or
"The Evil That Men Do Live After Them..."
"Where's my Roy Cohn?"
uttered by Donald Trump when his appointed
Attorney General, Jeff Sessions, recused himself
from the Russian investigation.
I would suspect a lot of people of a certain age don't know who Roy Cohn is/was and, if they do, it is more because he is prominently featured in Tony Kushner's play "Angels in America," where the character is such a despicable presence that, if one had no idea that the person actually existed, one would think they were entirely made up—so venal and self-deluded a presence is the character in the play.
Truth is stranger than fiction, however, and "you can't make these things up."
Cohn was a New York lawyer with an addiction for power and prestige and money. He was born to a wealthy family, the only son, but liked to live such a flamboyant life-style that he ran through it quickly. He graduated from Columbia Law School at 20 and had to wait until he was 21 to take the bar exam. He immediately began working in a Manhattan law office and started making a name for himself prosecuting communists under the Smith Act. He was on the prosecuting team during the trial of Julius and Ethel Rosenberg—and as with most things with Cohn—his true role is controversial as far as truth and ethics.
Alan Dershowitz came up with the astounding declaration that the Rosenberg's "were guilty—but framed."
Cohn capitalized on this and worked the media and legal angles to promote his work with the Rosenbergs. This caught the attention of J. Edgar Hoover, who recommended Cohn to Senator Joseph McCarthy, who was hanging his Senate career on aggressively seeking out communists in the State Department. McCarthy hired Cohn as his chief counsel during the hey-day of McCarthyism, "the lavender scare" (exposing gay employees of the government) and the Army-McCarthy hearings.
It was the latter that proved McCarthy's downfall and it was instituted through the arrogance of Cohn, himself. Even though Cohn had aggressively sought out to kick out homosexual employees, there was much evidence that he was doing so hypocritically—that Cohn himself was gay—and when another counsel on McCarthy's staff, G. David Schine, who was close to Cohn, was drafted, Cohn tried to use his office and his authority to influence the Army into giving Schine preferential treatment. Such use of influence and office for personal gain lead to counter-suits, public hearings, and the censure of McCarthy, which ended his influence and political career.
Cohn went into private practice and became infamous as a fixer. His clients ranged from prominent Mafia chiefs to George Steinbrenner, the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New York, Rupert Murdoch and Donald Trump. He was also an unofficial adviser to Richard Nixon and Ronald Reagan during their presidencies and was a lifelong fixture in conservative circles.
He was also a lifelong Democrat.
He was disbarred in 1986 for attempting to obtain the signature of a comatose client's on a will naming Cohn as a beneficiary.
He died several months later of complications from AIDS.
Matt Tyrnauer's film goes through the whole sordid process, detailing Cohn's life with talking-head interviews of relatives, associates—like recently convicted Roger Stone, still awaiting sentencing—none of whom have anything good to say about him, other than an admiration for his ruthlessnes and a grudging acknowledgment of his tenacity in the face of all odds, or even facts. One gets the impression with Cohn dead that they can finally say what they thought of him without repercussions—which might be comforting if Cohn's slash-and-burn venality weren't so ever-present in the actions of his survivors or his students.
One might even consider Where's My Roy Cohn? an example of character assassination...if there was any character involved.
Truth is stranger than fiction, however, and "you can't make these things up."
Cohn was a New York lawyer with an addiction for power and prestige and money. He was born to a wealthy family, the only son, but liked to live such a flamboyant life-style that he ran through it quickly. He graduated from Columbia Law School at 20 and had to wait until he was 21 to take the bar exam. He immediately began working in a Manhattan law office and started making a name for himself prosecuting communists under the Smith Act. He was on the prosecuting team during the trial of Julius and Ethel Rosenberg—and as with most things with Cohn—his true role is controversial as far as truth and ethics.
Alan Dershowitz came up with the astounding declaration that the Rosenberg's "were guilty—but framed."
Cohn capitalized on this and worked the media and legal angles to promote his work with the Rosenbergs. This caught the attention of J. Edgar Hoover, who recommended Cohn to Senator Joseph McCarthy, who was hanging his Senate career on aggressively seeking out communists in the State Department. McCarthy hired Cohn as his chief counsel during the hey-day of McCarthyism, "the lavender scare" (exposing gay employees of the government) and the Army-McCarthy hearings.It was the latter that proved McCarthy's downfall and it was instituted through the arrogance of Cohn, himself. Even though Cohn had aggressively sought out to kick out homosexual employees, there was much evidence that he was doing so hypocritically—that Cohn himself was gay—and when another counsel on McCarthy's staff, G. David Schine, who was close to Cohn, was drafted, Cohn tried to use his office and his authority to influence the Army into giving Schine preferential treatment. Such use of influence and office for personal gain lead to counter-suits, public hearings, and the censure of McCarthy, which ended his influence and political career.
He was also a lifelong Democrat.
He was disbarred in 1986 for attempting to obtain the signature of a comatose client's on a will naming Cohn as a beneficiary.
He died several months later of complications from AIDS.
One might even consider Where's My Roy Cohn? an example of character assassination...if there was any character involved.
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