{"id":2647598,"date":"2026-08-20T22:59:02","date_gmt":"2026-08-21T02:59:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/trump-tells-michael-cohen-he-was-weaponized-in-hush-money-trial\/"},"modified":"2026-08-20T22:59:52","modified_gmt":"2026-08-21T02:59:52","slug":"trump-tells-michael-cohen-he-was-weaponized-in-hush-money-trial","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/trump-tells-michael-cohen-he-was-weaponized-in-hush-money-trial\/","title":{"rendered":"Trump tells Michael Cohen he was &#8216;weaponized&#8217; in hush money trial"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">22<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Ftrump-tells-michael-cohen-he-was-weaponized-in-hush-money-trial%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2647598&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>President Donald Trump praised his former attorney Michael Cohen for retracting his testimony in Trump&#8217;s 2024 hush money trial, claiming the justice system was &#8220;weaponized&#8221; against Cohen. During a radio interview, Trump and Cohen reunited after years of turmoil, with Cohen having previously testified against Trump, contributing to his conviction on 34 felony counts related to falsifying business records. Trump accused New York Attorney General Letitia James and Manhattan Prosecutor Alvin Bragg of abusing the justice system to target Cohen. Trump also commended Cohen for recanting his previous statements, calling it a &#8220;big&#8221; and &#8220;vrey good&#8221; act for the country. Following the interview, Trump reposted a statement suggesting that Cohen\u2019s recent claims undermine the basis of Trump&#8217;s hush money prosecution, which is still under appeal two years after his conviction. The interview signaled a surprising shift in their relationship, contrasting with Trump&#8217;s earlier labeling of Cohen as a &#8220;rat.&#8221; Critics and legal analysts have commented on the credibility of Cohen&#8217;s recent statements, with some suggesting they could weaken the case against Trump.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<article class=\"fn-body\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">President <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/donald-trump\/\" data-type=\"post_tag\" data-id=\"4\">Donald Trump<\/a> touted his former attorney <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/michael-cohen\/\" data-type=\"post_tag\" data-id=\"458\">Michael Cohen<\/a> for <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/white-house\/4638798\/michael-cohen-reconcile-trump-yearslong-feud\/\">retracting<\/a> his 2024 <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/justice\/3010133\/trump-trial-cohen-testifies-anti-trump-books-podcast\/\">testimony<\/a> in Trump\u2019s hush money trial, insisting that the justice system was \u201cweaponized\u201d against Cohen.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In a much-anticipated radio interview, Trump and Cohen reunited after years of turmoil. Their relationship started as a <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\" >closely allied lawyer-client relationship<\/a> and turned into a feud where Cohen testified against the president. Prosecutors hailed Cohen as a key witness in <em>People of the State of New York v. Trump<\/em>, which led to Trump being found guilty on <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/in_focus\/4587959\/where-trump-hush-money-appeal-stands-two-years-since-conviction\/\">34 felony counts of falsifying business records<\/a> related to hush money payments.<\/p>\n<section class=\"explore-more-section\" id=\"wex-recommended-widget\">\n<div class=\"magazine-container single\">\n<h1 class=\"magazine-title mt-2\">Recommended Stories<\/h1>\n<p>             <i class=\"fa-solid fa-play icon\"><\/i>         <\/div>\n<div class=\"explore-grid\">\n<div class=\"explore-card\">                         <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/white-house\/4695546\/trump-michael-cohen-hush-money-trial\/?itm_source=parsely-api\">                             <\/p>\n<div class=\"explore-thumb-wrap\">                                                                                                                                  <\/div>\n<h3>Trump tells Michael Cohen he was \u2018weaponized\u2019 in hush money trial<\/h3>\n<p>                         <\/a>                     <\/div>\n<div class=\"explore-card\">                         <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/white-house\/4695476\/win-25-points-trump-poll-iran-war\/?itm_source=parsely-api\">                             <\/p>\n<div class=\"explore-thumb-wrap\">                                                                                                                                  <\/div>\n<h3>\u2018I\u2019d win by 25 points\u2019: Trump rejects poor polling and says Americans \u2018respect\u2019 Iran war<\/h3>\n<p>                         <\/a>                     <\/div>\n<div class=\"explore-card\">                         <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/white-house\/4694202\/melania-trump-fostering-the-future-program-scholarship\/?itm_source=parsely-api\">                             <\/p>\n<div class=\"explore-thumb-wrap\">                                                                                                                                  <\/div>\n<h3>Melania Trump announces $2 million scholarship to benefit foster children<\/h3>\n<p>                         <\/a>                     <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/section>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In the friendly interview, Trump said New York Attorney General <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/letitia-james\/\" data-type=\"post_tag\" data-id=\"8955\">Letitia James<\/a> and Manhattan prosecutor <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/alvin-bragg\/\" data-type=\"post_tag\" data-id=\"11216\">Alvin Bragg <\/a>weaponized the justice system against Cohen.<\/p>\n<div class=\"wex-inarticle-ad wex-inarticle-ad-art-dsk-inart-1\">\n<div class=\"wex-ad-wrap wex-ad-art-dsk-inart-1\" style=\"min-height:90px\"><span class=\"wex-ad-label\" hidden>Advertisement<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-3182201-15\" data-wex-ad=\"art-dsk-inart-1\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-paywall\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cTish James and Alvin Bragg, what they did to you, and they used you, and what you did was actually a brave thing, because you said what they did was wrong,\u201d Trump <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/wabcradio.com\/2026\/08\/20\/michael-cohen-and-president-trump-speak-again\/\">said<\/a> to Cohen. \u201cYou agreed that your testimony \u2014 they forced you to say things that you didn\u2019t want to say. They forced you to say things that were false because they have a threat with jail and every other thing.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThey weaponized government against you and against others, Michael,\u201d Trump continued. \u201cThere were plenty of others too, and it\u2019s a disgrace. And I think it\u2019s so amazing that you came out and you told the story, and people respect you for doing it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Trump and Cohen remained in each other\u2019s good graces throughout the initial 15-minute <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=D_AV00gv1d0\">segment<\/a> of the 77 WABC interview that aired Thursday, with the remainder set to air on Sunday. Their positive rapport showed a massive swing in their relationship from when Trump <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/realDonaldTrump\/status\/1074313153679450113?s=20\">called<\/a> Cohen a \u201crat\u201d in 2018.<\/p>\n<div class=\"wex-inarticle-ad wex-inarticle-ad-art-dsk-inart-2\">\n<div class=\"wex-ad-wrap wex-ad-art-dsk-inart-2\" style=\"min-height:90px\"><span class=\"wex-ad-label\" hidden>Advertisement<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-3182201-16\" data-wex-ad=\"art-dsk-inart-2\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI respect the fact that you recanted everything you said,\u201d Trump said to Cohen. \u201cThat\u2019s a big, that\u2019s a big thing that you did. That\u2019s a very big thing. It\u2019s very good for the country.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Trump took to <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/truth-social\/\" data-type=\"post_tag\" data-id=\"11116\">Truth Social <\/a>after the radio segment aired, <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/truthsocial.com\/@realDonaldTrump\/posts\/117130287849451563\">reposting<\/a> a comment by the <em>Washington Examiner\u2019s<\/em> Byron York, who paraphrased a quote from CNN legal analyst Elie Honig: \u201cCNN legal analyst Elie Honig: Michael Cohen\u2019s latest statements demolish the factual basis of the hush money prosecution and conviction of President Trump.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In a clip on Thursday, Honig spoke to Cohen\u2019s retraction, saying \u201canyone who cheered that hush money prosecution of Donald Trump two years ago has nothing left to stand on.\u201d<\/p>\n<div class=\"wex-inarticle-ad wex-inarticle-ad-art-dsk-inart-3\">\n<div class=\"wex-ad-wrap wex-ad-art-dsk-inart-3\" style=\"min-height:90px\"><span class=\"wex-ad-label\" hidden>Advertisement<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-3182201-17\" data-wex-ad=\"art-dsk-inart-3\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/in_focus\/4587959\/where-trump-hush-money-appeal-stands-two-years-since-conviction\/\">WHERE TRUMP\u2019S HUSH MONEY APPEAL STANDS TWO YEARS POST-CONVICTION<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cNow Michael Cohen has said publicly that he \u2018felt\u2019 important, \u2018felt pressured and coerced by prosecutors.\u2019 So where do you stand on Michael Cohen now?\u201d Honig said. \u201cIf you believe he\u2019s a truth teller, then he felt pressured and coerced by prosecutors. That\u2019s not acceptable. If you believe he\u2019s a liar, then your case is built on a liar.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Trump\u2019s hush money prosecution is currently going through an appeals process in multiple courts, two years after the unprecedented conviction came down in the Empire State.<\/p>\n<div class=\"wex-inarticle-ad wex-inarticle-ad-art-dsk-inart-4\">\n<div class=\"wex-ad-wrap wex-ad-art-dsk-inart-4\" style=\"min-height:90px\"><span class=\"wex-ad-label\" hidden>Advertisement<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-3182201-25\" data-wex-ad=\"art-dsk-inart-4\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Trump praises Cohen\u2019s retraction, claims justice system was weaponized<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3976,"featured_media":2647600,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/collage-maker-24-oct-2023-03-12-pm-4285-e1787279825935.jpg?w=696","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[33651],"tags":[56201,41394,40875,5894,3634],"class_list":["post-2647598","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-western-journal","tag-hush-money-2","tag-legal-trial","tag-michael-cohen","tag-politics","tag-trump"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/collage-maker-24-oct-2023-03-12-pm-4285-e1787279825935.jpg?w=696","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2647598","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3976"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2647598"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2647598\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2647606,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2647598\/revisions\/2647606"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2647600"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2647598"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2647598"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2647598"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}