Michael Cohen had expected to be named chief of Donald Trump's presidential campaign at one point and later told people he anticipated being appointed White House chief of staff, The Wall Street Journal is reporting.
But each time Trump's personal attorney was shut out.
"Boss, I miss you so much," Cohen later told Trump in a phone call, according to the newspaper. "I wish I was down there with you. It's really hard for me to be here."
Federal prosecutors are currently investigating his $130,000 pre-election payment to adult-film actress Stormy Daniels, who alleges she had a sexual encounter with Trump. In addition, Cohen's taxi business and other personal dealings are being looked at, the Journal noted.
Federal prosecutors told a judge the FBI seized as many as 16 cell phones when agents raided Cohen's home, office and Manhattan hotel room.
The Journal noted, however, Cohen has often been left on the outside of Trump's presidency.
It said just two weeks before the inauguration, Trump and Cohen were in their respective offices in Trump Tower in New York.
"He knows that an hour before he leaves, if he calls me and says, 'I need you in D.C.,' I'll be there," the newspaper quoted Cohen as telling a reporter.
And, in a phone interview a week later, he said: "I still don't know exactly what I'm going to do, whether I need to stay here for a while or go to D.C. It's crazy we're talking about this three, four days before which everybody starts heading down and I have no idea."
In recent months, he has privately brooded about not getting the White House jobs he believed he deserved, people familiar with his thinking told the Journal. And the paper said he has found it difficult to get Trump to pay attention to him.
Trump decided against bringing Cohen into the White House because it presented too many risks, the newspaper said attributing its information to unnamed sources.
One source told the Journal that Trump has described Cohen as a "bull in a china shop," who when brought in to fix a problem, will sometimes break more china.
Meanwhile, the newspaper had reported previously that a Trump legal adviser had warned the president that Cohen would likely cooperate if charged.
But Trump is not buying any of it.
"Most people will flip if the government lets them out of trouble, even if…it means lying or making up stories," Trump had tweeted.
"Sorry, I don't see Michael doing that despite the horrible Witch Hunt and the dishonest media!"
And in a Fox News interview on Thursday, Trump commented on the Cohen probe.
"And, you know, from what I see he did absolutely nothing wrong," Trump said.
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