Michael Cohen Shares Handwritten Note From Trump About 'Political Enemies'

Michael Cohen, ex-president Donald Trump's former attorney, revealed what he says is a note from Trump, claiming it shows Trump's recycled attacks on "political enemies."

Cohen took the witness stand on October 24 and October 25 in New York Attorney General Letitia James' $250 million civil fraud lawsuit against Trump, his adult sons and The Trump Organization. They're accused of misrepresenting assets for financial benefits. Trump, front-runner for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination, has denied any wrongdoing and has frequently called the trial politically motivated. On Monday, Trump took the stand to testify in the case as he was pressed about the values of his properties—and his role in their appraisals.

Meanwhile, while speaking with MSNBC's Jen Psaki on Monday about Trump's testimony, Cohen told Psaki that he discovered a decade-old note, which appeared to feature Trump's handwriting, in a drawer claiming the document showed how little the former president's language tactics have changed over the years.

"I was going through a drawer today and I came across this document and no one has seen this document before. He does the same thing over and over... It is the same language," Cohen said.

According to Cohen, the document read: "Obama reps is (sic) using lightweight New York State Attorney General Eric Schneiderman to target political enemies."

Newsweek could not verify the authenticity of the document.

Trump frequently attacked Schneiderman over the then-attorney general's office's civil investigation into Trump University that resulted in a $25 million settlement. Schneiderman had also opened an investigation into the Donald J. Trump Foundation in 2016 and then the Eric Trump Foundation in 2017.

Cohen said that Trump's language attacks are not new and are frequently being used over and over amid Trump's legal troubles.

"All you have to do is remove Eric Schneiderman's name from it, put it into Letitia James, or put it into Jack Smith, or put it into anyone. It's the same language over and over," Cohen said.

Newsweek has reached out to Cohen via email for comment.

This comes after in the first hour of the former president's testimony, New York State Supreme Court Justice Arthur Engoron repeatedly told Trump not to give speeches in court and warned his attorney to control him or he may be removed from the witness stand. The admonishment followed Trump attacking the Attorney General's Office as "haters," sidestepping questions and repeatedly going off on tangents.

Trump, who generally speaks to reporters after court proceedings to reiterate his stance while claiming his legal tumult is nothing but a "witch hunt," has also been known to use the social media platform Truth Social to attack court staff along with those in charge of the allegations he faces.

Newsweek has reached out to Trump via email for comment.

Additionally, the court imposed a limited gag order on Trump on October 3, the second day of the trial, barring him and other defendants from publicly discussing members of Engoron's staff. The order was prompted by a derogatory post on Trump's Truth Social account.

Engoron also issued a gag order on Friday, prohibiting all lawyers working on the trial "from making any public statements, in or out of court, that refer to any confidential communications, in any form, between my staff and me."

The order was issued after a long-simmering clash between Trump's lawyers and Engoron escalated on the same day when they engaged in nearly 30 minutes of debate about the judge's principal law clerk, who has been a target of the former president since the start of the trial.