Trump calls Cohen. The reunion is radio, not a rewrite of the record.

President Trump called in Thursday to Michael Cohen's WABC show, the first time the two men have talked in public in about eight years. Cohen used to be the fixer. Then he was the witness. On the air he called Trump “boss” and talked about forgiveness. That is a radio segment. It is not a court order.

Cohen's show is “When You Know, You Know.” The station said the sit-down ran about 40 minutes. Part one aired Thursday. Part two is set for Sunday at 5 p.m. Eastern. Cohen told Fox the conversation was about forgiveness. He has also said, in the same week, that he resubmitted a pardon application the last White House denied.

The history is not a secret. In 2018 Cohen pleaded guilty to campaign-finance charges tied to his work as Trump's lawyer and went to prison. In 2019 he told Congress Trump was a “racist, a con man and a cheat.” He later testified in New York cases against Trump. Trump once sued him for $500 million and dropped it. Those filings still exist. A radio recant does not pull them out of the docket.

It is a public thaw. It is useful to the people who want Cohen's later walk-backs in the appeals papers. It is not proof that the earlier testimony was false, and it is not proof that it was true. This desk is not laundering a reunion into a verdict either way.