Prosecutors will continue questioning Michael Cohen on Tuesday after the former Trump lawyer spent all day on the stand Monday testifying against former President Trump in his criminal trial.
Cohen said Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg and his team were trying to prove that the former president falsified business records related to a $130,000 payment to adult film actress Stormy Daniels. He is said to be a powerful witness..
Mr. Bragg indicted Mr. Trump on 34 counts of first-degree falsification of business records. Trump has pleaded not guilty to all charges and maintains his innocence.
Cohen, who once famously said he would “take a bullet” for his longtime boss and friend Trump, arranged hush money payments to Daniels ahead of the 2016 presidential election. He testified about his role in protecting Trump’s interests. Her allegations that she had sexual contact with Trump in the early 2000s were never made public.
Michael Cohen testifies that he secretly recorded President Trump in preparation for the 2016 election
michael coen and donald trump
Prosecutor Susan Hoffinger led the investigation.
Cohen testified Monday that his work at the Trump Organization was “amazing” and that working for Trump was “a great experience.”
Mr. Cohen testified that he spoke to Mr. Trump multiple times a day and often lied on behalf of his boss, saying he did so because “it was necessary to accomplish my mission.”
“All I could think about was accomplishing the mission and keeping him happy,” Cohen said.
Mr. Hoffinger asked Mr. Cohen whether it was accurate to describe himself as Mr. Trump’s “fixer,” to which Mr. Cohen replied, “That’s fair.”
But as for the payment to Daniels, Cohen testified in October 2016 that he told President Trump that he had to pay Daniels to silence her claims before Election Day next month. .
When Daniels came out, Cohen said Trump was “really angry at me.”
This courtroom sketch shows Michael Cohen on the stand during former President Trump’s criminal trial on May 13, 2024 in New York City. (Reuters/Jane Rosenberg)
Cohen recalled Trump saying to him, “‘I thought you had this under control, I thought you handled this.'”
Mr. Cohen explained to Mr. Trump that he had been dealing with Mr. Daniels’ allegations dating back to 2011, but when the story resurfaced, Mr. Trump told Mr. Cohen to “just deal with it” and that the situation was completely resolved. He argued that it was a terrible disaster. It hurt the campaign’s chances of winning over female voters.
Michael Cohen’s credibility issues, brazen TikTok usage before testimony raises eyebrows in media
A former Trump lawyer testified that he discussed ways to finance the payments with Trump Organization Chief Financial Officer Allen Weisselberg, who initially said he was not in a position to foot the bill.
“Finally, I said, ‘Okay, I’ll pay,'” Cohen testified, pointing to the urgency behind the issue just days before the election. Cohen said in court that Daniels’ claims “would have been disastrous for Mr. Trump and his campaign” unless Mr. Daniels took control of the situation and resolved the non-disclosure agreement and payments to Mr. Daniels.
Cohen said Weisselberg told him, “Don’t worry. I’ll pay you back.”
Mr. Cohen said he did not discuss the matter with his wife and decided to raise funds through a home equity line of credit rather than withdrawing funds from his personal account.
“My wife was the head of the family. [she] “You won’t understand that $130,000 is missing from our joint account,” he said.
In this courtroom sketch, Michael Cohen is questioned by prosecutor Susan Hoffinger during former President Trump’s criminal trial on May 13, 2024 in New York City. (Reuters/Jane Rosenberg)
According to testimony, Mr. Cohen and Mr. Weisselberg told Mr. Trump that Mr. Cohen intended to use personal funds to advance the payment, to which Mr. Trump responded, “Sure.”
Cohen said: “I’ve done everything I can and more to protect my boss. That’s what I’ve been doing for a long time. But I’m not going to hand over a 130,000 NDA for someone else.” he said.
He also said he could not have proceeded with the payment to Daniels without Trump’s approval, saying, “I needed Trump’s approval for everything…And on top of that, I wanted my money back.” .
Stormy Daniels and her attorney Clark Brewster pose for a photo in the witness room at Manhattan Supreme Court on May 7, 2024. (Brewster & DeAngelis Law Office)
The former Trump lawyer went on to say that he opened a bank account at First Republic Bank to transfer funds to Daniels, but fraudulently described the account as supporting “management consulting.” I testified.
Mr. Cohen also testified that he was not truthful about the intent of the account, saying he did not believe the bank would have authorized the process if it had known the account would be used to pay a former porn actress.
Prosecutors introduced phone records from October 26, 2016, showing Cohen called President Trump twice to get his “approval” and confirm that he had Trump’s approval for the deal. Indicated.
NY V Trump: Cohen testifies that he paid Stormy Daniels out of his own pocket
Cohen ultimately wired the funds to Daniels’ attorney, Keith Davidson, even though it was to “enter into an NDA” and obtain exclusive rights to Daniels’ claims. It told the court it had marked the payments as “retainage”.
Funds were transferred on October 27, 2016.
Cohen went on to explain that in his non-disclosure agreement with Daniels, he used the initials “DD” for Trump’s pseudonym, David Dennison. He said he needed a pseudonym “so that my name wouldn’t appear anywhere.”
This courtroom sketch shows former President Trump sitting with his eyes closed while Michael Cohen testifies during Trump’s criminal trial in New York City on May 13, 2024. (Reuters/Jane Rosenberg)
Also in Monday’s testimony, Cohen admitted that he secretly recorded conversations with Trump before the 2016 election without his permission. The conversation comes after former National Enquirer publisher David Pecker allegedly paid former Playboy model Karen McDougall $150,000 after working to silence her claims about her relationship with Trump. It was something.
According to testimony, Mr. Pecker pressed Mr. Cohen about the need for Mr. Trump to repay the money, and evidence that Mr. Trump was planning to pay Mr. Pecker was that Mr. Cohen secretly paid Mr. It is said that he was recording his situation. Cohen added that he made the recording not only to reassure Pecker that he would be rewarded, but also to maintain Pecker’s “loyalty” to Trump.
This courtroom sketch shows David Pecker being questioned by prosecutor Joshua Steinglass during former President Trump’s criminal trial on April 26, 2024 in New York City. (Reuters/Jane Rosenberg)
The recording, played to the jury, included Cohen mentioning Pecker and telling Trump, “We need to start a company that will transfer all the information about our friend David.” was included.
“So how much do I have to pay for this? $150?” Trump can be heard saying.
Trump’s supporters gather in large numbers ahead of Cohen’s testimony
Mr. Cohen claimed in his testimony that Mr. Trump knew that Mr. Pecker had purchased the rights to Mr. McDougal’s adultery claims and agreed to pay him $150,000.
“He mentioned the number 150 because he already knew based on his conversations with David,” Cohen said.
Cohen testified that he recorded the conversation on his iPhone while sitting across the desk from Trump without realizing he was being recorded.
Also Monday, Cohen testified that while he “didn’t want the role” of chief of staff, “I wanted my name to be included, at least to be considered.”
“It was about my ego,” he said.
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
Cohen said he personally pitched to Trump the possibility of being appointed as the president’s personal lawyer after turning down an offer to be White House assistant general counsel.
“I thought he would need it because there are still unresolved issues that we are dealing with and every president has a personal attorney,” he said.
Cohen said he presented the idea to Trump, who formally appointed him to the title of personal lawyer to the president a day or two before the inauguration.
