Trump Claims Cohen Recanted; Demands Cases Dismissed
Trump Claims Cohen Recanted; Demands Cases Dismissed
The News
President Donald Trump said Friday that Michael Cohen — his former personal lawyer and the star witness against him — has "fully RECANTED" the testimony that helped convict him in the New York hush money case.
Trump made the claim in a post on Truth Social and immediately demanded that what he called the "Politically Weaponized Cases" against him be "terminated and dismissed."
Cohen has not publicly confirmed the claim. Mediaite reported it is unclear whether Cohen has officially recanted anything, and said the Manhattan District Attorney's Office did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Newsweek said it reached out to Cohen by phone Friday afternoon.
What Trump Wrote
"I am pleased to report that Michael Cohen, the Prosecution's Star Witness and, in actuality, only Witness in the New York State Attorney General and Manhattan DA Witch Hunt Cases brought against me, has just fully RECANTED his testimony," Trump wrote. "He was 'pressured' and 'coerced' to say things that were not true."
He went on: "I would like to thank Michael for having the Wisdom and Courage to step forward and do the right thing! His Act of Bravery is a Great Credit to the Justice System in New York City and State."
Trump also accused New York Attorney General Letitia James and Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg of breaking the law "in order to prevent me from becoming the President of the United States."
Timeline
Cohen pays adult film actress Stormy Daniels $130,000 shortly before the presidential election, according to Newsweek. Prosecutors would later allege Trump reimbursed him through business transactions falsely logged as legal expenses.
Cohen testifies as the central witness in Bragg's prosecution, telling jurors he arranged the payment and was reimbursed. Trump is convicted on 34 felony counts of falsifying business records. Just the News notes Bragg's was the only case against Trump to produce a criminal conviction.
Cohen writes on his Substack that he felt pressured to testify at the trial, according to Mediaite.
Trump and Cohen reportedly set aside years of feuding and reunite, Raw Story reported.
Trump posts that Cohen has "fully RECANTED" and calls for both New York cases to be dismissed.
Reactions
Trump has already been publicly pressing the point. In a recent interview with Cohen, Trump told his former employee: "Look, you took back, you recanted your testimony. They forced you to do that. They threatened you with jail, they threatened you with everything if you didn't go against Trump — and you took it back. I wouldn't even be talking to you right now if you didn't, to be honest. You did something very few people have done."
Cohen himself has issued no statement confirming a formal recantation, and neither Bragg's office nor James's office had responded publicly as of Friday afternoon.
Right-leaning outlets framed the post as a breakthrough in what The Right Scoop called the "New York witch hunt cases." Left-leaning Raw Story described it as Trump rubbing an "arch-enemy's shock submission in his face" and signaling a new court fight.
What's Next
Just the News reported that Trump's legal path to vacating the conviction is unclear. A social media post is not a court filing, and nothing Trump wrote points to a motion, an affidavit, or a sworn statement from Cohen on the record.
The practical questions now: whether Cohen puts a recantation in writing before a judge, whether Trump's lawyers move to vacate the 34-count conviction, and whether the Manhattan DA or the state attorney general answer the accusation that they broke the law.
More
Cohen was never the only evidence against Trump. Prosecutors also relied on documentary records and testimony from other witnesses, including former National Enquirer publisher David Pecker, Newsweek reported — which cuts against Trump's claim that Cohen was "in actuality, only Witness."
Trump's trial defense argued the opposite of what he is arguing now: that Cohen was not credible because he had pleaded guilty to federal crimes and had become a vocal Trump critic. Trump has consistently denied wrongdoing and called the prosecutions political.
Poll
Should the Manhattan conviction be thrown out if Cohen formally recants?
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