President Donald Trump is escalating his legal battle in New York, calling for the dismissal of both his criminal conviction and civil fraud judgment after his former attorney, Michael Cohen, alleged he was pressured by prosecutors to testify against him.
In a late-night post on Truth Social, Trump insisted he is “an innocent man who has been horribly treated” and demanded the “swift and immediate dismissal” of all cases against him in New York. He also called for criminal repercussions for the prosecutors involved.
“When a Star Witness totally recants, and in every way reveals that he was pressured and coerced to give testimony, and when the Prosecutor admits that this Witness was the single reason that the case was brought, there was no other, how can that Case not be immediately dismissed?” Trump wrote.
Cohen, who served as Trump’s fixer, admitted in the 2024 hush money case that he arranged payments to adult film actress Stormy Daniels to conceal an alleged affair before the 2016 election. He testified that Trump directed the scheme. That testimony helped secure Trump’s conviction on 34 counts of falsifying business records in a case brought by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg.
An appeals panel recently revived Trump’s effort to move the case from state to federal court, opening the door for an appeal based on the Supreme Court’s presidential immunity ruling. This development could reshape the legal landscape for the president.
Cohen also played a central role in the civil fraud case pursued by New York Attorney General Letitia James. He testified that he “reverse-engineered” Trump’s financial statements. A judge found that Trump’s business empire inflated its net worth to secure better tax and insurance terms, imposing a hefty fine. While a $500 million penalty was later overturned, the underlying judgment stood.
In a January Substack post, Cohen wrote that he felt pressured by Bragg and James to provide damaging testimony against Trump. “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,” Cohen wrote, though he added he was not trying to “defend” Trump. He also noted that prosecutors sometimes asked leading questions to fill gaps in his testimony.
Trump’s legal team argues that Cohen’s recantation undermines the entire prosecution. “Now that his testimony is wiped away, and the unAmerican, Political Charade ‘Cases’ are even further discredited, they should be put out of their misery, and dismissed, once and for all,” Trump posted.
The push to dismiss these cases comes amid broader political battles. Trump has also sought to reshape the GOP narrative around the January 6 Capitol attack, a move that has become orthodoxy within the party as dissenters are purged. Meanwhile, Senate Democrats are working to block Trump’s proposed fund to counter what he calls the “weaponization” of government, after the Department of Justice abandoned the initiative.
Legal experts remain divided on whether Cohen’s claims will sway the courts. The cases continue to unfold, with Trump’s fate hanging in the balance as he simultaneously navigates his presidency and mounting legal jeopardy.
