Michael Cohen, previously a personal attorney to President Donald Trump, has made allegations suggesting that his testimony against the President was influenced by external pressure from Democratic officials. In a revealing Substack essay, Cohen asserts that he was "pressured and coerced" by New York Attorney General Letitia James and Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg to present damaging evidence against President Trump.
These revelations come as part of a broader discussion about the integrity of the legal proceedings against President Trump. Cohen, who has been at the forefront of several legal battles involving the President, including a civil fraud trial and a criminal case in 2024 which concluded with 34 felony convictions for falsifying business records, has now called into question the impartiality of the justice system.
The accusations target the officials who led the charge in both the civil and criminal cases against President Trump. In his essay, Cohen wrote, "From the time I first began meeting with lawyers from the Manhattan DA's Office and the New York Attorney General's Office, I felt pressured to only provide information that satisfied their desire to build cases against President Trump."
President Trump has responded to Cohen's claims with characteristic vigor, taking to Truth Social to denounce the prosecutions as a “SET UP” and a demonstration of what he perceives as an abuse of the justice system by the "Radical Left."
Cohen's essay reveals that he initially entered meetings with prosecutors in the hope that cooperation would lead to personal benefits, such as a reduced sentence. He admits that he was focused on how the process could help him return home sooner. However, Cohen now suggests that the prosecutors' line of questioning was manipulative, aimed at fitting a narrative predetermined to incriminate President Trump.
Cohen specifically accuses James of targeting President Trump for personal advancement, referencing her campaign pledge to "go after" him. He also criticizes Bragg for allegedly using the criminal case to boost his national profile rather than to serve justice.
These allegations have introduced a new layer of controversy to the ongoing legal saga involving President Trump and have reignited debates about the potential for political bias in law enforcement. As Trump’s legal team continues to challenge the conviction, including seeking to move the case into federal court, Cohen's credibility remains a point of contention, given his record of convictions for lying to Congress and facilitating hush-money payments.
Despite his controversial past, Cohen's latest accusations have prompted further examination of the prosecutorial conduct in the cases against President Trump. The claims add to the narrative that the legal actions against the President were driven by political motives rather than objective law enforcement.
