15 years before federal agents raided his office, and before he was Donald Trump's personal attorney, he was Michael Cohen, a candidate for New York City council.

A Republican running in Manhattan, he tried to even the long odds with an extra-large cup of swagger:

"When the coffee shop in my neighborhood got lazy about its trash," he wrote to would-be voters. "I hectored them into obtaining a state-of-the-art disposal system. And when an undesirable commercial tenant wanted to move nearby, I researched and gathered evidence regarding the potential impact to the community, and sent them elsewhere."

Cohen lost the race handily to Eva Moskowitz, who now runs a large chain of charter schools and declined to comment.

Cohen didn't get back to NY1. His lawyer said the raids were unnecessary because Cohen had been cooperating with investigators.

He's a native-New Yorker, with a father who survived the Holocaust.

After President Trump praised both people sides of a white supremacist protest and counter-protest in Charlottesville, North Carolina in the summer, Cohen mentioned his lineage in vouching for the president on Twitter.

He joined Trump's team in 2006, savoring a reputation as an attack dog.

"I will always protect our @POTUS" he wrote recently.

Protection that's included threats to reporters, including one from NY1, for asking thorny questions of the then-candidate.

Apart from the swagger, other, perhaps clichéd, elements of New York City course through his life, down to his Twitter handle, which includes an area code of Manhattan.

He and his wife also own shares in more than 30 taxi medallions, with colorful names like Smoochie Cab Corp.

Medallions have plummeted in value in recent years, and reportedly agents are looking into his cab business.

They're also looking into how women claiming affairs with Trump were kept quiet. Trump has denied the relationships. He's said to be seething.

The president isn't saying whether he will fire the special counsel, Robert Mueller.

But his top spokeswoman said the White House believes that he can, directly.

Photo of Cohen above via AP Photo/Andrew Harnik.