Michael Cohen accuses NY prosecutors of coercing testimony in Trump cases

President Donald Trump’s former personal attorney, Michael Cohen, said Friday that prosecutors in both the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office and the New York Attorney General’s Office “pressured and coerced” Trump into giving statements specifically designed to secure a conviction against Trump.

Cohen, a key prosecution witness in two cases against Trump in New York, accused New York Attorney General Letitia James and Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg of pursuing evidence against Trump and said prosecutors were not interested in testimony that did not fit their narrative.

“I felt pressured and pressured to provide only information and statements that would satisfy the government’s desire to prosecute and secure a verdict and conviction against President Trump,” Cohen wrote in a post on Substack.

Fox News Digital has reached out to the New York State Attorney General’s Office and the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office for comment.

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Cohen, who was Trump’s personal lawyer for many years, said he wrote it while the federal appeals court was considering the president’s request to move the hush money case to federal court for further review.

The former Trump fixer testified in a civil lawsuit filed by James’ office in 2023 in which Trump was found liable for fraudulently inflating his assets to obtain favorable loan terms. He also appeared in Bragg’s trial in 2024; where Trump was ultimately convicted on 34 counts of falsifying business records.

Cohen accused both James and Bragg of using their high-profile cases to boost their careers, claiming they were seeking credit as officials who “took Trump.”

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President Donald Trump’s former personal attorney, Michael Cohen, claims that New York Attorney General Letitia James’s office pressured him while testifying in cases against Trump. (Getty Images)

“They have blurred the line between justice and politics, and the credibility of both has been damaged by this blurring,” he wrote.

Cohen said prosecutors made clear before and during the hearings that they were only interested in his testimony that would convict Trump.

“When my testimony fell short of a point the prosecution was trying to make, prosecutors frequently asked inappropriate leading questions to elicit answers that supported their narrative,” he said.

NEW YORK, NY – MAY 30: District Attorney Alvin L. Bragg, Jr. and his legal team held a press conference in New York, NY, on May 30, 2024, following Trump’s decision. (Washington Post via Ricky Carioti/Getty Images)

Cohen pleaded guilty in 2018 to various crimes, including tax evasion, campaign finance violations and lying to Congress. He described cooperating with authorities while incarcerated, saying he sought sentence relief and felt compelled to provide prosecution prosecutors’ narratives with the hope that his sentence would be reduced.

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Stating that he did not write to defend Trump, Cohen said, “You may logically ask why I am speaking now. The answer is simple. I have witnessed firsthand the damage caused when prosecutors first select their targets and then look for evidence that will fit a predetermined narrative.” he said.