Michael Cohen Says Bragg, James Coerced Testimony against Trump | Headline USA
(Luis Cornelio, Headline USA) Disgraced former Trump attorney Michael Cohen admitted Friday that he felt “pressured” and “coerced” by New York Attorney General Letitia James and Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg to provide testimony designed solely to help their cases against President Donald Trump.
Cohen, who once served as Trump’s longtime personal lawyer, made the startling admission in a Substack post responding to recent appeals developments tied to the Manhattan prosecution.
“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,” Cohen wrote.
Cohen’s relationship with Trump imploded after Bragg launched an investigation into payments Trump allegedly made out of his own personal funds to Stormy Daniels. Bragg claimed the payments constituted falsified business records and violated campaign finance laws, despite the money not coming from campaign funds.
The case ultimately resulted in a conviction, though its practical impact was minimal after Trump was elected president, rendering the prosecution unenforceable.
James, meanwhile, spearheaded a separate civil case accusing Trump of inflating property valuations to secure favorable loans and insurance terms. That case proceeded even though the financial institutions involved testified they were repaid in full and with interest.
An appellate court later rejected the majority of the fines imposed in James’s case, significantly undercutting her claims.
Bragg and James built their high-profile prosecutions around Cohen. In the Substack, Cohen stated that during his meetings with prosecutors, “It was clear they were interested only in testimony from me that would enable them to convict President Trump.”
He said that Manhattan prosecutors “frequently asked inappropriate leading questions to elicit answers that supported their narrative.”
Cohen said the same dynamic existed with James’s office.
“Her office made clear that the testimony they wanted from me was testimony that would help them do just that. Again, I felt compelled and coerced to deliver what they were seeking,” he stated.
Cohen also accused both officials of exploiting the cases for personal and political gain. “In doing so, they blurred the line between justice and politics; and in that blur, the credibility of both suffered.”
Cohen previously served a federal prison sentence and has spent years publicly attacking Trump, making his recent comments all the more shocking.