Cohen airs concern over testifying in Trump fraud case: ‘I don’t have to put my life on the line’

Ex-Donald Trump attorney Michael Cohen expressed concern over testifying in the former president’s civil fraud case following threats made against people linked to his legal cases.

Cohen told MSNBC’s Joy Reid that he has a “strong suspicion” the government’s witnesses won’t show up to testify if the courts do not rein in Trump’s online attacks.

“Listen, I’m considering it myself, despite the fact that I’m under subpoena,” Cohen said. “I don’t have to put my life on the line simply because Donald Trump cannot control himself and the courts are not controlling him.”

Trump has frequently directed his ire toward the judges, prosecutors and witnesses in his civil and criminal cases.

One of the individuals Cohen pointed to as coming under Trump’s rage is U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan, who is overseeing Trump’s federal criminal case in D.C. tied to his actions after losing the 2020 election.

The former president has said there is “no way I can get a fair trial” with Chutkan presiding over it, and he later moved for her to recuse herself from the case. Chutkan denied Trump’s bid for her recusal Wednesday.

After taking over Trump’s case, Chutkan received at least one death threat that resulted in charges. The Justice Department has moved for a narrow gag order on Trump over “disparaging and inflammatory” remarks about nearly everyone involved in the case.

Trump has also taken aim at Judge Juan Merchan, who is handling the former president’s hush money case in Manhattan, referring to him as a “Trump Hating Judge” and claiming Merchan “HATES ME.” The New York judge has also received threats.

“They have to do something to curb Donald Trump’s language,” Cohen said, iterating concern over threats being acted upon. “He should not be permitted to do what he’s doing … This is all obstruction of justice and witness tampering.”

Cohen, who once served as vice president of the Trump Organization and as Trump’s personal lawyer and “fixer,” is listed by New York Attorney General Letitia James as a fact witness in her sweeping civil fraud case against Trump and his businesses.

The New York attorney general’s lawsuit alleged decades of fraud by Trump, his adult sons and the Trump Organization, asserting they sought lower taxes and better insurance coverage by falsely inflating and deflating the value of its assets.

A New York judge on Tuesday found Trump liable for fraud, stripping some of his business licenses and ordering that an independent monitor continue to oversee the Trump Organization. The judge also rejected Trump’s effort to toss the entire case, allowing the remaining elements of the sprawling case to proceed to trial as soon as next week.

James has attributed the start of her office’s investigation into Trump and his businesses to Cohen’s 2019 testimony before Congress, where he claimed the former president significantly overstated his wealth before he took office.