Court documents unsealed on Friday exposed a major scandal involving artificial intelligence (AI) in the legal proceedings against Donald Trump’s former personal lawyer and fixer, Michael Cohen. The documents detailed how Cohen’s attorney, David Schwartz, unwittingly relied on fabricated cases generated by Google’s Bard AI program in a letter seeking early termination of Cohen’s supervised release.
The letter, filed on November 29, 2023, contained three purported cases, each illustrating instances where judges granted early termination to defendants with circumstances similar to Cohen’s. Cohen, who previously pleaded guilty to various crimes, including campaign finance violations, tax evasion, and making false statements in 2018, is currently serving the remaining term under home confinement.
However, it was revealed that the cited cases were non-existent and had been artificially generated by Google’s Bard AI program. Cohen, represented by former federal prosecutor Danya Perry, admitted in a sworn statement that he had sent these cases to Schwartz, mistakenly believing they were authentic.
Cohen, unaware of the intricacies of legal technology, claimed he had not realized that Google Bard was an unreliable source of legal information. Schwartz, in his declaration, asserted that he had never intended to cite any cases, trusting in the strength of Cohen’s case for early termination.
“I never contemplated that the cases were non-existent,” Schwartz stated. “My submission speaks for itself. No other comment.”
Perry, in a separate filing, confirmed the falsity of the cases and promptly alerted the court upon realizing the mistake. She emphasized that Cohen was unaware of the fabricated nature of the cases and had fully cooperated with the court and probation office.
The letter, part of Cohen’s ongoing efforts to end his supervised release early, has been under consideration since July 2022. Cohen is concurrently involved in a legal case against Trump over hush money payments to adult film star Stormy Daniels, who alleges an affair with Trump in 2006. Trump denies the allegations and has pleaded not guilty.
The court has not yet ruled on Cohen’s request for early termination, and the impact of the revelation of the fake cases on his chances remains uncertain. Judge Jesse Furman, overseeing the case, has summoned Cohen, Schwartz, and Perry for a hearing on January 10, 2024, to address the AI-generated case scandal.
