Michael Cohen recalled the moment he decided to go against his longtime boss, Donald Trump, on Tuesday as he continued to testify against the former president in a Manhattan courtroom.
Cohen, who served as President Trump’s “fixer” and lawyer for about a decade, told jurors in the hush-money lawsuit against the 45th president that his conversations with his family around the time he pleaded guilty in the federal case in 2018 revealed his loyalty. He said he has changed his mind about keeping the
“Based on my conversations with my family, I have decided that I will no longer lie for President Trump,” Cohen told jurors as he sat in his chair.
In August 2018, Mr. Cohen was charged with paying porn star Stormy Daniels on behalf of Mr. Trump $130,000 to silence claims that she had slept with Paul, who was once married to her. He was charged with tax evasion, campaign finance violations, and making false statements to banks.
Cohen testified Tuesday in Manhattan federal court that the day he admitted to the crime was “the worst day of my life.”
A few months later, in November 2018, he again pleaded guilty to lying to Congress about seeking funding and approval from the Russian government for President Trump’s development projects in Moscow.
“I regret doing things for him that I shouldn’t have done, including lying and bullying people to achieve my goals,” Cohen said on his second day on the stand. I testified.
The now-disbarred lawyer said he repeatedly lied to protect Trump “out of loyalty and to protect Trump.”
He said he has no regrets about working for the Trump Organization, saying, “But it goes against my moral code to remain loyal and do what Mr. I also received a penalty.”
Cohen was sentenced to three years in prison in December 2018. He served more than a year in prison, followed by an additional period of his home confinement beginning in 2020, when the prison was trying to curb the spread of the coronavirus. Mr. Cohen was released in November 2021.
Prosecutor Susan Hoffinger questioned Cohen repeatedly about why he lied, perhaps in an attempt to pre-empt Trump’s lawyers’ hopes of undermining Trump’s credibility in cross-examination. right.
Cohen told jurors that he lied to Congress to cover up Trump’s Russian development scandal and wrote a “misleading” letter to his lawyer to the Federal Election Commission about payments to Daniels in 2019. He also stated that he had deceived the Federal Election Commission by having him write this. To protect my boss of 10 years.
He also forced others to lie on Trump’s behalf, including hiding hush money from the Daniels and $150,000 he earned from the rights to a story that claimed Playboy Playmate Karen McDougall had a month-long affair with Trump. He also instructed the people.
For example, Mr. Cohen testified that he tried to pressure Mr. Daniels’ lawyer, Keith Davidson, to remain silent “to protect Mr. Trump.”
Mr. Cohen also said he was “concerned and disappointed; [and] On April 9, 2018, federal agents searched his home, law office, and bank safe deposit box, and his “life changed forever.”
He said that after the attack, President Trump called him on his cell phone and told him to “stand firm.”
“Don’t worry, I’m the president of the United States…you’ll be fine,” Cohen recalled Trump telling him.
But Mr. Cohen also claimed that Mr. Trump pressured him not to antagonize him or cooperate with federal authorities.
Cohen said Trump told him, “Stay in the fold. Stay true. I have you, you’re a great person. Don’t flip out.”
After the raid, Cohen also received an email from Rudy Giuliani’s then-lawyer Bob Costello saying, “You are loved” and “Sleep well tonight, you have friends in high places.” I also received
After about eight hours of direct testimony, the prosecution finished questioning Cohen before the lunch break.
Mr. Cohen, who is considered a key prosecution witness, also testified against Mr. Trump in a civil fraud trial last year, accusing the Republican presidential candidate of exaggerating his assets over a 10-year period to obtain better loans and insurance. The case ended with a $454 million judgment. Clause.
At that trial, Mr. Trump’s lawyers tried to emphasize Mr. Cohen’s criminal history and false history, a strategy they would likely employ when pursuing Mr. Trump in an ongoing criminal case.
