Former Trump Lawyer Says Prosecutors Pressured Him for Anti-Trump Testimony

Michael Cohen spoke out about Trump. Trump’s former personal lawyer says New York prosecutors pressured him. They wanted testimony that would hurt Trump.

Cohen shared his story on his Substack account. He says lawyers from two offices pushed him hard. One was New York Attorney General Letitia James’ office. The other was Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s office. Both wanted information to use against Trump and his businesses.

“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 and coerced,” Cohen wrote. He says they only wanted information that would help them win cases against Trump.

Cohen worked with prosecutors after his own legal troubles. He hoped this would help him get better treatment. But he says the investigators twisted his words. When his answers didn’t match what they wanted, they asked leading questions.

“During my time with prosecutors, both in preparation for and during the trials, it was clear they were interested only in testimony from me that would enable them to convict President Trump,” he wrote.

Cohen says prosecutors asked inappropriate leading questions. They wanted answers that fit their story.

He faced similar pressure in the Attorney General’s civil case. Letitia James promised during her 2018 campaign that she would go after Trump if elected. Her office made their expectations clear to Cohen. They wanted testimony that would help them target the president.

“Again, I felt compelled and coerced to deliver what they were seeking,” he said.

Cohen pointed out that James and Bragg work separately. They don’t share an office. They don’t have the same political schedule. But he says they use the same tactics.

“Both used their platforms to elevate their profiles,” Cohen wrote. They wanted to be known as the officials who “took down Trump.” In doing this, they mixed justice with politics. This hurt their credibility, he argues.

“That context matters now more than ever,” the former Trump lawyer noted.

Cohen has a criminal past. He pleaded guilty to federal charges years ago. The charges included tax evasion, bank fraud and lying to Congress. He spent more than a year in prison. After that, he became a key witness against Trump in multiple cases.

Cohen testified in James’ civil fraud case. The case targeted Trump and the Trump Organization. The court issued a judgment with major financial penalties. Trump is appealing that ruling.

Cohen also testified in Bragg’s criminal case. That case focused on hush money payments during the 2016 presidential campaign. A jury convicted Trump in 2024. He faced 34 felony counts of falsifying business records.

Trump denies all wrongdoing. He calls the investigations political attacks.

Cohen explained why he’s speaking out now.

“I have witnessed firsthand the damage done when prosecutors pick their target first and then seek evidence to fit a predetermined narrative,” he said. “I have lived inside that process. I have suffered from that process. My family has suffered from that process.”

Courts are now reconsidering the Bragg and James cases. They’re looking at where these cases belong. They’re examining how prosecutors brought them and tried them. Cohen believes his experience matters.

“More today than ever before,” he said.

Cohen concluded with a warning. Whatever happens with Trump’s cases, people shouldn’t miss the bigger lesson.

“Justice must be more than effective; it must be credible,” he wrote. “When politics and prosecution become indistinguishable, public trust erodes.”

This erosion doesn’t just affect individual cases like his and Trump’s. It damages the system itself. That serves no one, Cohen said. It doesn’t matter what party they belong to. It doesn’t matter their personality or power.