NEWNow you can hearken to Fox Information articles!
President Donald Trump’s former private lawyer, Michael Cohen, mentioned Friday that prosecutors in each the Manhattan District Lawyer’s Workplace and the New York Lawyer Normal’s Workplace “pressured and coerced” him into delivering testimony tailor-made to securing convictions in opposition to Trump.
Cohen, who was a key prosecution witness in two New York instances in opposition to Trump, accused New York Lawyer Normal Letitia James and Manhattan District Lawyer Alvin Bragg of pursuing proof aimed toward Trump, saying prosecutors have been bored with testimony that didn’t match their narrative.
“I felt pressured and coerced to solely present info and testimony that will fulfill the federal government’s want to construct the instances in opposition to and safe a judgment and convictions in opposition to President Trump,” Cohen wrote in a put up on Substack.
Fox Information Digital has reached out to the Workplace of the New York State Lawyer Normal and the Manhattan District Lawyer’s Workplace for remark.
APPEALS COURT HANDS TRUMP LEGAL WIN, ORDERS REVIEW OF HUSH MONEY CASE OVER PRESIDENTIAL IMMUNITY
Michael Cohen, former private legal professional to President Donald Trump, claims New York prosecutors pressured him to ship testimony aimed toward securing convictions in opposition to Trump. (Timothy A. Clary/AFP by way of Getty Photos)
Cohen, who was Trump’s private lawyer for a few years, mentioned he was writing as a federal appeals court docket considers the president’s request to maneuver his hush cash case to federal court docket for additional overview.
The previous Trump fixer testified in a civil case introduced by James’ workplace in 2023, the place Trump was discovered chargeable for fraudulently inflating his belongings to acquire favorable mortgage phrases. He additionally took the stand in Bragg’s case in 2024, the place Trump was in the end discovered responsible of 34 counts of falsifying enterprise information.
Cohen accused each James and Bragg of utilizing their high-profile instances to raise their careers, claiming they sought credit score as officers who “took down Trump.”
TRUMP FILES ‘POWERHOUSE’ APPEAL IN ‘POLITICALLY CHARGED’ MANHATTAN DISTRICT ATTORNEY CASE
Michael Cohen, former private legal professional to President Donald Trump, alleges New York Lawyer Normal Letitia James’ workplace pressured him whereas he testified in instances in opposition to Trump. (Getty Photos)
“They blurred the road between justice and politics; and in that blur, the credibility of each suffered,” he wrote.
Cohen mentioned that each earlier than and through the trials, prosecutors made it clear they have been solely considering testimony from him that will convict Trump.
“When my testimony was inadequate for some extent the prosecution sought to make, prosecutors steadily requested inappropriate main inquiries to elicit solutions that supported their narrative,” he mentioned.
NEW YORK, NY – MAY 30: District Lawyer Alvin L. Bragg, Jr., and his authorized crew, maintain a press convention following the Trump verdict on Could 30, 2024 in New York, N.Y. (Ricky Carioti/The Washington Submit by way of Getty Photos)
Cohen pleaded responsible in 2018 to a number of crimes, together with tax evasion, marketing campaign finance violations and mendacity to Congress. He described cooperating with authorities whereas incarcerated, saying he sought sentence reduction and felt compelled to supply testimony becoming prosecutors’ narratives with the hope that his sentence can be lowered.
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP
“You might moderately ask why I’m talking out now. The reply is easy. I’ve witnessed firsthand the injury accomplished when prosecutors decide their goal first after which search proof to suit a predetermined narrative,” Cohen mentioned, whereas noting that he was not writing in protection of Trump.
