995 |publisher=W.W. Norton |page=101}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=McCarthyism, Homophobia, and Homosexuality: 1940s–1950s |url=https://www.outhistory.org/exhibits/show/mccarthyism/intro-and-biblio |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220204065332/https://outhistory.org/exhibits/show/mccarthyism/intro-and-biblio |archive-date=February 4, 2022 |access-date=February 3, 2022 |website=OutHistory}}</ref> 

=== Association with Ronald Reagan ===
[[File:President_Reagan_meets_with_Rupert_Murdoch_and_Roy_Cohn_at_the_White_House_1983.jpg|thumb|right|President Reagan meets with [[Rupert Murdoch]], Roy Cohn, and Thomas Bolan at the White House in 1983]]
Cohn worked on the 1980 Reagan campaign, where he befriended [[Roger Stone]].<ref>{{Cite web |last1=Paschal |first1=Olivia |last2=Carlisle |first2=Madeleine |date=2019-11-15 |title=A Brief History of Roger Stone |url=https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2019/11/roger-stones-long-history-in-trump-world/581293/ |access-date=2024-04-28 |website=The Atlantic }}</ref> Cohn aided Roger Stone in [[Ronald Reagan 1980 presidential campaign|Ronald Reagan's presidential campaign in 1979–1980]], helping Stone arrange for [[John B. Anderson]] to get the nomination of the [[Liberal Party of New York]], a move that would help split the opposition to Reagan in the state. Stone said Cohn gave him a suitcase that Stone avoided opening and, as instructed by Cohn, he dropped it off at the office of a lawyer influential in Liberal Party circles. Reagan [[1980 United States presidential election in New York|carried the state]] with 46% of the vote to Carter's 44%, with Anderson taking over 7% of the vote. Speaking after the [[statute of limitations]] for bribery had expired, Stone said, "I paid his law firm. Legal fees. I don't know what he did for the money, but whatever it was, the Liberal Party reached its right conclusion out of a matter of principle."<ref name="ml">{{cite web |last=Labash |first=Matt |author-link=Matt Labash |date=November 5, 2007 |title=Roger Stone, Political Animal, 'Above all, attack, attack, attack – never defend.' |url=http://www.weeklystandard.com/Content/Public/Articles/000/000/014/278vjcro.asp |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150321015638/http://www.weeklystandard.com/Content/Public/Articles/000/000/014/278vjcro.asp |archive-date=March 21, 2015 |access-date=December 26, 2018 |work=[[The Weekly Standard]]}}</ref>

[[Rupert Murdoch]] was a client, and Cohn repeatedly pressured President [[Ronald Reagan]] to further Murdoch's interests. He is credited with introducing Trump and Murdoch, in the mid-1970s, marking the beginning of what was to be a long association between the two.<ref>{{cite news |last=Graves |first=Lucia |date=June 16, 2017 |title=Donald Trump and Rupert Murdoch: inside the billionaire bromance |url=https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/jun/16/donald-trump-rupert-murdoch-friendship-fox-news |access-date=June 16, 2017 |newspaper=The Guardian}}</ref>

===Representation of Donald Trump===
{{Main|Personal and business legal affairs of Donald Trump}}
In 1971, [[Donald Trump]] first undertook large construction projects in Manhattan.<ref name="bio">{{cite web |title=Donald (John) Trump biography |publisher=biography.com |url=http://www.biography.com/people/donald-trump-9511238 |access-date=December 18, 2015}}</ref> In 1973, the [[Justice Department (United States)|Justice Department]] accused Trump of violating the [[Fair Housing Act]] in 39 of his properties.<ref name=":1" />  The government alleged that Trump's corporation quoted different rental terms and conditions and made false "no vacancy" statements to African Americans for apartments it managed in Brooklyn, Queens, and Staten Island.<ref name=Resnick15Dec>{{cite news|url=http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2015/12/15/doj-trump-s-early-businesses-blocked-blacks.html|title=DOJ: Trump's Early Businesses Blocked Blacks|date=December 15, 2015|access-date=March 2, 2016|work=The Daily Beast|first=Gideon|last=Resnick }}</ref> Representing Trump, Cohn filed a countersuit against the government for $100&nbsp;million, asserting that the charges were "irresponsible and baseless".<ref name=":1">{{cite news|last1=Dunlap|first1=David W.|title=Meet Donald Trump|url=https://www.nytimes.com/times-insider/2015/07/30/1973-meet-donald-trump/|access-date=March 10, 2016|work=[[The New York Times]]|date=July 30, 2015}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/2186613-realty-company-asks-100-million-bias-damages.html|title=Realty Company Asks $100-Million 'Bias' Damages|last=Campbell|first=Barbara|date=December 13, 1973}}</ref> The countersuit was unsuccessful.<ref name=Elliott>{{cite news|last1=Elliott|first1=Justin|title=Donald Trump's racial discrimination problem |url=http://www.salon.com/2011/04/28/donald_trump_discrimination_suit/|access-date=March 10, 2016|work=Salon|date=April 28, 2011}}</ref> Trump settled the charges out of court in 1975, saying he was satisfied that the agreement did not "compel the Trump organization to accept persons on welfare as tenants unless as qualified as any other tenant."<ref name=":1"/> The corporation was required to send a bi-weekly list of vacancies to the [[National Urban League|New York Urban League]], a civil rights group, and give the league priority for certain locations.<ref name=Resnick15Dec/> In 1978, the Trump Organization was again in court for violating terms of the 1975 settlement; Cohn called the new charges "nothing more than a rehash of complaints by a couple of planted malcontents." Trump denied the charges.<ref name=Resnick15Dec/><ref name=Elliott /><ref>{{cite book |last1=Tuccille|first1=Jerome|title=Trump: The Saga of America's Most Powerful Real Estate Baron|date=1985|publisher=Beard Books |location=Fairless Hills, Pennsylvania|isbn=978-1587982231 |page=138 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=50ss1oWeZBAC&pg=PA139|access-date=March 10, 2016}}</ref> 

While representing Trump, Cohn simultaneously represented mobster [[Anthony Salerno]] who along with other mobsters controlled the concrete unions in New York. Cohn is alleged to have introduced Salerno to Trump which later led to Salerno aiding Trump in the construction of [[Trump Tower]] by providing concrete at reduced prices.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Johnston |first=David Cay |date=2016-05-22 |title=Just What Were Donald Trump's Ties to the Mob? |url=https://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2016/05/donald-trump-2016-mob-organized-crime-213910/ |access-date=2025-03-19 |website=POLITICO Magazine |language=en}}</ref>

==Lionel trains==
Cohn was the grand-nephew of [[Joshua Lionel Cowen]], founder of the [[Lionel Corporation|Lionel]] model train company. By 1959, Cowen and his son Lawrence had become involved in a family dispute over control of the company. In October 1959, Cohn and a group of investors stepped in and gained control of the company, having bought 200,000 of the firm's 700,000 shares, which were purchased by his syndicate from the Cowens and on the open market over a three-month period prior to the takeover.<ref>{{cite news |title=Group Acquires Lionel Control. Roy Cohn Heads Syndicate That Has Bought More Than 200,000 Shares. |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1959/10/09/archives/group-acquires-lionel-control-roy-cohn-heads-syndicate-that-has.html |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=October 9, 1959 |access-date= September 21, 2008}}</ref> Under Cohn's three-and-a-half-year leadership, Lionel was plagued by declining sales, quality-control problems and huge financial losses. In 1963, Cohn was forced to resign from the company after losing a [[proxy fight]].<ref>{{cite news |first= Vartanig G.|last= Vartan|title=Roy Cohn Loses Top Lionel Post. Board Elects Victor Muscat as Its New Chairman. Proxy Fight Sidetracked Earnings Record. Reviewed Shareowners Convene to Hear Reports on Company Operations During the Year. |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1963/05/07/archives/roy-cohn-loses-top-lionel-post-board-elects-victor-muscat-as-its.html |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=May 7, 1963 |access-date=September 21, 2008 }}</ref>

== Disbarment and death ==
In 1986, a five-judge panel of the [[New York Supreme Court, Appellate Division|Appellate Division of the New York State Supreme Court]] [[disbarment|disbarred]] Cohn for unethical and unprofessional conduct, including misappropriation of clients' funds, lying on a bar application, and falsifying a change to a will. The last charge arose from an incident in 1975, when Cohn entered the hospital room of the dying and unconscious [[Lewis Rosenstiel]], forced a pen into his hand, and lifted it to a document appointing himself and Cathy Frank, Rosenstiel's granddaughter, executors. The resulting marks were determined in court to be indecipherable and in no way a valid signature.<ref name="Cohn Ko'D" /> Despite the disbarment, many famous people showed up as character witnesses including [[Barbara Walters]], ''[[Firing Line (TV program)|Firing Line]]'' host [[William F. Buckley Jr.]] and Donald Trump.<ref>{{Cite news |last1=Hornblower |first1=Margot |date=June 24, 1986 |title=Roy Cohn Is Disbarred By New York Court |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1986/06/24/roy-cohn-is-disbarred-by-new-york-court/c5ca9112-3245-48f0-ab01-c2c0f3c3fc2e/ |access-date=December 22, 2021 |newspaper=The Washington Post |issn=0190-8286}}</ref>
[[File:RoyCohn-AIDS-Quilt.jpg|thumb|right|[[AIDS Memorial Quilt]] panel for Roy Cohn, 1988]]

In 1984, Cohn was diagnosed with [[AIDS]] and attempted to keep his condition secret while receiving experimental drug treatment.<ref>{{cite news |date=May 1988 |title=Roy Cohn |url=http://www.americanheritage.com/articles/magazine/ah/1988/5/1988_5_12.shtml |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071115021911/http://www.americanheritage.com/articles/magazine/ah/1988/5/1988_5_12.shtml |archive-date=November 15, 2007 |work=American Heritage}}</ref> He participated in clinical trials of [[Zidovudine|AZT]], a drug initially synthesized to treat cancer but later developed as the first anti-HIV agent for AIDS patients. He insisted until his dying day that he was ill with [[Hepatocellular carcinoma|liver cancer]].<ref>{{cite web |first=Paul |last=Colichman |date=October 23, 2013 |title=Who is Roy Cohn? |url=http://www.planetout.com/news/history/archive/20000103.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200423053525/https://planetout.com/news/history/archive/20000103.html |archive-date=April 23, 2020 |access-date=December 5, 2013 |website=PlanetOut}}</ref> He died on August 2, 1986, in [[Bethesda, Maryland]], of complications from AIDS, at the age of 59.<ref name="obitbg" /> After his death, the [[Internal Revenue Service|IRS]] seized almost everything he had including his house, cars, bank accounts, and other personal property and assets.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Lubasch |first=Arnold H. |date=April 4, 1986 |title=U.S. Sues Cohn for $7 Million in Taxes and Fees |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1986/04/04/nyregion/us-sues-cohn-for-7-million-in-taxes-and-fees.html |access-date=July 9, 2020 |work=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> According to Roger Stone, Cohn's "absolute goal was to die completely broke and owing millions to the [[Internal Revenue Service|IRS]]. He succeeded in that."<ref name=":0">{{cite magazine |last=Toobin |first=Jeffrey |author-link=Jeffrey Toobin |date=June 2, 2008 |title=The Dirty Trickster |url=https://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2008/06/02/080602fa_fact_toobin?currentPage=3 |access-date=May 31, 2008 |magazine=[[The New Yorker]] |page=58 |quote=He was interested in power and access. He told me his absolute goal was to die completely broke and owing millions to the I.R.S. He succeeded in that.}}</ref> One of the things that the IRS did not seize was a pair of knockoff diamond cuff links, given to him by his client and friend Donald Trump.<ref>{{Cite news|date=June 20, 2016|title=Donald Trump once gifted his best friend diamond Bulgari cuff links. They turned out to be knockoffs.|url=https://theweek.com/speedreads/631287/donald-trump-once-gifted-best-friend-diamond-bulgari-cuff-links-turned-knockoffs|access-date=July 9, 2020|newspaper=The Week|language=en}}</ref>

Cohn is buried in [[Union Field Cemetery]] in [[Queens]], New York. His tombstone describes him as a lawyer and a patriot.<ref name="NYTObit" /><ref>{{Cite web |title=From Haunted Mansions to the Brooklyn Bridge |url=http://www.nyc24.org/2002/issue04/story02/page02.asp |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081121140725/http://www.nyc24.org/2002/issue04/story02/page02.asp |archive-date=November 21, 2008 |access-date=December 26, 2018 |website=NYC 24}}</ref>

== Personal life ==
[[File:Roy_Cohn_Political_Aide_at_Steinbrenner_event_01.jpg|thumb|Cohn (''left'') as a political aide at the Steinbrenner event in 1980]]
Cohn dated [[Barbara Walters]] in college and remained friends with her.<ref name="Auletta" /> [[Samuel Irving Newhouse Jr.|SI Newhouse]], heir to the [[Condé Nast]] publishing empire, was Cohn's classmate at Horace Mann, and they remained lifelong friends. Cohn described [[Generoso Pope]] as "a second father".<ref>{{cite book |last1=Zion |first1=Sidney |url=https://archive.org/details/autobiographyofr00cohn/page/60 |title=The Autobiography of Roy Cohn |date=1988 |publisher=Lyle Stuart |isbn=9780818404719 |pages=60–61}}</ref> Cohn exchanged Christmas gifts with FBI director [[J. Edgar Hoover]];<ref name="Auletta">{{Cite web |last=Auletta |first=Ken |date=December 1978 |title=Don't Mess With Roy Cohn  |url=https://www.esquire.com/news-politics/a46616/dont-mess-with-roy-cohn/ |access-date=May 23, 2022 |website=Esquire }}</ref> they attended parties with their mutual friend, [[Lewis Rosenstiel]], founder of liquor company [[Schenley Industries]].<ref>{{cite book |last=Summers |first=Anthony |author-link=Anthony Summers |url=https://archive.org/details/officialconfiden0000summ/page/254 |title=Official and Confidential: The Secret Life of J Edgar Hoover |publisher=Pocket Books |year=1993 |isbn=978-0-671-88087-3 |pages=254–255}}</ref> Cohn referred to Donald Trump as his best friend. Cohn told journalists that Trump phoned him 15 to 20 times a day<ref name="vanityfair" /> and according to Christine Seymour, his long-time [[switchboard operator]], Trump was the last person to speak to Cohn on the phone before he died in 1986.<ref name="eavesdrop" /> 

Cohn had many influential social contacts.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Sherrill |first1=Robert |date=August 12, 2009 |title=King Cohn |url=https://www.thenation.com/article/archive/king-cohn/ |work=[[The Nation]]}}</ref> According to Seymour, he had frequent phone calls with [[Nancy Reagan]], and former [[CIA]] director [[William Casey]] "called Roy almost daily during [Reagan's] 1st election."<ref name="eavesdrop">{{cite magazine |last1=Baram |first1=Marcus |date=April 14, 2017 |title=Eavesdropping on Roy Cohn and Donald Trump |url=https://www.newyorker.com/news/news-desk/eavesdropping-on-roy-cohn-and-donald-trump |access-date=January 30, 2022 |magazine=[[The New Yorker]]}}</ref> Both Casey and Cohn were reportedly close with [[Craig J. Spence]], an influential Republican lobbyist.<ref>Hedges, Michael and Seper, Jerry (June 30, 1989). "Power Broker Served Drugs, Sex at Parties Bugged for Blackmail". ''The Washington Times''.</ref>  Cohn met [[Alan Dershowitz]] when they worked together on the [[Claus von Bülow]] case and praised Dershowitz's support for Israel.<ref>Dershowitz, quoted in ''Bully, Coward, Victim: The Story of Roy Cohn''.</ref> Cohn was also friends with [[Estée Lauder (businesswoman)|Estée Lauder]],<ref name="NYTObit" /> [[William F. Buckley Jr.]],<ref>{{Cite news |last=Drogin |first=Bob |date=February 2, 1986 |title=Ill With Cancer, He May Be Disbarred : Roy M. Cohn Fights for His Life and Legal Career |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1986-02-02-mn-3314-story.html |access-date=May 23, 2022 |website=Los Angeles Times }}</ref> and [[New York City]] mayor [[Abraham Beame]].<ref name="Auletta" /><ref>{{Cite news |last=Trueheart |first=Charles |date=April 2, 1988 |title=Cohn A Dark Story, Twice Told |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/1988/04/02/cohn-a-dark-story-twice-told/c41077ac-f7e4-497a-823a-341ebfde74c7/ |access-date=May 23, 2022 |newspaper=Washington Post |issn=0190-8286}}</ref>

=== Sexuality ===
When Cohn recruited [[G. David Schine]] as chief consultant to the McCarthy staff, speculation arose that Schine and Cohn had a [[sexual relationship]].<ref name="snarling">{{cite magazine|first=Nicholas|last=von Hoffman|title=The Snarling Death of Roy M. Cohn|magazine=[[Life (magazine)|Life]]|publisher=[[Time, Inc.]]|location=New York City|date=March 1988}}</ref><ref name="miller" /> Schine's chauffeur later volunteered to testify that he had seen the two "engaged in homosexual acts" in the back of his limousine,<ref>{{cite book |last1=Hersh |first1=Burton |title=Bobby and J. Edgar: The Historic Face-Off Between the Kennedys and J. Edgar Hoover that Transformed America |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gA6xmt1I2fYC|date=2007|publisher=Carroll & Graf|page=147|isbn=9780786731855 }}</ref> though there was no evidence that Schine ever had any romantic feelings for Cohn. During this period, Schine dated the actress [[Piper Laurie]],<ref>{{cite book |last1=Laurie |first1=Piper |title=Learning to Live Out Loud: A Memoir |publisher=Crown Archetype |year=2011 |page=123 |quote=I thought it was entirely possible Roy had romantic or sexual yearnings for David, who was a handsome six-foot-four Adonis, but the speculation that they were a homosexual couple was silly to me. Everything I knew about David from our relationship of over three years told me any sexual feelings Cohn might have had were not reciprocated.}}</ref> and he eventually married [[Hillevi Rombin]], a former [[Miss Universe]], with whom he had six children.<ref>{{cite news |last=Wolfe |first=Tom |author-link=Tom Wolfe |title=Dangerous Obsessions |work=[[The New York Times]]|date=April 3, 1988 |quote=But so far as Mr. Schine is concerned, there has never been the slightest evidence that he was anything but a good-looking kid who was having a helluva good time in a helluva good cause. In any event, the rumors were sizzling away... |url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=940DE6D9163BF930A35757C0A96E948260}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.glbtq.com/social-sciences/cohn_r.html|title=An Encyclopedia of Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer Culture |last=Baxter|first=Randolph|date=November 13, 2006|publisher=glbtq, Inc|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120129105211/http://www.glbtq.com/social-sciences/cohn_r.html|archive-date=January 29, 2012|url-status=dead|access-date=December 26, 2018|quote=Tall, rich, and suave, the Harvard-educated (and heterosexual) Schine contrasted starkly with the short, physically undistinguished, and caustic Cohn.}}</ref> During the Army–McCarthy hearings, Cohn denied having any "special interest" in Schine or being bound to him "closer than to the ordinary friend".<ref name="miller">{{cite book |last=Miller|first=Neil|title=Out of the Past: Gay and Lesbian History from 1869 to the Present |publisher=Advocate Books |location=Los Angeles |year=2005 |chapter=18 |url=http://www2.english.uiuc.edu/finnegan/English%20256/Miller.htm |isbn=978-1-55583-870-6 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090902224218/http://www2.english.uiuc.edu/finnegan/English%20256/Miller.htm |archive-date=September 2, 2009 }}</ref> [[Joseph Welch]], the Army's attorney in the hearings, made an apparent reference to Cohn's homosexuality. After asking a witness, at McCarthy's request, if a photo entered as evidence "came from a pixie", Welch defined "pixie" as "a close relative of a fairy". ''Pixie'' was the brand-name of a popular inexpensive amateur camera of the era; while "fairy" is a derogatory term for a homosexual man. The people at the hearing recognized the implication, and found it amusing; Cohn later called the remark "malicious", "wicked", and "indecent".<ref name="miller" />

The young Cohn also attached himself to several older powerful men who, in return, provided Cohn with assistance. One of them may have been New York's [[Francis Spellman|Cardinal Francis Spellman]], whose own alleged [[homosexuality]] has been a subject of controversy in the [[Catholic Church]].<ref>{{harvnb|Von Hoffman|1988}}</ref> Although Cohn always denied his homosexuality in public, he had a few known boyfriends over the course of his life, including his assistant Russell Eldridge, who died from [[HIV/AIDS|AIDS]] in 1984, and Peter Fraser, Cohn's partner for the last two years of his life, who was 30 years his junior.<ref name="snarling" /><ref name=":10">{{cite magazine|first=David Lloyd|last=Marcus |url=http://www.maryellenmark.com/text/magazines/vanity%20fair/925E-000-007.html |title=Roy Cohn's Last Days|magazine=[[Vanity Fair (magazine)|Vanity Fair]]|date=August 1987|via=MaryEllenMark.com}}</ref> Speculation about Cohn's sexuality intensified following his death from AIDS in 1986.<ref name="NYTObit" /> In a 2008 article published in ''[[The New Yorker]]'', [[Jeffrey Toobin]] quotes Cohn associate [[Roger Stone]]: "Roy was not gay. He was [[Men who have sex with men|a man who liked having sex with men]]. Gays were weak, effeminate. He always seemed to have these young blond boys around. It just wasn't discussed. He was interested in power and access."<ref name=":0" />

=== Sexual blackmail allegations ===
Some of Cohn's former clients, including [[Bill Bonanno]], son of [[Joseph Bonanno]], credit him with having compromising photographs of former FBI director J. Edgar Hoover. Because Hoover knew the pictures existed, Cohn told Bonanno, Hoover feared being blackmailed.<ref>{{cite book |first=Bill |last=Bonanno |title=Bound by Honor: A Mafioso's Story|publisher=St. Martin's Press|location=New York City |year=1999 |page=[https://archive.org/details/boundbyhonor00bill/page/143 143]|isbn=9780312203887 |url=https://archive.org/details/boundbyhonor00bill/page/143}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Hersh |first1=Burton |title=Bobby and J. Edgar: The Historic Face-Off Between the Kennedys and J. Edgar Hoover that Transformed America |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gA6xmt1I2fYC |date=2007 |publisher=Carroll & Graf|page=88|isbn=9780786731855 }}</ref> Other organized crime figures have corroborated these allegations.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Carlo |first1=Philip |title=Gaspipe: Confessions of a Mafia Boss |date=2008 |publisher=William Morrow Paperbacks |pages=336–337 |isbn=9780061429842 |url=https://archive.org/details/gaspipeconfessio00carl/page/336 }}</ref>

== Reputation ==

In 1978, [[Ken Auletta]] wrote in an ''[[Esquire (magazine)|Esquire]]'' profile of Cohn: "He fights his cases as if they were his own. It is war. If he feels his adversary has been unfair, it is war to the death. No white flags. No Mr. Nice Guy. Prospective clients who want to kill their husband, torture a business partner, break the government's legs, hire Roy Cohn. He is a legal executioner—the toughest, meanest, loyalest, vilest, and one of the most brilliant lawyers in America."<ref name="Auletta" />

[[Maureen Dowd]] wrote in an article for ''[[The New York Times]]'' which described Matt Tyrnauer's film ''[[Where's My Roy Cohn?]]'': "Roy Cohn understood the political value of wrapping himself in the flag. He made good copy. He knew how to manipulate the press and dictate stories to the New York tabloids. He surrounded himself with gorgeous women. There was always something of a nefarious nature going on. He was like a caged animal who would go after you the minute the cage door was opened."<ref>{{Cite news |last=Dowd |first=Maureen |authorlink=Maureen Dowd |date=September 1, 2019 |title=Matt Tyrnauer: Chronicler of Trump's Mentor Roy Cohn |work=[[The New York Times]] |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/09/01/style/roy-cohn-movie.html |access-date=May 23, 2022 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref>

Several people have asserted that Cohn had considerable influence on the [[First presidency of Donald Trump|presidency of Donald Trump]]. [[Ivy Meeropol]], director of ''Bully, Coward, Victim: The Story of Roy Cohn'', said "Cohn really paved the way for Trump and set him up with the right people, introduced him to [[Paul Manafort]] and Roger Stone—the people who helped him get to the White House."<ref name="vanityfair.com">{{Cite magazine |date=June 18, 2020 |title=Is Donald Trump More Dangerous Than Roy Cohn? A Filmmaker Says Yes |url=https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2020/06/donald-trump-roy-cohn-documentary |access-date=May 24, 2022 |magazine=[[Vanity Fair (magazine)|Vanity Fair]] }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Bruney |first=Gabrielle |date=June 18, 2020 |title=Roy Cohn Was an Infamous Political Fixer Who Made President Trump 'From Beyond the Grave' |url=https://www.esquire.com/entertainment/a29177110/wheres-my-roy-cohn-matt-tyrnauer-donald-trump-interview/ |access-date=June 30, 2022 |website=[[Esquire (magazine)|Esquire]] }}</ref>

''[[Vanity Fair (magazine)|Vanity Fair]]''{{'}}s [[Marie Brenner]] wrote in an article about Cohn's [[mentorship]] of Trump: "Cohn—possessed of a keen intellect... he could keep a jury spellbound. When he was indicted for [[bribery]], in 1969, his lawyer suffered a heart attack near the end of the trial. Cohn deftly stepped in and did a seven-hour [[closing argument]]—never once referring to a notepad… When Cohn spoke, he would fix you with a hypnotic stare. His eyes were the palest blue, all the more startling because they appeared to protrude from the sides of his head. While [[Al Pacino]]'s version of Cohn (in [[Mike Nichols]]'s [[Angels in America (miniseries)|2003 HBO adaptation]] of [[Tony Kushner]]'s ''[[Angels in America]]'') captured Cohn's intensity, it failed to convey his child-like yearning to be liked."<ref name="vanityfair" />

==Media portrayals==
=== Theatre ===
Cohn inspired several fictional portrayals after his death. Probably the best known is in Tony Kushner's ''[[Angels in America]]'' (1991), which portrays Cohn as a closeted, power-hungry hypocrite haunted by the ghost of [[Ethel Rosenberg]] as he denies dying of [[HIV/AIDS|AIDS]]. In the initial [[Broadway theatre|Broadway]] production, the role was played by [[Ron Leibman]]; in the [[HBO]] [[Angels in America (miniseries)|miniseries]] (2003), Cohn is played by [[Al Pacino]]; and in the 2010 [[Off-Broadway]] revival by the [[Signature Theatre Company (New York City)|Signature Theatre Company]] in Manhattan, the role was reprised by [[Frank Wood (actor)|Frank Wood]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.signaturetheatre.org/angels/whos_who.htm |title=Past Shows |website=Signature Theatre |access-date=November 2, 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100802002632/http://www.signaturetheatre.org/angels/whos_who.htm |archive-date=August 2, 2010}}</ref> [[Nathan Lane]] played Cohn in the 2017 [[Royal National Theatre]] production and the 2018 Broadway production.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://angelsbroadway.com/|title=Angels in America on Broadway|website=angelsbroadway.com|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180324041915/https://angelsbroadway.com/|archive-date=March 24, 2018|url-status=usurped|access-date=April 1, 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nationaltheatre.org.uk/shows/angels-in-america |title=Angels in America |date=December 12, 2016 |publisher=Royal National Theatre |access-date=August 11, 2017}}</ref> Cohn is also a character in Kushner's [[one-act play]], ''[[G. David Schine in Hell]]'' (1996). That play may have been inspired in part by the ''[[National Lampoon (magazine)|National Lampoon]]'' comic strip "Roy Cohn in Hell" (February 1987), which depicts Cohn joining Hoover and Senator McCarthy in the underworld. In the early 1990s, Cohn was one of two subjects of [[Ron Vawter]]'s one-man show ''Roy Cohn/Jack Smith''; his part was written by [[Gary Indiana]].<ref>{{cite news |last=Holden |first=Stephen |author-link=Stephen Holden|title=Two Strangers Meet Through an Actor |newspaper=[[The New York Times]]|date=May 3, 1992 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1992/05/03/theater/theater-two-strangers-meet-through-an-actor.html}}</ref>

=== Cinema, music, and television ===
Cohn had been played numerous times on both film and television. Cinematic portrayals include the following: 
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Year
! Actor 
! Project 
! Notes
! {{abbr|Ref.|Reference(s)}}
|-
| 1977 || [[George Wyner]] || ''[[Tail Gunner Joe]]'' || [[NBC]] television film || <ref>{{cite magazine| url=https://time.com/archive/6848525/people-feb-7-1977/ | magazine=[[Time (magazine)|Time]] | title=People, Feb. 7, 1977 | date=7 February 1977 | access-date=25 September 2024}}</ref>
|-
| 1985 || [[Joe Pantoliano]] || ''[[Robert Kennedy and His Times]]'' || [[CBS]] miniseries || <ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/lists/7-actors-who-have-played-robert-f-kennedy-film-tv-1109981/|title=7 Actors Who Have Played Robert F. Kennedy in Film and on TV|last=Durkan|first=Deirdre|date=June 5, 2018|work=[[The Hollywood Reporter]]|access-date=September 25, 2024}}</ref>
|-
| 1992 || [[James Woods]] || ''[[Citizen Cohn]]'' || [[HBO]] television film || <ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1992/08/21/news/tvweekend-how-roy-cohn-looked-at-the-world.html|title=How Roy Cohn Looked at the World|last=Goodman|first=Walter|author-link=Walter Goodman (critic)|date=August 21, 1992|work=[[The New York Times]]|access-date=September 25, 2024}}</ref>
|-
| 2003 || [[Al Pacino]] || ''[[Angels in America (miniseries)|Angels in America]]'' || HBO miniseries || <ref>{{Cite news|url=https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2018/04/frank-rich-roy-cohn-the-original-donald-trump.html|title=The Original Donald Trump|first=Frank|last=Rich|author-link=Frank Rich|newspaper=[[New York (magazine)|New York]]|date=April 30, 2018|accessdate=September 25, 2024}}</ref>
|-
| 2023 || [[Will Brill]] || ''[[Fellow Travelers (miniseries)|Fellow Travelers]]'' || [[Showtime (TV network)|Showtime]] miniseries  || <ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.bbc.com/culture/article/20240517-roy-cohn-the-mysterious-us-lawyer-who-helped-donald-trump-rise-to-power|title=Roy Cohn: The mysterious US lawyer who helped Donald Trump rise to power|first=Caryn|last=James|author-link=Caryn James|work=[[BBC Online]]|date=May 17, 2024|accessdate=September 29, 2024}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Otterson |first=Joe |date=2022-07-21 |title=Showtime Limited Series 'Fellow Travelers' Adds Five to Cast (EXCLUSIVE) |url=https://variety.com/2022/tv/news/showtime-fellow-travelers-cast-1235322304/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220721200039/https://variety.com/2022/tv/news/showtime-fellow-travelers-cast-1235322304/ |archive-date=2022-07-21 |access-date=2022-07-21 |website=Variety }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Knolle |first=Sharon |date=2023-10-27 |title='Fellow Travelers' Cast and Character Guide: Who's Who? |url=https://www.thewrap.com/fellow-travelers-cast-characters/ |access-date=2023-11-14 |website=TheWrap }}</ref> 
|-
| 2024 || [[Jeremy Strong]] || [[The Apprentice (2024 film)|''The Apprentice'']] || Film || <ref>{{Cite news|url=https://variety.com/2024/film/news/sebastian-stan-donald-trump-the-apprentice-weight-gain-1236148614/|title=Sebastian Stan Tells All: Becoming Donald Trump, Gaining 15 Pounds and Starring in 2024's Most Controversial Movie|last=D'Addario|first=Daniel|date=September 19, 2024|work=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]|access-date=September 25, 2024}}</ref>
|- 
|}

Cohn was the subject of two 2019 documentaries: ''Bully, Coward, Victim: The Story of Roy Cohn'', directed by [[Ivy Meeropol]] (a documentary filmmaker and granddaughter of Julius and Ethel Rosenberg)<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2020/jun/17/roy-cohn-film-ivy-meeropol-hbo|title=Bully, coward, victim? Inside the sinister world of Trump mentor Roy Cohn|last=Bramesco|first=Charles|date=June 17, 2020|work=[[The Guardian]]|access-date=September 25, 2024}}</ref> and [[Matt Tyrnauer]]'s ''[[Where's My Roy Cohn?]]''<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/film/2019/jan/27/wheres-my-roy-cohn-review-damning-documentary-on-villainous-lawyer|title=Where's my Roy Cohn? review – damning documentary on villainous lawyer|last=Hoffman|first=Jordan|date=January 27, 2019|work=[[The Guardian]]|access-date=January 28, 2019|issn=0261-3077}}</ref> David Moreland appears as Cohn in ''[[The X-Files]]'' episode "[[Travelers (The X-Files)|Travelers]]" (1998). Roland Blum, played by [[Michael Sheen]], is a dishonest lawyer inspired by Cohn, who appears in "The One Inspired by Roy Cohn", Season 3, Episode 2 of ''[[The Good Fight]]''.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Saraiya |first1=Sonia |title=How Michael Sheen's Roland Blum Became ''The Good Fight's'' Wild Id |work=[[Vanity Fair (magazine)|Vanity Fair]] |date=June 10, 2019}}</ref> Cohn is name checked in the [[Billy Joel]] song "[[We Didn't Start the Fire]]".<ref>{{cite news |title=All 119 References in "We Didn't Start the Fire," Explained |url=https://www.britannica.com/list/all-119-references-in-we-didnt-start-the-fire-explained |access-date=June 21, 2024 |work=Encyclopedia Britannica}}</ref> ''[[The Apprentice (2024 film)|The Apprentice]]'' is a 2024 [[independent film|independent]] [[biographical film|biographical]] [[drama film]] that examines Trump's career as a [[Business career of Donald Trump|real estate businessman]] in New York City in the 1970s and 1980s, including his relationship with Roy Cohn portraying himself as Trump's attorney and mentor; the film was nominated for two [[Academy Awards]], including for [[Jeremy Strong]]'s portrayal of Cohn.<ref>[https://www.theguardian.com/film/2024/oct/05/apprentice-trump-movie-ali-abbasi 'I'm fine with people bashing us': inside the controversial Trump biopic|Biopics|The Guardian]</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-features/the-apprentice-movie-kickstarter-1235991544/ |title=Why 'The Apprentice' Movie Needed a Kickstarter Campaign – The Hollywood Reporter |access-date=January 26, 2025 |url-status=live }}</ref> The film explores their friendship while Cohn is shown leading an actively gay lifestyle in New York City while forming a closer business relationship with Trump.<ref name="Rooney">{{cite web |last1=Rooney |first1=David |date=May 20, 2024 |title='The Apprentice' Review: Sebastian Stan and Jeremy Strong Are Superb in Chilling Account of the Unholy Alliance That Birthed Donald Trump |url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-reviews/the-apprentice-review-sebastian-stan-jeremy-strong-donald-trump-1235904171/ |website=The Hollywood Reporter |language=en-US |access-date=May 21, 2024 |url-status=live }}</ref>

==Bibliography==
* {{cite book
| last = Cohn
| first = Roy
| title = Only a Miracle Can Save America from the Red Conspiracy
| publisher = Wanderer Printing Co.
| year = 1954}}
* {{cite book
| last = Cohn
| first = Roy
| title = McCarthy
| publisher = New American Library
| year = 1968|isbn=978-1125326596}}
* {{cite book
| last = Cohn
| first = Roy
| title = A Fool for a Client: My Struggle Against the Power of a Public Prosecutor
| publisher = Dell Publishing
| year = 1972
| isbn = 978-0-440-02667-9}}
* {{cite book
| last = Cohn
| first = Roy
| title = McCarthy: The Answer to 'Tail Gunner Joe'
| publisher = [[Manor Books]]
| year = 1977
| isbn = 978-0-532-22106-7}}
* {{cite book
| last = Cohn
| first = Roy
| title = How to Stand Up for Your Rights and Win!
| publisher = Devin-Adair Publishers
| year = 1981
| isbn = 978-0-8159-5723-2}}
* {{cite book
| last = Cohn
| first = Roy
| title = 'Outlaws of Amerika' The Weather Underground
| publisher = Western Goals
| year = 1982}}
*{{cite book
| last = Cohn
| first = Roy
| title = Roy Cohn on Divorce: Words to the Wise and Not So Wise
| publisher = [[Random House]]
| year = 1986
| isbn = 978-0-394-54383-3}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Further reading==
* {{cite book|title=Reminiscences of Roy Marcus Cohn: Oral History, 1969|year=1969|publisher=Columbia University Libraries|location=New York City|page=15|editor=Herbert S. Parmet<!--|format=typescript + 1 reel-->}}
* {{cite book
|last= Von Hoffman 
|first= Nicholas 
|title= Citizen Cohn; The Life and Times of Roy Cohn 
|publisher= Doubleday 
|year= 1988 
|isbn= 978-0-385-23690-4 
|url = https://archive.org/details/citizenco00vonh}}
* {{cite journal 
|last= Ward 
|first= Geoffrey C. 
|title= Roy Cohn 
|journal= American Heritage Magazine 
|year= 1988 
|url= http://www.americanheritage.com/articles/magazine/ah/1988/5/1988_5_12.shtml 
|url-status= dead 
|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20071115021911/http://www.americanheritage.com/articles/magazine/ah/1988/5/1988_5_12.shtml 
|archive-date= November 15, 2007 |df= mdy-all}}
* {{cite book |author1=Zion, Sidney |author2=Cohn, Roy |name-list-style=amp |title= The Autobiography of Roy Cohn |publisher= St Martins |year= 1988 |isbn= 978-0-312-91402-8}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|Roy Cohn}}
* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IR9Nr2U_y0k 1951 Interview]
* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DaP1tkKrCWw Discussion with Gore Vidal, 1977]
* {{Find a Grave|21562}}

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