NEW YORK — The star prosecution witness in Donald Trump’s hush-money trial is scheduled to take the stand Monday to give testimony that could swing the outcome of the first criminal case against the American president.
Trump’s former lawyer and fixer Michael Cohen is arguably the Manhattan district attorney’s most important witness in the case, and his scheduled appearance comes as the trial enters its final stages. It is shown that. Prosecutors say they may finish presenting evidence by the end of this week.
Cohen is expected to testify about his role in arranging hush money payments on Trump’s behalf during his first presidential campaign, including to porn actor Stormy Daniels, who told jurors last week. He is expected to testify that the $130,000 he received in 2016 was intended to prevent him from going public. She described a sexual encounter she had with Trump in a hotel suite 10 years ago.
It’s also significant because the reimbursement he received is the basis for 34 felony counts of falsifying business records against Trump. Prosecutors claim the refunds were recorded as legal costs to hide the true purpose of the payments.
The defense team conducted a scathing cross-examination of Cohen, telling jurors in his opening statement that the fixer-turned-enemy was a “self-confessed liar” who was “obsessed with getting his hands on President Trump.” I told you.
Testimony from a witness so knowledgeable about Trump’s activities could increase the potential Republican presidential nominee’s legal exposure if jurors find him sufficiently trustworthy.
But politically, prosecutors’ reliance on a witness with such a checkered past (Cohen has pleaded guilty to federal charges related to the payments and to lying to Congress) is legal. This could be a boon for Mr. Trump, who is trying to raise money from the plight of others and portraying the incident as an incident. A product of a tainted criminal justice system.
Either way, his role as star prosecution witness further cements the breakdown in a mutually beneficial relationship that was once so close that Cohen famously said he would “take a bullet for Trump.”
After Cohen’s home and office were raided by the FBI in 2018, Trump showered him with love on social media, praising him as a “great person with a great family” and saying he was “flipping out.” I (incorrectly) predicted that there would be no such thing.
A few months later, Mr. Cohen did just that, pleading guilty in August of that year to federal campaign finance charges related to Mr. Trump.
At that point, the relationship was irreparably broken, with President Trump posting on the social media platform then known as Twitter, “If anyone is looking for a great lawyer, do not retain the services of Michael Cohen. I strongly suggest!” he posted.
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Mr. Cohen later admitted to lying to Congress about a Moscow real estate project he promoted on behalf of Mr. Trump during the heated 2016 Republican campaign. He said he lied to go along with Trump’s “political message.”
Prosecutors are expected to elicit detailed testimony about Mr. Cohen’s past crimes in hopes of softening the impact of the defense’s questioning and showing that he is not trying to cover up his wrongdoing.
But it’s unclear how effective that will be, given the defense’s readiness to exploit all the challenges that come with witnesses like Cohen.
In addition to portraying Cohen as an untrustworthy character, they are also expected to cast him as vindictive, vengeful, and purpose-driven.
Since the clash between the two, Cohen has emerged as an unforgiving and sometimes harsh critic of Trump, and last week he appeared on a shirt depicting a figure resembling Trump with his hands cuffed behind bars. He appeared on a live Tik Tok wearing this.
A judge on Friday urged prosecutors to refrain from making any further comments about the case or President Trump.
“He has spoken extensively about his desire to see President Trump go to prison,” Todd Blanche, Trump’s lawyer, said in his opening statement. “He has spoken extensively about his desire to see President Trump’s family go to prison. He spoke at length about President Trump being convicted in this case.”
No matter how the testimony unfolds, there is no doubt that Mr. Cohen is a central figure in the case, with his name mentioned more than 130 times to jurors during opening statements (more than any other person). ) The fact that it was mentioned proves that.
Other witnesses, including former National Enquirer publisher David Pecker and former Trump adviser Hope Hicks, said they had suppressed articles they feared would hurt Trump’s 2016 presidential bid. Mr. Cohen testified in detail about his role in arranging this.
Jurors also heard an audio recording of Mr. Trump and Mr. Cohen discussing a plan to buy the rights to an article about Playboy model Karen McDougal, who claims she had an affair with Mr. Trump.
On Saturday, at a large rally in the resort town of Wildwood in southern New Jersey, President Trump reiterated his criticism of the incident, unfairly accusing President Joe Biden of orchestrating the charges in New York, and calling the incident It was called the “Biden show trial.”
This argument ignores the reality that the hush-money lawsuits were brought by local prosecutors in Manhattan who do not work for the Justice Department or other White House offices. The Justice Department said the White House was not involved in two criminal cases against Trump brought by special counsel Jack Smith.
