In a pivotal testimony on Monday, Michael Cohen, who was once a loyal attorney and fixer for Donald Trump, pointed the finger at his former boss in the first criminal trial of a former American president. Cohen provided jurors with an insider’s account of hush money payments made to silence women’s claims of sexual encounters with Trump, stating that the payments were directed by Trump to protect his 2016 White House bid. Cohen is expected to be on the witness stand for several days and faces intense questioning from Trump’s attorneys, who have portrayed him as a liar seeking to bring down the former president. Trump has denied any wrongdoing in the case.
Cohen testified about the hush money scheme, detailing meetings and conversations with Trump about quashing negative stories during the final weeks of the 2016 campaign. He mentioned a $130,000 payment to porn actor Stormy Daniels and another incident involving former Playboy model Karen McDougal, both of whom claimed to have affairs with Trump. Cohen stated that he was acting at the direction and benefit of Trump and sought reimbursement for the payments. Trump denies the allegations and has distanced himself from the payments made to these women.
During his testimony, Cohen revealed Trump’s concerns about the impact these allegations could have on his presidential campaign, especially in light of the release of the “Access Hollywood” tape where Trump made derogatory remarks about women. Cohen testified that Trump was worried about the potential fallout from these stories and how they could affect his image with female voters. The prosecution is using this testimony to show that Trump sought to silence these women to protect his campaign, while the defense argues that Trump was acting to protect his family and reputation.
Cohen spoke fondly of his early days working for Trump and detailed their close relationship. He described how he would go to great lengths to fulfill Trump’s requests and maintain a positive image in his boss’s eyes. Cohen also admitted to lying and bullying on Trump’s behalf, including dealing with the media and threatening legal action against reporters who published unflattering stories about Trump. Despite the challenges, Cohen described his time working for Trump as “fantastic” and an overall “amazing experience.”
Cohen portrayed Trump as a hands-on boss who was deeply involved in the operations of his company, the Trump Organization. He testified that Trump wanted to be kept informed about any developments regarding the tasks he assigned and had an “open-door policy” for executives to update him on important matters. Cohen’s testimony aimed to establish that Trump was aware of the payments made to Daniels and McDougal and was actively involved in the decision-making process. Prosecutors highlighted these details to show Trump’s knowledge and involvement in the scheme to silence the women.
One of the key pieces of evidence presented during Cohen’s testimony was a secretly recorded audio of a meeting between him and Trump in September 2016. In the recording, Trump can be heard discussing the plan to purchase McDougal’s silence, indicating Trump’s awareness of the hush money scheme. Cohen testified that he made the recording so that Pecker, the National Enquirer publisher, could hear the conversation and be assured that Trump would reimburse him. Prosecutors sought to establish the authenticity of the recording and rebut claims that Cohen may have altered it. The recording provided additional insight into Trump’s involvement in the scheme and his efforts to keep damaging stories from surfacing during his presidential campaign.
