The revelation could impact the Manhattan criminal case against Trump, where Cohen is expected to be a key witness. The judge, Jesse M. Furman, has ordered Schwartz to provide copies of the cited decisions or a sworn declaration explaining how the motion came to cite non-existent cases and Cohen's role in it. This is the second instance this year where lawyers in the Manhattan federal court have cited fake court decisions created by an AI program.
Key takeaways:
- Michael D. Cohen, former fixer for Donald Trump, admitted to using the artificial intelligence program Google Bard to generate bogus legal citations which were then given to his lawyer and used in a motion provided to a Manhattan federal judge.
- Cohen, who pleaded guilty in 2018 to campaign finance violations, had asked for an early end to court supervision of his case, claiming he had complied with the conditions of his release.
- The bogus cases were revealed after the judge could not find any of the three decisions cited by Cohen's lawyer, David M. Schwartz, and ordered him to provide copies to the court.
- This incident could potentially impact the Manhattan criminal case against Donald Trump, in which Cohen is expected to serve as the star witness, as it provides further evidence of Cohen's credibility issues.