Michael Cohen Alleges Pressure in Trump Investigation

Michael Cohen, who previously served as President Donald Trump’s personal attorney, has claimed that he was “coerced and pressured” by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg and New York State Attorney General Letitia James during the investigation into Trump.

In a Substack article, Cohen mentioned that a federal appeals court has reinstated Trump’s attempts to invalidate his conviction related to the business records trial. In May 2024, a jury found Trump guilty on 34 counts of first-degree falsification of business records connected to payments made via Cohen to adult actress Stormy Daniels during the 2016 election campaign.

The article further stated that the lower court was told to “reconsider whether this case belongs in state court or should be transferred to federal court.”

Reports indicated that Cohen was “scheduled to testify about his role” in these matters.

As a former lawyer and fixer for Trump, Cohen is expected to shed light on his involvement in the alleged crimes, which include falsifying records to influence the 2016 presidential election. Bragg has accused Trump of categorizing payments to Daniels through Cohen as “legal” expenses, while Trump argues they should be viewed as “campaign” expenses and insists that his actions were intended to hide an illegal “conspiracy” to secure election victory. Some legal experts, including Jonathan Turley, suggest there was no crime in this scenario. Trump continues to assert his innocence.

Cohen shared that from his initial meetings with attorneys from the Manhattan Prosecutor’s Office and the New York Attorney General’s Office, he felt obliged to provide information that would help the government build a case against Trump.

Cohen detailed his experiences in two trials against Trump, noting the first was a civil suit alleging that Trump fraudulently inflated his assets to secure favorable loan conditions. The court ultimately held Trump responsible, resulting in fines exceeding $454 million, which were later overturned on appeal.

The second trial involved criminal allegations from the Manhattan District Attorney’s office regarding falsified business records linked to hush money payments to Karen McDougal and Stormy Daniels aimed at swaying the 2016 presidential election.

In further excerpts from his Substack article, Cohen reiterated that he always felt pressure to deliver testimony that would contribute to Trump’s conviction.

The initial meeting with a Manhattan prosecutor took place in August 2019, more than three months after Cohen began serving a three-year prison sentence for pleading guilty to a federal crime. During the trial, Cohen noted that one of his first inquiries to the prosecutors was about the potential benefits of cooperation. His goal was straightforward—he wanted to secure a Rule 35(b) claim, return to his family, and rebuild his life.

Cohen asserted that throughout the preparation and trial phases, it became apparent that the prosecutors were primarily focused on obtaining testimony from him that would facilitate Trump’s conviction.

Notably, in December 2018, it was reported that Cohen had been sentenced to three years for lying to Congress about hush money payments and prior business dealings in Russia. Later, in July 2020, a federal judge mandated Cohen’s release from prison to home confinement.