DAVE ROSS

Ross: When to disobey your powerful boss

Dec 13, 2018, 6:23 AM | Updated: 11:33 am

Michael cohen...

Michael Cohen walks out of federal court in New York Nov. 29, 2018. (AP Photo/Julie Jacobson, File)

(AP Photo/Julie Jacobson, File)

Michael Cohen once said he would take a bullet for his old boss, and he just did. He’s going to prison for three years. He admitted at his sentencing that his “blind loyalty” led him to ignore his own “moral compass.”

Cohen is going to prison because the law expects you to disobey when your boss tells you to do something corrupt. Everyone who works for a powerful boss needs to breathe this in.

RELATED: Trump’s transparency should be more like a game show
RELATED: Was Trump’s tweet really a typo?

Now, I don’t want to make any Cohen types unnecessarily nervous here. I‘m pretty sure if Donald Trump had never run for president, Cohen would be a free man today.

It appears to be absolutely legal to spend a fulfilling career loyally spreading money around to suppress embarrassing stories about your boss, as long as it’s not intended to affect an election.

However, I will note that the time for candidates to jump into the 2020 presidential race has come.

A lot of successful people with public images to protect are preparing to announce. If you are somebody’s Michael Cohen, who decided never to disobey as long as it was making you rich, and you get wind that your boss is about to run for president, it is time to flush your key card, ghost yourself, hire a lawyer who is not Rudy Giuliani, write a memo to the FBI truthfully detailing everything you did, and pray that your boss gets stomped in New Hampshire.

Dave's Commentary

Dave Ross on KIRO Newsradio 97.3 FM
  • listen to dave rossTune in to KIRO Newsradio weekdays at 5am for Dave Ross on Seattle's Morning News.

Dave Ross

privacy pods...

Dave Ross

Ross: Tracking employees’ vital signs at work via privacy pods, what could go wrong?

I saw a Bloomberg story about the latest innovation to reduce your stress level at work: Privacy pods.

24 days ago

car culture...

Dave Ross

Ross: Are we killing car culture? Or is car culture killing the US?

I don’t think the question is whether we're going to "kill" our car culture. The real question is can we stop our car culture from killing the U.S.?

1 month ago

drivers data insurance...

Dave Ross

Ross: As cars release driving data to insurance, is your driving my business?

Every move you make, every swerve you take, every lane change you fake – someone’s watching you. Do drivers have a right to keep driving data private?

1 month ago

rent control...

Dave Ross

Ross: Rent control was never the answer in Wash.

The rent control bill died in the Washington State Legislature this week, even though Democrats control both houses.

2 months ago

end of democracy...

Dave Ross

Ross: Conservative activist earns applause for pledging an ‘end of Democracy’

The theme from Jack Posobiec's speech is that Jan. 6 was a righteous attack not on democracy, but on those who threaten democracy.

2 months ago

Image: Rep. Lauren Boebert, R-Colorado, is seen on Capitol Hill on Jan. 6, 2023. (Photo: Alex Brand...

Dave Ross

Ross: Voters can help cull bad politicians from the herd early

Let's remember that just about every occupant of a higher office once occupied a lower office, and was put there by us, Dave Ross says.

2 months ago

Ross: When to disobey your powerful boss