Last week, former fixer to President Donald Trump, Michael Cohen, mended fences with his former boss, returning to what he once described as a "cult."

After federal investigators raided Cohen and his relationship with Trump broke down, Cohen cooperated with prosecutors and became an important witness in civil and criminal cases involving Trump, including Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s hush-money prosecution and New York Attorney General Letitia James’s civil-fraud case. That history gives Cohen unusual leverage and makes any renewed alliance notable, since he has already sat at the center of some of Trump’s highest-stakes legal fights.

Writing for Zeteo's morning newsletter, Asawin Suebsaeng argued that Cohen never experienced a genuine moral conversion, but instead shifted loyalties when it suited him. After speaking out against Trump for years, Cohen was hoping to receive a pardon from President Joe Biden, journalist Tara Palmeri said in an appearance on CNN.

"This is absolutely about a pardon," she said. "He was very angry when he didn't get one. You even heard him again, back on MS NOW saying, 'I'm someone's son, too' after Hunter Biden got a pardon and he didn't. He then created this proposal to pardon all nonviolent felons, 70 million, including himself. This was something he proposed during the Biden administration."

Suebsaeng said many people in political media were taken in by Cohen's "schtick of turning on the president and earnestly seeing the error of his mean and Trumpy ways."

The Zeteo reporter wrote that, now that the two appear to have repaired their relationship, Cohen could, as an enforcer and fixer, become part of Trump's efforts to target political enemies.

According to sources cited by the report, Trump White House and Justice Department appointees have discussed using Cohen as a potential witness if the federal government pursues criminal cases against James and Bragg, potentially on the basis of alleged civil-rights violations against Trump. If that happened, Cohen’s value would not depend only on whether charges succeed, but also on whether the process itself applies pressure through investigations, legal bills and the demands of responding to government scrutiny.

Suebsaeng argued that even weak cases could still serve a political purpose by forcing targets to deal with investigations, legal expenses and public pressure.

The report also noted major obstacles. Some Trump advisers reportedly question Cohen’s credibility and view him as an unreliable witness. Attorney General Todd Blanche previously attacked Cohen’s credibility when he served as Trump’s personal defense lawyer.

Trump's administration has already attempted to charge James over a mortgage application discrepancy. His DOJ also charged former FBI Director James Comey over a photo of seashells on a beach that read "86-47." Trump also pressured local prosecutors to pursue Sen. Adam Schiff (D-Ca.) in Maryland, though the U.S. attorney did not do so.

Cohen has sought a federal pardon, which Trump could grant.