(WASHINGTON) Michael Cohen, who has served as President Donald Trumps personal attorney, made an overture to provide consulting services to Ford Motor Co. in January 2017, but was quickly rebuffed, people familiar with the matter said.
Mr. Cohen, touting his proximity to the president, contacted Fords office in Washington D.C.an approach that Special Counsel Robert Mueller later learned about in the course of his investigation, the people said.
Mr. Muellers team has since requested information from Ford about the outreach, including emails and records, and has interviewed Fords head of government affairs, Ziad Ojakli, the people said.
The pitch was made in an informal phone call and the exchange was short. Mr. Ojakli rejected the offer and had no further conversations about it, the people said.
It is unclear when Mr. Mueller sought information about the overture from Mr. Cohen. Representatives for Mr. Cohen didnt respond to a request for comment; Mr. Muellers spokesman declined to comment.
Mr. Cohens consulting work has drawn scrutiny from federal prosecutors.
He set up a company, Essential Consultants LLC, that he used to make a payment to the former adult-movie actress Stephanie Cliffordknown as Stormy Danielsin exchange for her silence about an alleged affair with President Donald Trump.
Last year, Mr. Muellers office sought information from the pharmaceutical company Novartis AG and the telecommunications firm AT& T Inc. dealing with payments they made to Essential Consultants in exchange for Mr. Cohens advice.
