Michael Cohen Applauds Donald Trump's $1 Million Election Fraud Bounty

Michael Cohen, Donald Trump's former personal attorney and one of his best-known critics, praised the president's $1 million reward for election-fraud tips on Sunday's episode of his podcast When You Know You Know. He also challenged California Governor Gavin Newsom over federal concerns about the state's voter rolls.

Cohen called himself "a registered lifelong Democrat who now identifies as an independent." He made the remarks two days before Tuesday's midterm elections. He tied the bounty to foreign influence and data crimes rather than ballot stuffing, and he said individual cases do not prove widespread fraud.

"And I could not be happier that President Trump has put forth this million dollar bounty to anybody who comes forward," Cohen said. "I think this is exactly what we need until we can sort of get this thing under control."

Michael Cohen Frames Bounty Around Foreign Influence

Cohen's first reaction to the reward was "This is the craziest thing I've ever seen." He argued that modern election fraud runs through "cross-referencing databases, duplicate registration, foreign money," adding: "it's a data crime, not a guy stuffing a ballot box."

He made the case to Brittany Kaiser, the Cambridge Analytica whistleblower who now runs Alpha Compute, and said "there is so much foreign influence that is being used and manipulated in order to guide our elections." Kaiser praised the bounty, saying it showed "that whistleblowers will be supported."

Trump announced the reward on October 26, writing that anyone "reporting Voter Fraud in the past Elections, or the upcoming 2026 Midterm Election, will be paid $1,000,000 upon the arrest and conviction of those that created the Fraud." The post did not say who would fund the payments or how tips would be verified, and the White House declined to give ABC News any further details.

The California Cases and Cohen's Challenge to Gavin Newsom

Cohen pointed to Operation Protect the Vote. On October 19, the Justice Department charged 28 foreign nationals, all green-card holders, with crimes including fraudulent voter registration, voting as noncitizens and lying on naturalization forms. One defendant is a 72-year-old Belizean national from Commerce who prosecutors say voted in 2020, 2022 and 2024. The department noted that the charges are accusations and that every defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty.

"These are allegations, certainly not convictions," Cohen said. "Nobody should use individual cases to claim widespread fraud has been established, but dismissing legitimate concerns because they are, I don't know, politically inconvenient is equally irresponsible."

He then turned to Newsom, saying the governor had dismissed federal concerns involving voter registration records "as a political clown show." That account of Newsom's response is Cohen's; the cited sources do not record the governor's wording.

"Well, Governor, I appreciate the well-delivered insult," Cohen said. "You know, here in New York, we practically consider it a public service, but an insult is not an answer and a punchline. Well, it's not evidence either." He added: "If federal authorities are wrong, demonstrate it. If they exceed their legal authority, challenge them in court."

He aimed some of that at both parties. "A Republican accusation is not automatically true, and a Democratic denial does not settle a question simply because it comes wrapped in indignation," he said. Later in the monologue, after arguing that the answer was "to follow the evidence, respect due process, and apply the law equally," he added: "Republicans must accept that standard. Democrats must accept it too."

What the Record Shows on Noncitizen Voting

The 28 defendants appeared on a list of about 20,000 names, OPB reported. ABC News reported that Trump has made repeated unsubstantiated claims of widespread voter fraud. "Given that there's over 20 million registered voters in California, this is quite a small number of allegations," said election law expert Rick Hasen. California Secretary of State Shirley Weber said the federal demands would amount to "an unprecedented suspension — and even denial — of voting rights."

Two surveys asked different questions and found different partisan patterns. Gallup, in a survey fielded May 1 to June 10 and published Oct. 7, measured confidence in the honesty of U.S. elections and found a wide gap: 63 percent of Democrats, 37 percent of Republicans and 35 percent of independents. Pew Research Center asked whether the midterms would be run fairly and accurately and found no significant partisan gap: 58 percent of Democrats and 55 percent of Republicans. Overall, Pew found 55 percent confident in 2026, down from 64 percent in 2022.

What Happens Next

In his opening monologue, Cohen also warned pundits against assuming a Democratic wave. Democrats lead PolitiKool's polling average of the generic congressional ballot 49.8 percent to 41.3 percent.

The bounty's real test comes after Tuesday. None of the California defendants has been convicted, and payment depends on convictions.