Roy Cohn

Encyclopaedia BritannicaEncyclopædia BritannicaEncyclopædia Britannica is a general English-language encyclopedia first published in Edinburgh, Scotland, in 1768; the name also refers to its publisher, Chicago-based Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. (which presents itself as The Britannica Group). The print edition ended in 2012, and the company’s main businesses since then have been the online encyclopedia Britannica.com, digital education products for schools and libraries, and Merriam-Webster dictionaries.Open the full entry records that Roy Marcus Cohn was born in the Bronx, New York, on February 20, 1927.⁠[1]

The Senate Historical Office’s introduction to the 1953–54 executive session transcripts of the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations says that before joining McCarthy, Cohn had taken part in the federal prosecution of William Remington and in the prosecution of Julius and Ethel Rosenberg.⁠[2]

The FBI’s records vault includes a folder titled “Roy M. Cohn” within its Rosenberg case files.⁠[3]

The Senate introduction says McCarthy invited Cohn to become subcommittee counsel in December 1952; the official staff list gives his tenure as chief counsel as January 15, 1953 to August 13, 1954. He was 26 and had no previous legislative experience.⁠[2]

The introduction describes him as running hearings “like a prosecutor before a grand jury” and says he brought in his friend G. David Schine as the subcommittee’s unpaid “chief consultant.”⁠[2]

The Senate records that McCarthy’s investigative hearings ran from February 16, 1953 to March 10, 1954, covering the State Department, the Voice of America and other agencies. In April 1953 Cohn and Schine made a much-publicized tour of U.S. information libraries in Europe.⁠[4][2]

The introduction adds that Robert F. Kennedy resigned from the staff in August 1953 after clashing with Cohn, and that in the autumn the subcommittee held executive sessions on Fort Monmouth, with McCarthy and Cohn convinced that secrets were still leaking.⁠[2]

Schine was drafted in November 1953. The introduction to the fifth Senate volume records that Cohn then repeatedly pressed Army officials for passes for Schine and his release from basic training, and that Army Secretary Robert Stevens suspected the Fort Monmouth inquiry was being used “as leverage to win favors for Private Schine.”⁠[5]

In spring 1954 the Army accused McCarthy and Cohn of seeking preferential treatment for Schine. The Senate records that the Army–McCarthy hearings ran from March 16 to June 17, 1954, and were broadcast on national television, with both Cohn and McCarthy testifying.⁠[5][4]

On June 9, 1954, Army special counsel Joseph Welch confronted McCarthy at the hearings: “Have you no sense of decency?” It became the best-known moment of the proceedings.⁠[6]

The fifth volume’s introduction quotes Cohn’s later judgment of his own testimony: “I was brash, smug, and smart-alecky.”⁠[5]

The Senate introduction records that Cohn resigned as chief counsel under pressure in August 1954, with his tenure ending on August 13. On December 2 that year the Senate censured McCarthy by a vote of 67 to 22.⁠[5][2][7]

Britannica says that after leaving the Senate Cohn practised privately in New York and became known for tenacious representation of high-profile clients, including businessman Donald Trump, shipping magnate Aristotle Onassis and organized-crime figures Anthony “Fat Tony” Salerno and John Gotti.⁠[1]

The fifth Senate volume’s introduction records that Cohn was tried on federal charges including conspiracy, bribery and fraud in 1964, 1969 and 1971, and was acquitted each time.⁠[5]

The same introduction records that Cohn was disbarred in 1986.⁠[5]

Britannica records that Cohn died in Bethesda, Maryland, on August 2, 1986, at 59.⁠[1]

In January 2003 the Senate made public the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations’ 1953–54 executive session transcripts in five volumes, with introductions by the Senate Historical Office documenting Cohn’s role.⁠[2][5]

Where’s My Roy Cohn?, directed by Matt Tyrnauer and distributed by Sony Pictures Classics, opened in limited U.S. release on September 20, 2019 and was released for streaming on December 15, 2019; it runs 1 hour 37 minutes.⁠[8]

Ivy Meeropol’s Bully. Coward. Victim. The Story of Roy Cohn screened at the 57th New York Film Festival in 2019 as an HBO Documentary Films release, with interviewees including Cindy Adams, Alan Dershowitz, Tony Kushner, Nathan Lane and John Waters; Rotten Tomatoes lists its streaming release as June 19, 2020.⁠[9][10]

In an October 6, 2026 report on Warren BuffettWarren BuffettWarren Buffett is an American investor who took control of Berkshire Hathaway in 1965 and served as its chairman and chief executive from 1970; he handed the chief executive role to Greg Abel on January 1, 2026 and became chairman emeritus, while remaining a director, on September 18, 2026.Open the full entry’s YouTubeYouTubeYouTube is Google’s video-sharing and creator platform, founded in 2005 by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim and acquired by Google in 2006. Built around video uploading, viewing, and creator earnings, the platform has developed Shorts, YouTube Music, Premium, YouTube TV, and products for children, and is headquartered in San Bruno, California, United States.Open the full entry habits, The Wall Street Journal quoted his friend Sharon OsbergSharon OsbergSharon Osberg is an American bridge player and former banking technology executive who was an executive vice president running Wells Fargo's online financial services division, won two world bridge titles with U.S. teams, and is Warren Buffett's longtime bridge partner.Open the full entry as saying the two had watched a documentary about Roy Cohn together in Omaha in August.⁠[11]