Michael Cohen, a former personal attorney for President Donald Trump who played a key role in the controversial criminal “hush money” case brought by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, as well as New York Attorney General Letitia James’ dubious civil fraud case, is now claiming that he was “covered” to testify against the president.
In the criminal hush money case, Cohen served as a key witness during the 2024 trial. The case centered on allegations that Trump falsified business records related to payments made to silence claims of extramarital affairs during the 2016 presidential campaign.
It has been heavily criticized for deploying questionable legal theories and the involvement of key Biden Justice Department officials, including the use of COVID-era legislation to expand statutes of limitations, upgrading charges to felonies that would have typically been misdemeanors, and copy/pasting the same charge to upgrade what would have been a single misdemeanor charge to the “34 felony counts.”
Cohen testified that Trump directly instructed him to handle a $130,000 payment to adult film actress Stormy Daniels to prevent her story from emerging before the election. Cohen — who was previously convicted of perjury — stated under oath that the payment was made “to ensure the story would not come out, would not affect Mr. Trump’s chances of becoming president of the United States.”
In the civil fraud case, brought by Letitia James’s office, Cohen testified in 2023 about Trump’s financial practices. The case alleged that Trump and his organization inflated asset values in statements of financial condition to secure better loan terms and insurance deals.
That case is likewise being appealed and has been heavily scrutinized by legal scholars. An appellate court also tossed the exuberant $454 million penalty secured by James’ office, ruling that it was unconstitutional and excessive.
Michael Cohen leaves Manhattan federal court after a hearing on April 16, 2018
In a recent Substack post, Cohen made the bombshell claim that he was coerced to shape his testimony against the president in order to obtain favorable outcomes for prosecutors.
“From the time I first began meeting with lawyers from the Manhattan DA’s Office and the New York Attorney General’s Office in connection with their investigations of President Trump, and through the trials themselves, I felt pressured and coerced to only provide information and testimony that would satisfy the government’s desire to build the cases against and secure a judgment and convictions against President Trump,” the former attorney wrote.
He further claimed that during preparations and trials, prosecutors showed interest only in testimony that could convict Trump. When prosecutors felt his accounts were insufficient, they used “inappropriate leading questions to elicit answers that supported their narrative.”
“I felt compelled and coerced to deliver what they were seeking,” Cohen also stated.
He further revealed that he felt cooperating would help him with his own legal troubles, as he was at the time seeking a reduced prison sentence after pleading guilty to federal crimes in 2018. The disbarred attorney noted that his first meeting with Manhattan DA prosecutors occurred in August 2019, while he was serving a three-year sentence, and he inquired about benefits for cooperating.
Elsewhere in the Substack post, Cohen admitted that he continued to cooperate after his release to home confinement in 2020 in hopes of shortening his supervised release. He also criticized James for campaigning on prosecuting Trump in 2018 and the overall handling of both cases.
Letitia James speaks at a campaign event in 2013
Photo: Matt Cohen
The revelations mark a sharp reversal for Cohen, who has been highly critical of the president and previously claimed he was fleeing the country. Trump responded to Cohen’s post by calling the investigations a “SET UP from the beginning” and stating that New York courts were “embarrassed by what has happened.”
Trump is currently appealing both cases in their entirety.
