Michael Cohen returns to the stand on Tuesday as the prosecution’s star witness, after delivering testimony linking Donald Trump to a hush money scheme aimed at stifling damaging stories during his 2016 campaign. Trump was said to have been involved in every aspect of the scheme, promising to reimburse Cohen for payments made to porn star Stormy Daniels and Playboy model Karen McDougal. Cohen testified that Trump was constantly updated on efforts to bury these stories and expressed concern about their impact on his standing with female voters.
Cohen’s testimony highlighted Trump’s central role in the hush money payments, showing that everything he did was at Trump’s direction and for his benefit. While Trump has denied the sexual encounters, Cohen’s testimony offers a direct link between the former president and the payments made to Daniels and McDougal. Prosecutors are relying on Cohen’s intimate knowledge of Trump’s activities to strengthen their case, but his credibility may be challenged by the defense, who are expected to paint him as a vindictive witness obsessed with getting revenge on Trump.
The courtroom atmosphere was calm as Cohen recounted his time working for Trump, a stark contrast to their previous faceoff in October. Trump sat quietly at the defense table, with eyes closed for much of the testimony. The defense will have the opportunity to question Cohen and attack his credibility, highlighting his criminal past and portraying him as a liar with an agenda against Trump. Despite these challenges, prosecutors are confident in their case and plan to present other witnesses to support Cohen’s testimony.
Cohen’s account sheds light on how the payments to Daniels and McDougal were made and concealed as legal expenses in order to hide their true purpose. Trump had promised to reimburse Cohen for the payments, and the transactions were detailed in monthly installments as legal services. Cohen also revealed details of his negotiations with David Pecker, the publisher of the National Enquirer, in an effort to suppress embarrassing stories about Trump. The reimbursements for the payments form the basis of the 34 felony counts against Trump, charging him with falsifying business records.
Trump’s hands-on approach to managing these deals was emphasized in Cohen’s testimony, showing that Trump was closely involved in the decision-making process. Cohen described how Trump would task him with handling matters and then request to be kept informed of the progress. Cohen admitted to sometimes lying and bullying others on Trump’s behalf, especially when dealing with matters that troubled Trump. This level of involvement by Trump in the hush money scheme, as detailed by Cohen, could have significant legal consequences and political implications for the former president if deemed credible by the jury.
