President Donald Trump amplified a Substack post by Michael Cohen, praising Cohen’s account of alleged government “weaponization” and urging Democrats to face consequences—an unusual show of alignment between two men who have spent years trading public blows.
For years, Donald Trump and Michael Cohen have kept score in public. So when Trump amplified Cohen’s latest writing on Sunday, praising it in a Truth Social post, the moment landed like a deliberate break in their long-running rupture.
Trump thanked Cohen and shared the former personal lawyer’s Substack essay. which argues that the government “weaponization” narrative is grounded in lived experience. In the post. Trump accused Democrats of using federal agencies against political opponents “at levels never seen before. ” and added: “They should pay the ultimate price for what they have done!!!”.
Trump has repeatedly claimed that federal agencies were unfairly weaponized against him and his allies during his time in and out of office. That message has become a central pillar of his political messaging and policy platform. This time, he leaned on Cohen—someone who has been one of his most persistent critics.
Cohen’s essay. titled “The Price of Proximity. ” said he supports the administration’s controversial “anti-weaponization” fund because of his own experience with the justice system. Cohen described what he characterized as a sustained “campaign” involving investigations, media coverage, and legal pressure.
In the writing, Cohen said he lost his law license, business relationships, and reputation. He also wrote that he was subjected to prison time in cases he argues were driven by false allegations and political motives.
“If the Anti-Weaponization Fund genuinely exists to compensate victims of politically motivated investigations, then I believe my experience stands among the clearest examples of why such a fund should exist,” Cohen wrote.
Cohen is not new to the legal aftermath of those years. He once served as Trump’s longtime personal “fixer. ” then broke with the president. became a vocal critic. and served a prison sentence after pleading guilty to multiple federal crimes. Those charges included tax evasion. lying to Congress. and campaign finance violations tied to hush-money payments made on Trump’s behalf.
At the center of Trump’s Sunday push is the “anti-weaponization” fund itself—a pot of money valued at roughly $1.8 billion that was created as part of a Department of Justice (DOJ) settlement tied to Trump’s lawsuit over leaked tax returns.
The settlement included restrictions aimed at the IRS: as part of the deal. the IRS is permanently barred from auditing the past tax returns of Trump. his family. and the Trump Organization. In return, Trump dropped his damages claims related to the FBI’s 2022 search of Mar-a-Lago and the federal Russia investigation.
The DOJ has said the fund is intended to compensate individuals who claim they were harmed by government “weaponization” or “lawfare,” with the possibility of monetary payouts or formal apologies.
Supporters argue the fund is meant to address political bias within federal investigations. Critics—including Democrats and several congressional Republicans—have raised concerns about how the massive sum will be distributed. They’ve labeled it a taxpayer-funded “slush fund” designed to reward political allies.
The initiative has faced intense scrutiny and legal challenges, and its future remains uncertain as debates continue in Washington.
Trump’s choice to promote Cohen’s writing stands out because of the sheer distance between the two men’s public worlds. Cohen previously served as a star prosecution witness in Trump’s New York criminal hush-money trial. Trump has called Cohen a “proven liar” and a “disgraced felon,” and also referred to him as a “total sleazebag.”.
Still. in Trump’s Sunday post. the former critic’s argument became something closer to a campaign asset—reinforcing Trump’s narrative that the government has overreached. For Cohen. the moment suggests a rare alignment with the administration on one of Washington’s most combustible policy debates: whether politically motivated investigations should be met with compensation.
The timing was striking. too: the relationship between Trump and Cohen has been defined by public enmity for years. and now. their conflict is briefly interrupted by shared language about “weaponization”—with Trump putting his authority behind it and Cohen offering the story he says made him a victim.
Donald Trump Michael Cohen anti-weaponization fund DOJ settlement Truth Social Substack government weaponization lawfare Mar-a-Lago search IRS audit ban hush money trial