Michael Cohen, who previously served as former President Donald Trump's attorney and is now set to testify against him in a criminal trial, is doing nightly streams on TikTok.
That could be a problem, legal experts told ABC News.
Cohen, who served as Trump's "fixer" is considered a key witness in Trump's ongoing trial in Manhattan. Trump is charged with falsifying business records on a $130,000 payment to Cohen to reimburse him for paying porn star Stormy Daniels to stop saying she had a sexual encounter with Trump in 2006. Trump has denied all charges and said the encounter never occurred.
In 2018, Cohen pleaded guilty to campaign finance violations and tax evasion related to the payment and served time in prison. He was also disbarred.
On TikTok to his more than 290,000 followers, Cohen mocks his former boss while doing his own live commentary on the trial. On X last week, Cohen said he would stop commenting on the trial until he takes the stand.
"Despite not being the gagged defendant, out of respect for Judge [Juan] Merchan and the prosecutors, I will cease posting anything about Donald… until after my trial testimony," Cohen said. "See you all in a month."
But soon after that post, Cohen did a TikTok where he talked to Rosie O'Donnell, where the trial came up, according to ABC News. Cohen slammed Trump for bringing Boris Epshteyn, one of his former advisers, to the trial, while also praising Trump's attorneys, ABC News said.
Legal experts told ABC News they would be furious if one of their witnesses was talking about the case outside the courtroom and another said they would order him to stop.
It is unclear how much Cohen has raised in donations on his TikTok, ABC News said, but a former prosecutor told ABC News, it could be "disastrous."
"Anytime there's money involved with a witness, it's a bad thing, because the jury is going to think this person is saying these things in court because they have a financial motive, not a motive of the truth, former Georgia prosecutor Chris Timmons said to ABC News.
Following the ABC News story, Cohen took to X multiple times, dismissing it as tabloid reporting and non-story.
"More s---," Cohen said, while calling for a boycott of ABC News.
Sam Barron ✉
Sam Barron has almost two decades of experience covering a wide range of topics including politics, crime and business.
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