‘It Was a SET UP’: Trump Goes Off After Michael Cohen Claims He Felt ‘Coerced’ In Fraud Cases

(Photo by Andrew Leyden/NurPhoto via AP)

President Donald Trump ranted on Truth Social following revelations from his former personal attorney and “fixer” Michael Cohen that he felt “coerced” to provide certain testimony in Trump’s New York fraud trials.

Cohen served as a “key witness” against Trump in a civil action brought by New York Attorney General Letitia James in 2023 on charges that Trump fraudulently inflated his business assets; and in a criminal action from 2024 that became known as the “Stormy Daniels hush money” case that was brought by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg.

Trump lost both cases, but the civil case was overturned on appeal over the “excessive” fine of $454 million that Trump was ordered to pay. The “hush money” verdict is currently being reconsidered by a lower court.

In a Substack article published Friday, Cohen wrote, “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 clarified that his revelation was not meant to “defend Donald Trump, nor to relitigate his conduct.”

“You may reasonably ask why I am speaking out now. The answer is simple,” he wrote. “I have witnessed firsthand the damage done when prosecutors pick their target first and then seek evidence to fit a predetermined narrative.”

Trump has long claimed there was no merit to either case, and called the situation a “set up” in his post.

These horrible Radical Left people, doing everything possible to destroy our Country, should pay a big price for this! It was a SET UP from the beginning. New York Courts, with many fair and wonderful Judges, are embarrassed by what has happened! We cannot let this pass.”

In September, Trump pushed Attorney General Pam Bondi to go after James on charges of mortgage fraud. A U.S. District Court judge dismissed the case, ruling that Trump’s handpicked U.S. Attorney Lindsey Halligan was unlawfully appointed. The DOJ tried twice more to indict James, but the federal grand juries returned no true bills over lack of evidence.