Michael Cohen, the former lawyer for Donald Trump, testified against the former US President on Monday in a New York City courtroom, admitting that he “lied and bullied” on behalf of Trump, according to Al Jazeera. Cohen, a key prosecution witness in the case, stated, “It was what was needed in order to accomplish the task,” during one of the trial’s most anticipated days.
Prosecutors have accused Trump of falsifying business records related to hush-money payments made before the 2016 election, which Trump won. The case centers on a $130,000 payment Cohen made to adult film star Stormy Daniels to keep her from speaking publicly about a 2006 sexual encounter she claims to have had with Trump. Trump has denied the encounter and dismissed the charges as “politically motivated.” Despite the trial, Trump continues to campaign for a return to the White House.
Cohen, 57, testified that his role as a “fixer” for Trump involved handling “whatever he wanted.” Rather than functioning as a traditional corporate lawyer, Cohen reported directly to Trump and was not part of the Trump Organization’s general counsel’s office. He also testified that Trump was “furious” when Daniels was “shopping” her story about their alleged encounter. Cohen quoted Trump saying, “This is a disaster, a total disaster. Women are going to hate me,” and “Guys, they think it’s cool, but this is going to be a disaster for the campaign.”
This occurred during a critical moment for Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign, following the leak of an Access Hollywood tape where Trump boasted about “grabbing women’s genitals,” which left his campaign scrambling to manage the fallout just weeks before Election Day.
Cohen provided detailed testimony about the hush-money payment he made to Daniels, central to the prosecution’s case. He testified that Trump urged him to delay the payment until after the election, believing the story would be irrelevant by then. In October 2016, as Daniels’s story was about to break, Cohen said Trump told him to proceed with the payment. “He expressed to me: Just do it,” Cohen testified, recounting that Trump advised him to coordinate with Trump Organization executive Allen Weisselberg, who was reluctant to pay. Cohen then decided to cover the payment himself, saying, “I ultimately said, ‘OK, I’ll pay it,'” and Trump promised him, “You’ll get the money back.”
Cohen also testified about a 2015 meeting with Trump and David Pecker, then-publisher of the National Enquirer, where they discussed using the tabloid to support Trump’s candidacy and attack his rivals. According to Cohen, Trump instructed Pecker to inform Cohen of any negative press, and the three agreed that Pecker would try to suppress damaging stories.
Trump’s defense team is expected to challenge Cohen’s credibility during cross-examination later this week, portraying him as a “liar who cannot be trusted,” according to Al Jazeera. Cohen pleaded guilty in 2018 to federal charges related to the hush-money payments and lying to Congress, for which he was sentenced to three years in prison.