Donald Trump's onetime lawyer Michael Cohen is set to testify against the former president at Trump's civil fraud trial in New York next week.
Cohen announced the move in a post on Meta's Threads on Friday and included an image generated by artificial intelligence of him behind Trump, with his hands on his former boss' shoulders. Text accompanying the image read, "Let's get you back to your cell."
"It appears that I will be reunited with my old client @realDonaldTrump when I testify this Tuesday, October 24th at the @NewYorkStateAG civil fraud trial," Cohen wrote in the post. "See you there!"
Earlier this week, he posted on Threads that his initial court appearance had been delayed due to a medical issue, without providing further detail.
"I'm not bowing out," he wrote in the post. "I'm not nervous to testify. I'm not being paid off. I have a medical issue that I need to attend to. It's as simple as that."
During a Tuesday lunch break from his $250 million fraud trial in Manhattan, Trump stated that Cohen "didn't have the guts" to face him in court.
Cohen fired back that he would see his former employer "very soon."
"If I was afraid of Donald, I wouldn't have written two NYT [New York Times] bestsellers, testified before the [former special counsel Robert] Mueller team, seven congressional committees, 23 appearances before the Manhattan DA, and provided information to the NYAG [New York attorney general] that is the basis of this trial," Cohen told the New York Post. "Looking forward to seeing you in court very soon!"
Judge Arthur Engoron ruled late last month that Trump and his businesses committed fraud as he built his real estate empire by repeatedly lying on financial statements to obtain more favorable loan terms and lower insurance premiums.
Cohen has claimed that the fraud trial likely would put Trump out of business and speculated it could push him into bankruptcy.
"The damages, in my estimation, with interest and penalty, will exceed $600 million," Cohen told CNN last month. "Will that put him into bankruptcy? He does not have the liquid cash in order to pay that off."
Once one of the former president's closest allies, Cohen famously said he would take a bullet for Trump. Their relationship broke down after Cohen testified to a House committee that Trump made hush-money payments to porn star Stormy Daniels.
New York Attorney General Letitia James' office said Cohen's testimony prompted its investigation into Trump.
via newsmax