Ex-Trump lawyer Michael Cohen thanks Letitia James for shout-out at Trump lawsuit announcement
Michael Cohen has become a vocal critic of Mr Trump since spending time in federal prison
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Michael Cohen, the disbarred attorney for former president Donald Trump who has become a vocal critic of his former boss, thanked New York Attorney General Letitia James on Wednesday after she acknowledged his role in revealing the misconduct that is now the subject of a $250m lawsuit against the Trump Organization.
Ms James’ office is suing Mr Trump, his three eldest children and the collection of eponymous companies that make up his business empire for a quarter-billion dollars and asking a judge to ban the Trumps from serving as corporate officers in the Empire State.
In a press conference to announce the suit, she said the Trump Organization and its representatives made more than 200 false and misleading evaluations of its assets over a 10-year period from 2011 to 2021.
She described the multiple “statements of financial condition” prepared by his former accounting firm – at his direction – as “exaggerated, grossly inflated objectively false, and therefore fraudulent, and illegal”.
The New York Attorney General launched the investigation after Mr Cohen, who became widely known as a pugnacious defender of Mr Trump but turned against him after he was indicted for his role in a scheme to disguise a payment the ex-president made to hide an affair with adult film star Stormy Daniels, told New York Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez that Mr Trump had provided inflated asset valuations to his insurance company during a hearing before the House Oversight Committee.
Ms James noted Mr Cohen’s role in touching off the three-year probe.
“I will remind everyone that this investigation only started after Michael Cohen, the former lawyer, his former lawyer testified before Congress shed light on this misconduct,” she said.
In response, Mr Cohen took to Twitter, writing: “I want to personally thank @TishJames for acknowledging my participation and assistance in bringing accountability to the Mandarin Mussolini”.
He said his “journey to the truth” over the last few years has been “filled with sadness, pain and anger,” but he remarked that the announcement by Ms James “makes it [all] worth it”.
Subscribe to Independent Premium to bookmark this article
Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Start your Independent Premium subscription today.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments