The testimony of Michael D. Cohen has shed light on the efforts made by Donald J. Trump and his team to cover up alleged affairs with women in the lead-up to the 2016 election. Cohen revealed that conversations were constantly taking place about how to keep these women quiet, with accounting departments being engaged, front companies being created, and misleading invoices being produced. The impact on female voters was a source of panic among Trump’s aides, and the “Access Hollywood” tape, in which Trump talked about groping women with impunity, was seen as a bombshell in 2016.
After the “Access Hollywood” tape was released, Trump described the language heard on the tape as “locker-room talk,” a characterization he credited to his wife Melania. Cohen testified that Trump urged him to reach out to contacts in the news media, with Chris Cuomo from CNN warning that it would be “too late” to defend Trump on TV. Despite this, Trump remained defiant, claiming that women preferred him over football stars and dismissing concerns about his reputation with female voters.
The focus then turned to Stormy Daniels and the possibility of her going public with her account of a sexual liaison with Trump. Cohen stated that Trump admitted meeting Ms. Daniels at a golf tournament and that she liked him. When questioned about whether he had sex with Ms. Daniels, Trump remained evasive. However, he expressed anger and concern that the story would negatively impact his campaign, stating that “women are going to hate me” and describing the situation as a “disaster.”
In an effort to silence Stormy Daniels, Cohen established a bank account for Essential Consultants L.L.C. and wired a payment to her lawyer, Keith Davidson. These transactions stood out to the banker involved, who testified that Cohen displayed a sense of urgency in his dealings. Cohen funded the account from his home-equity line of credit at First Republic Bank, ensuring that there was no record of the payment on the printed checks. Trump instructed Cohen to “just take care of it,” emphasizing the need to keep the affair quiet and avoid any negative impact on the campaign.
Overall, Cohen’s testimony has offered a glimpse into the lengths to which Trump and his team went to cover up his alleged affairs with women in the run-up to the 2016 election. The focus on keeping these women quiet, establishing front companies, and creating misleading invoices reveals a concerted effort to avoid any negative impact on Trump’s campaign. Despite Trump’s attempts to dismiss the “Access Hollywood” tape as locker-room talk and downplay his interactions with Stormy Daniels, the testimony paints a picture of a campaign in crisis as these scandals threatened to overshadow his candidacy.
