The judge in Donald J. Trump’s criminal trial asked prosecutors to instruct key witness Michael D. Cohen to refrain from making public statements against the former president. Cohen, a former personal lawyer for Trump, paid hush money to a porn star to silence her extramarital affair allegations in 2016. Cohen is expected to testify next week, claiming that records of reimbursements for the hush money were falsified at Trump’s direction in 2017. The judge’s directive added anticipation to the proceeding, as prosecutors focused on the central accusations against Trump before Cohen’s testimony.
The main testimony on Friday included a former executive assistant, Madeleine Westerhout, who provided insight into document flow in the Oval Office during Trump’s presidency. Westerhout recounted details of Trump signing checks, including those for reimbursing Cohen for the hush money payment. She also mentioned scheduling a meeting between Cohen and Trump to discuss the payment. While the defense tried to portray Trump as protecting his family’s reputation by paying off the porn star, Westerhout’s testimony hinted at unpleasantness surrounding the scandal.
Stormy Daniels, the porn star involved in the hush money payment, testified for over seven hours earlier in the week, detailing her encounter with Trump in 2006. Despite the graphic details, the encounter was not directly related to the charges but was the reason behind Cohen’s payment and the subsequent trial. Cohen, once a close ally of Trump, turned against him, prompting public sparring between the two. Trump’s attacks on Cohen led the judge to prohibit him from targeting witnesses or jurors, resulting in fines and threats of jail time for the former president.
Prosecutors presented evidence implying a conspiracy between Trump, Cohen, and The National Enquirer to influence the 2016 presidential election. Trump dismissed the trial as a political persecution by Manhattan district attorney Alvin L. Bragg, a Democrat. Throughout the trial, Trump appeared glum and detached, occasionally reading positive press notices. His defense team tried to discredit Daniels’ testimony, suggesting she was a liar seeking personal gain. While Trump shut out the courtroom during testimony, his lawyers are preparing to confront Cohen aggressively when he takes the stand next week.
Despite the pressure on Cohen, the spotlight will also be on Trump, who once believed Cohen would never turn against him. The former president’s dismissive Twitter posts towards Cohen and denial of his potential cooperation have come back to haunt him, as Cohen is poised to reveal incriminating evidence against Trump. As the trial continues, the dynamics between prosecutors, witnesses, and the defendant create a tense and dramatic atmosphere in the courtroom. The outcome of Cohen’s testimony and its impact on the case against Trump remain uncertain, but the trial is poised to deliver explosive revelations and potentially redefine the former president’s legal troubles.
