If Michael Cohen’s testimony yesterday sounded familiar, it’s because his primary role initially was to confirm the National Enquirer’s publisher’s account.
Amid fragmented news, prosecutors scrutinized meetings, phone calls, emails and text messages with Donald Trump and others, and Trump vouched for nearly everything David Pecker told jurors. did.
However, if there was one sentence that left an impression on me, it was this. When Trump announced in 2015 that he would soon launch his first campaign, Cohen said his boss told him that “a lot of women would come forward.” It would prove to be prescient.
And the following year, when Mr. Cohen alerted Mr. Trump to allegations of infidelity involving former Playboy Playmate Karen McDougal, the future president’s response was, “She’s so beautiful.”
Stormy claims she had a one-night stand with Trump, agrees to lie for $130,000 reward
May 13, 2024, in Manhattan State Court in New York City, USA, Donald Trump faces charges of falsifying business records to conceal funds paid to hush porn star Stormy Daniels in 2016 During the president’s criminal trial, defendant Michael Cohen is questioned by prosecutor Susan Hoffinger. In this courtroom sketch. (Reuters/Jane Rosenberg)
Mr. Cohen’s credibility as Trump’s “fixer” (a term prosecutors raised knowing the defense would do so) will come under intense attack. He is a convicted liar serving time in prison. Maybe that’s the ball game. Whether a Manhattan jury believes he is now telling the truth could easily be challenged at trial.
There is little question as to Mr. Cohen’s motives. Since his departure from public life, he has been on a crusade against the man he served for 10 years. Indeed, Judge Juan Melchán on Friday ordered prosecutors to warn Cohen not to comment further, given President Trump’s complaint that he was under attack and could not respond under the gag order. Ta.
This happened after Cohen posted a photo of himself on TikTok wearing a T-shirt and an orange head behind bars. No, it’s not that mysterious.
One interesting tidbit came up when Mr. Cohen described Mr. Trump as being “on top of the world” during the 10 years he worked for him. He was billing President Trump’s entertainment department for work worth $100,000. The real estate developer then offered him a job and told him, perhaps only half-jokingly, that if he brought up unpaid bills, he would fire him on the first day. Mr. Cohen’s job at the time was to pressure law firms to lower his charges.
During this time, prosecutor Alvin Bragg asked whether Cohen would lie for Trump. “Yes ma’am.” Will he bully for Trump? “Yes ma’am.”
Mr. Cohen’s account of Mr. Trump’s meeting with Mr. Pecker in the summer of 2015 matched the publisher’s account. The Enquirer publishes positive stories about Trump and negative stories about some of his opponents, and Pecker says “The Apprentice” star has a negative story if someone else has a negative story. and tried to suppress it.
Mr. Cohen, as Mr. Pecker said, previewed articles and covers, including the false claim that Hillary Clinton suffered from a brain injury, in part to gain credit from Mr. Trump. I was going to tell you.
The first test was when the Trump Tower doorman was paid $30,000 by the Inquirer for what turned out to be a completely bogus article about what tabloids always call love children. was. Cohen advised an additional $1 million fine if the men violate the agreement.
New York v. Trump: Cohen testifies that he paid Stormy Daniels out of his own pocket
Next up was Karen McDougall, whom prosecutors decided not to call as a witness, perhaps to avoid giving Trump something to appeal.
The capture and kill will cost investigators $150,000. Mr. Trump approved, and in a recorded call Mr. Cohen suggested paying in cash, but his lawyer said a check would make the transaction appear legitimate.
Pecker, meanwhile, said he was “angry” and “upset” and said the amount was too large to hide from the parent company’s CEO.
Meanwhile, McDougall and her lawyer rejected the deal, and Cohen feared she was talking to ABC, but then accepted the deal.
In 2016, defendant Michael Cohen appeared in Manhattan state court in New York during President Trump’s criminal trial on charges of falsifying business records to hide money paid to hush porn star Stormy Daniels. Former President Donald Trump sits with his eyes closed while being questioned by prosecutor Susan Hoffinger. US City, May 13, 2024 Courtroom Sketches. (Reuters/Jane Rosenberg)
Mr. Pecker eventually told Mr. Cohen to forget about redemption. reason? A cover shoot with McDaniel for Men’s Health magazine (which served as a contract cover along with a fitness column) sold better than expected, so a second shoot was planned. It’s worth at least $150,000, Cohen said.
Another very important answer from Michael Cohen concerned payments to Stormy Daniels, a request he deemed “devastating” after the “Access Hollywood” tape. Mr. Cohen asked Mr. Trump about his wife.
According to testimony, Trump said he would try to get through the election. If he wins, Stormy Daniels’ business will be irrelevant, and if he loses, no one will care.
“He wasn’t thinking about Melania. This was all about the campaign,” Cohen asserted.
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This is an important difference. As former aide Hope Hicks, who was not a hostile witness, argued, Trump had every right to worry about protecting his wife and family. Doing so for campaign reasons opens the door to charges of political manipulation and, ultimately, record falsification.
The rest of the story unfolds as expected. Mr. Cohen was stuck with funding. Ms. Daniels canceled her contract and her lawyer told Ms. Cohen that she would go to the Daily Mail instead. Mr. Trump was furious and told Mr. Cohen that he thought this was resolved. Trading has since resumed.
After speaking with Trump, Mr. Cohen went to the bank on October 16, 2016, transferred funds from his home equity line of credit and purchased a living interest in Stormy’s Story. Mr. Cohen testified that he would not have done this without President Trump’s permission to say, “Don’t worry, you’ll get your money back.” (And he eventually did.)
The last scare: When the Wall Street Journal reported on the Enquirer-McDougall deal on Nov. 4, just before the election, Cohen consulted with Hicks multiple times about what was best for the press. He had received Stormy’s denial, but he ignored it after concluding that the story wasn’t getting much attention.
President Trump will address the media on May 13th. (Seth Wenig/Pool/AFP via Getty Images)
Court reporters said Cohen was relaxed during his testimony, but this was the most striking thing to me.
What alternative developments could Mr. Trump’s lawyers offer to Mr. Cohen’s testimony? His account is backed up by emails, text messages, call logs, encrypted signal messages, bank transfers, and one audio tape. There is no question about them. Can the defense argue that Mr. Cohen, David Pecker, and Mr. Daniels and Mr. McDougal’s lawyer, Keith Davidson, are all lying?
They can dispute Cohen’s motives, but they cannot dispute the well-documented sequence of events.
The Trump team will obviously say that Cohen has lied many other times. that he was involved in the dirty taxi medallion business; He reportedly spent time in prison. He made money by supporting Trump, and he became a national figure and cable critic by supporting Trump. All true, and probably enough to discredit him.
The rest of the day was spent trying to convince Cohen against his final cross-examination. Cohen said he was “beyond angry…really insulted and personally hurt” by President Trump’s decision to cut his 2016 bonus by two-thirds.
Mr. Cohen had hoped to be named White House chief of staff, but egos made it inappropriate. He wanted to be Trump’s personal lawyer for free, but Trump agreed at the last minute. That means Mr. Cohen, as someone with access to the new president, could command large sums of money from companies. At President Trump’s direction, $130,000 in hush money and a bonus were refunded.
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Look, it’s not a crime to sleep with a porn star or Playboy model. Signing an NDA is not a crime.
But if all 12 jurors agree that Michael Cohen is telling the truth on the stand, the former fixer may finally be vindicated.
