Michael Cohen says he wasn’t vindicated by Trump charges: ‘Very sad day for America’

Michael Cohen, former President Trump’s onetime personal attorney and key witness in the Manhattan district attorney’s case, said he did not feel vindicated by the charges brought against Trump on Tuesday.

“I’m glad that accountability is finally at Donald’s doorstep,” Cohen told MSNBC’s Katie Phang on Saturday. “But at the end of the day, it’s a very sad day for America in the fact that he’s the first president in U.S. history to be indicted.” 

“It’s such a terrible look for the United States of America, especially in the eyes of foreigners, in the eyes of our allies,” he added. “And I think it also shows an inherent weakness to our adversaries.”

“So, it’s a terrible day for America, but it is a good day for justice and accountability,” he added.

Trump was charged with 34 felony counts of falsifying business records on Tuesday for his role in a 2016 hush money payment. 

Cohen, who served as the former president’s fixer at the time, paid adult film star Stormy Daniels $130,000 ahead of the 2016 election to buy her silence about an alleged affair with Trump. He pleaded guilty to campaign finance violations in 2018 in connection with the hush money payment.

The former president’s charges — which he pleaded not guilty to — arise from the series of reimbursement payments he made to Cohen throughout 2017.

Trump and his allies have repeatedly denounced Bragg’s case as a “political prosecution” and accused the Manhattan district attorney of “weaponizing our justice system.” 

Ahead of Trump’s arraignment last weekend, Cohen criticized Republicans who have continued to defend the former president, suggesting they are “in the cult.”

“They’re in the cult. And I know what it’s like to be in the cult,” Cohen told CBS News’ Robert Costa. “It’s time to wash your eyes and to see exactly who Donald Trump is.”

“It’s time to start to listen to the truth,” he said.