Former President Trump’s former attorney Michael Cohen is mulling a run for Congress.
The admission came on the witness stand Monday in what is Cohen’s fourth day of testimony in the NY v. Trump case.
Cohen told the court that he would pursue congressional office because he has the “best name recognition out there.” He did not elaborate if he would run in New York, or if he would run as a Republican or Democrat.
Trump attorney Todd Blanche pressed Cohen if his name recognition is due to Trump, sparking Cohen to explain that his well-known name is partly due to his work for Trump, but is not because of Trump.
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Michael Cohen, then-President Trump’s former personal attorney and fixer, arrives at federal court for his sentencing hearing on Dec. 12, 2018. (Eduardo Munoz Alvarez/Getty Images)
“My name recognition is because of the journey I have been on,” Cohen said.
His testimony in Manhattan court came amid him also saying that he worked on pitching a TV show about himself, called “The Fixer,” but that it has not yet been picked up by a network.
Cohen has previously floated a potential congressional run, including earlier this month on his TikTok account when he said he would run as a Democrat, the Washington Post reported.
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“I am interested and there’s a multitude of folks encouraging me to run,” Cohen said of a potential congressional run last year in comments to Semafor.
He also previously ran as a Republican for New York City Council in the early 2000s, Spectrum News previously reported. A Democrat defeated Cohen in his quest for the seat.
Michael Cohen is asked about taking an oath as he is cross-examined by defense lawyer Todd Blanche during former President Trump’s criminal trial on charges that he falsified business records to conceal money paid to silence porn star Stormy Daniels in 2016, in Manhattan state court in New York City May 16, 2024 in this courtroom sketch. (REUTERS/Jane Rosenberg )
Cohen is a disbarred attorney who was sentenced to three years in prison in 2018 after he pleaded guilty to charges including campaign finance fraud and lying to Congress. Cohen’s testimony in the NY v. Trump case included him detailing last week that he also lied under oath to Judge William H. Pauley, who sentenced him to three years in prison.
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Former President Trump awaits the start of proceedings at Manhattan criminal court on Monday, April 22, 2024, in New York City. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura, Pool)
Cohen has been slammed as a “grifter” by some critics and legal experts. Last week, a lawyer who formerly advised Cohen, Robert Costello, testified before Congress that Cohen is a serial liar.
NY v. Trump focuses on the prosecution team trying to prove Trump falsified business records 34 times to conceal a $130,000 payment to former pornography star Stormy Daniels ahead of the 2016 election to quiet her claims of an affair with Trump. Trump has pleaded not guilty in the case and has repeatedly denied any affair with Daniels.
Stormy Daniels is questioned by defense attorney Susan Necheles during former President Trump’s criminal trial on charges that he falsified business records to conceal money paid to silence porn star Stormy Daniels in 2016, in Manhattan state court in New York City on May 9, 2024 in this courtroom sketch. (REUTERS/Jane Rosenberg)
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Trump briefly addressed the media on Monday morning, when court started nearly an hour earlier than its typical 9:30 a.m. start time, when he slammed the case as one promoted by the Biden administration and Department of Justice ahead of the 2024 election, and lamented that the trial has kept him from the campaign trail.
A CNN panel recently agreed that the gag order placed on former President Trump during his trial in New York should apply to the other trial witnesses. (Win McNamee/Pool via REUTERS)
“It’s an attack on [President Biden’s] political opponent. That’s all it is. All of the things you saw over the last four weeks, most of it should have never even been brought up. And then on top of that, there’s no crime. And we go on day after day. And I have to tell Iowa, ‘I’m sorry, I won’t be able to make it.’ I tell New Hampshire, ‘Sorry, I won’t be able to make it. I’m sitting in an ice box all day,'” he said.
