Michael Cohen used artificial intelligence to fuel fake lawyer cases

Michael D. Cohen, the former fixer for former President Donald J. Trump, said in newly released court documents that he falsely gave his lawyer false legal citations after the artificial intelligence program Google Bard made them up for him.

The fictitious quotes were then used in a motion filed with a federal judge in Manhattan. Mr. Cohen, who pleaded guilty to campaign finance violations in 2018 and served time in prison, had asked for an early end to judicial oversight of his case now that he was out of jail and had complied with terms of his release.

In an affidavit made public Friday, Mr. Cohen explained that he had not kept pace with “emerging trends (and associated risks) in legal technology and did not realize that Google Bard was a generative text service that, just like ChatGPT, quotes and descriptions that looked real, but actually weren’t.”

He also said he did not realize that the attorney who filed the motion on his behalf, David M. Schwartz, “would drop the cases in their entirety without even acknowledging that they existed.”

The revelation could have serious consequences for the Manhattan criminal case against Mr. Trump, in which Mr. Cohen is expected to appear as a key witness. The former president’s lawyers have long attacked Mr. Cohen as a serial fabulist; now they will have a brand new example.

A spokeswoman for the Manhattan district attorney’s office declined to comment.

The new information about Mr. Cohen’s role in creating the bogus cases comes after the judge, Jesse M. Furman of the Federal District Court, said in an order on December 12 that he did not approve of any of the three decisions cited by Mr. Schwartz could find. and ordered him to provide copies to the court.

If Mr. Schwartz could not present the cases, Judge Furman said, the lawyer would have to file an affidavit containing “a thorough explanation of how the motion came to raise matters that do not exist and what role, if any, Mr. Cohen has played.” played in drafting or reviewing the motion before it was filed.”

Mr. Schwartz should also explain why he should not be sanctioned “for presenting non-existent matters to the court,” Judge Furman said in the Dec. 12 order.

The episode is the second this year in which lawyers in Manhattan federal court have cited bogus court decisions created through the use of an artificial intelligence program.

Jonah E. Bromwich reporting contributed.