Why Manhattan prosecutors and Trump’s lawyers are fighting over Michael Cohen: report

29 November 2023

During a recent appearance on ITV in the U.K., Michael Cohen said that he will "absolutely" seek political asylum in another country

if Donald Trump wins the 2024 presidential election. Cohen, Trump's former personal attorney and fixer, warned that the GOP presidential frontrunner will "exact revenge on anyone" he believes has "done him wrong" — himself included.

"I fear for my safety. I fear for my life," Cohen told ITV.

Cohen was once a Trump loyalist and a key figure in the Trump Organization; these days, he is a scathing critic and is a witness in two Trump-related cases — New York State Attorney General Letitia James' civil fraud lawsuit, and Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg Jr.'s hush money prosecution. Bragg alleges that Trump falsified the Trump Organization's business records when hush money payments were made to adult film star Stormy Daniels.

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In a report published on November 29, the Daily Beast's Jose Pagliery describes a battle between Bragg's office and Trump's attorneys involving Cohen. Bragg's office, according to Pagliery, wants Cohen's name "kept off court documents" in the case — something Trump's lawyers are vehemently opposed to.

"Manhattan prosecutors won't let them even utter Cohen's name in court documents ahead of the upcoming porn star hush-payment trial," Pagliery explains. "And the judge keeps backing up the DA's office. As a result, Trump's legal team keeps making an awkward dance. His lawyers mentioned Cohen at least 43 times in court documents attempting to dismiss the felony indictment in September — but his name had to be redacted every single time."

The Daily Beast reporter continues, "The former president's lawyers even had to black out Cohen's name from a Department of Justice press release about Cohen's guilty plea in federal court — as well as the internet link too, for good measure. The documents instead refer to Cohen as 'Lawyer A.' The Trump court docs also redacted every mention of porn star Stormy Daniels, who is listed in initial prosecution documents as 'Woman 2.'"

Pagliery notes that "documents filed in court this month continued redacting names across the board." Allen Weisselberg, according to Pagliery, isn't mentioned by name either in the case. Instead, court documents identify him as the "Chief Financial Officer of the Trump Organization."

Read the Daily Beast's full report at this link (subscription required).

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