Former Trump attorney Michael Cohen is set to testify in the criminal trial of former President Trump. The Manhattan District Attorney has charged Trump with 34 counts of falsifying business records in relation to a $130,000 payment made to adult film actress Stormy Daniels. Cohen, who once declared he would take a bullet for Trump, will testify against him regarding his role in arranging the hush money payment to Daniels before the 2016 election to keep her allegations of a sexual encounter with Trump private. Trump has denied the encounter with Daniels ever occurred.
Trump made several payments totaling $420,000 to Cohen, who was serving as his personal attorney at the time. Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg believes these payments were reimbursements to Cohen for the hush money payment to Daniels. However, Trump’s defense team argues that the payments were legitimate legal expenses. Trump has been fined for violating a gag order imposed by Judge Merchan, who directed prosecutors to inform Cohen not to make any statements about the case or Trump. Top Republicans, including House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan, have called for the Justice Department to investigate Cohen for lying to Congress.
Cohen has a history of legal troubles and pleaded guilty in 2018 to campaign finance violations, making false statements to Congress, and tax evasion, resulting in a three-year prison sentence. House Republicans have referred Cohen to the Justice Department for further prosecution for lying to Congress. Cohen has admitted to lying under oath during his testimony in a case against Trump. Despite not being under a gag order, Merchan directed prosecutors to instruct Cohen to refrain from making additional statements about the case. The judge imposed a gag order on Trump, preventing him from discussing any witnesses.
Trump has maintained his innocence, claiming that the payments made to Cohen were legitimate legal expenses. He has argued that falsifying business records requires more than the mislabeling of payments as legal fees. Trump’s legal team has filed an appeal challenging the gag order imposed on the former president, stating that it violates his First Amendment rights. Trump has been fined for violating the gag order and faces the threat of jail time if he does so again. The trial is expected to shed light on the payments between Trump and Cohen and determine whether they were reimbursements for the hush money payment to Daniels as alleged by the prosecution.
