Donald Trump Told to Stop 'Whining' by His Former Attorney

Donald Trump's ex-lawyer Michael Cohen has ridiculed the former president after he announced that he will not testify again in the New York civil fraud trial.

Trump was due to take the stand again on Monday to answer questions under oath for the second time as part of New York Attorney General Letitia James' $250 million lawsuit accusing the former president of filing fraudulent financial statements for years which inflated the value of his properties and assets. Trump denies wrongdoing.

In several all-capital letter posts on Truth Social on Sunday, Trump, the frontrunner in the 2024 GOP presidential primary, announced that he will not testify again as scheduled as he already "successfully and conclusively" answered questions in November while also accusing James' investigation of being "complete & total election interference."

Trump also accused Cohen, who gave evidence across two days in the civil trial against the former president in October, of lying under oath after backtracking on his earlier testimony in which he said Trump had told him to increase the value of assets in financial statements based on a number the former president had "arbitrarily" set.

"Don't forget, in addition to everything else the fake & fraudulent 'case' that [James] has brought against me, their so-called star & only, witness, sleazebag & disbarred former lawyer, Michael Cohen, admitted in court to repeatedly lying under oath. It was a total breakdown, a non-recoverable Perry Mason moment," Trump wrote. "That alone ends this Biden driven witch hunt. Election interference!"

While responding to Trump's statement after it was reshared on X, formerly Twitter, Cohen wrote: "Whah, whah whah...someone call the Diaper Donald a waaambulance!"

In a follow up post responding to the "lying" under oath criticism, Cohen added: "We won't forget, you 'Chicken S**** ALL CAPS texting tough guy. Stop the f****** whining, put on a new pair of Depends [incontinence underwear] and show up for direct and cross examination tomorrow."

Trump's office has been contacted for comment via email.

During cross examination in October, Cohen backtracked on his previous testimony after being pressed by Trump attorney Clifford Robert to state the former president did not directly instruct him to inflate the numbers of his financial statements. Cohen instead said Trump spoke like "a mob boss" and that he "tells you what he wants without specifically telling you."

Trump and his lawyers have frequently tried to paint Cohen as an unreliable witness in the civil fraud trial because of his history of lying under oath.

In 2018, Cohen pleaded guilty to lying to Congress and violating campaign finance laws in relation to money he paid to adult film star Stormy Daniels on behalf of the former president, to keep quiet about an alleged affair ahead of the 2016 election.

In a statement, Trump attorney Christopher Kise told Newsweek why the former president had decided not to appear in court again on Monday as originally scheduled.

"President Trump has already testified. There is really nothing more to say to a Judge who has imposed an unconstitutional gag order and thus far appears to have ignored President Trump's testimony and that of everyone else involved in the complex financial transactions at issue in the case," Kise said.

"The Attorney General continues her rabid and unreasonable pursuit of President Trump, obviously intent on driving profitable businesses out of New York. Under such circumstances, there is no valid reason for President Trump to testify further in this case."

Judge Arthur Engoron, who is overseeing the civil trial, has already ruled that Trump committed fraud by misrepresenting the value of his properties for years. The proceedings in New York are considering six remaining allegations in James' lawsuit, as well as the size of the penalty.