As Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg contemplates bringing his grand jury back in session Thursday to weigh the case against Donald Trump, the former president posted what he calls a "totally exculpatory" document from the lawyer who turned star witness against him, Michael Cohen.
"Wow, look what was just found — A Letter from Cohen's Lawyer to the Federal Election Commission," Trump posted Wednesday night to his social media site, Truth Social, sharing an image of a document marked "highly confidential."
"This is totally exculpatory, and must end the Manhattan District Attorney's Witch Hunt, immediately.
"Cohen admits that he did it himself. The D.A. should get on with prosecuting violent criminals, so people can walk down the sidewalks of New York without being murdered!"
The letter, if authentic, has Cohen's attorney, Stephen Ryan, representing that the payment to Stormy Daniels, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford, was made by Cohen using his own funds, with no reimbursement from the Trump campaign or Trump Organization, and neither entity as a "party to the transaction."
Trump, 76, would, if indicted, become the first former or sitting president to ever be charged with a crime. The unprecedented move would send shock waves through the 2024 election campaign, in which Trump is planning to run after losing a bid for a second term to Joe Biden in 2020.
Bragg formed the grand jury — a citizens' panel tasked with deciding whether there is a case meriting a response — in January following his investigation into $130,000 paid to Daniels in 2016.
The payment to Daniels, an adult film star, was made weeks before the 2016 election, allegedly to stop her from going public about a liaison she says she had with Trump years earlier.
Cohen testified before the grand jury, saying he made the payment on his boss' behalf and was later reimbursed — the reimbursements were reported classified as campaign expenses.
If not properly accounted for, the payment could result in a misdemeanor charge for falsifying business records, experts say.
That might be raised to a felony if the false accounting was intended to cover up a second crime, such as a campaign finance violation, which is punishable by up to four years behind bars.
Information from Agence France Presse was used in this report.
Eric Mack ✉
Eric Mack has been a writer and editor at Newsmax since 2016. He is a 1998 Syracuse University journalism graduate and a New York Press Association award-winning writer.
© 2025 Newsmax. All rights reserved.