Former President Trump and his ex-attorney, Michael Cohen, found themselves in the same room Tuesday as the man who once famously said he’d “take a bullet” for his client testified against the Trump Organization in the civil trial that stems from New York Attorney General Letitia James’ years-long investigation.
Cohen appeared in a Manhattan courtroom on Tuesday and testified that during his time at the Trump Organization he inflated the former president’s assets to “whatever number Trump told us to.”
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“I was tasked by Mr. Trump to increase the total assets, based upon a number that he arbitrarily elected,” Cohen said Tuesday in court.
Cohen also testified that he and former Trump Organization CFO Allen Weisselberg worked to “reverse-engineer the various different asset classes, increase those assets, in order to achieve a number that Mr. Trump had tasked us.”
Weisselberg, in a separate case out of the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office in 2022, pleaded guilty to tax violations that spanned more than decade.
Trump has denied any wrongdoing and has repeatedly said his assets were actually undervalued. Trump has repeatedly said his financial statements had disclaimers, requesting that the numbers be evaluated by the banks.
Trump, who has sat in court on certain days of the civil trial, attended proceedings on Tuesday and blasted Cohen as a “proven liar.”
“I’m not worried at all about his testimony,” Trump said. “He’s not a credible witness.”
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Cohen, in 2018, pleaded guilty to campaign finance violations, making false statements to Congress, making false statements to Congress and tax evasion. He was sentenced to three years in prison.
Trump, throughout Cohen’s testimony, was seen shaking his head.
Earlier this month, Trump voluntarily dismissed his lawsuit against Cohen but vowed to refile against him once he “prevailed” in the “witch hunts against him.”
Trump had sued Cohen for $500 million in April. The more than 30-page federal lawsuit was filed in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida, alleging Cohen breached his attorney-client relationship by “spreading falsehoods” about Trump that were “likely to be embarrassing or detrimental, and partook in other misconduct” while also breaching contractual terms of a confidentiality agreement he signed as a condition of employment with Trump.
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The lawsuit alleged that Cohen spread falsehoods about Trump “with malicious intent and to wholly self-serving ends.”
The lawsuit detailed Cohen’s “myriad of public statements, including the publication of two books, a podcast series, and innumerable mainstream media appearances,” while ignoring “cease and desist” orders.
“Once President Trump has prevailed in dealing with the witch hunts against him, he will continue to pursue his claims against Michael Cohen, who rightfully deserves to, and will be held accountable for his unlawful words and actions just as the Southern District of New York held him accountable for numerous non-Trump related acts and crimes, making Cohen a very ‘proud’ felon,” a Trump spokesperson told Fox News Digital in a statement.
Cohen’s testimony Tuesday comes amid the civil trial that stems from James’ investigation.
James, a Democrat, brought a lawsuit against Trump last year, alleging that he and his company misled banks and others about the value of his assets. James said the Trump family, as well as his associates and businesses, committed “numerous acts of fraud and misrepresentation” on their financial statements. She also alleged that Trump “inflated his net worth by billions of dollars” and said his children helped him to do so.
New York Judge Arthur Engoron, who is presiding over the trial, last month ruled that Trump and the Trump Organization committed fraud while building his real estate empire by deceiving banks, insurers and others by overvaluing his assets and exaggerating his net worth on paperwork used in making deals and securing financing.
Meanwhile, Engoron fined Trump $5,000 for violating the partial gag order he imposed this month and warned the former president and current GOP front-runner that future violations could result in imprisonment.
Fox News’ Maria Paronich and the Associated Press contributed to this report.