Overview
- Michael Cohen published a Substack post saying he felt pressured by Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg and New York Attorney General Letitia James to provide testimony that supported cases against President Trump.
- Cohen was a key witness in New York’s 2023 civil fraud case and the 2024 hush-money trial; the $454 million civil judgment was later overturned on appeal, and a federal panel has ordered reconsideration of moving the hush-money case to federal court.
- He wrote that his cooperation began in August 2019 while serving a federal sentence and that he sought sentence relief, continuing meetings during home confinement.
- Cohen alleged prosecutors asked inappropriate leading questions when his answers did not align with their narrative and said the approach blurred lines between justice and politics.
- Trump amplified Cohen’s claims on Truth Social, calling the cases a setup, while the prosecutors’ offices did not provide immediate substantive responses in the reports.