Former Trump attorney Michael Cohen took the stand for his second day in former President Donald Trump’s criminal trial, where he is the key witness. Cohen testified about the $130,000 payment he made to Stormy Daniels before the 2016 election and how Trump allegedly reimbursed him for it. He stated that invoices sent to the Trump Organization for reimbursement were falsely labeled as legal services, and check stubs falsely claimed the payments were part of a nonexistent retainer agreement.
Cohen also testified that after the Daniels allegations were made public, he continued to take direction from Trump. He claimed that at Trump’s direction, he sought a restraining order against Daniels and told National Enquirer executive David Pecker that Attorney General Jeff Sessions would take care of a federal investigation into the payment. Cohen also mentioned a phone call he received from Trump after his home was raided by the FBI, where Trump allegedly told him not to worry because he was the president of the United States.
During cross-examination, Trump’s attorney focused on Cohen’s social media attacks against Trump, where he called him names like “dictator douchebag” and “Cheeto-dusted cartoon villain.” The attorney questioned Cohen about his cooperation with prosecutors and his financial gains from his books. Cohen admitted to making $3.4 million from his two books since 2020. He also mentioned that prosecutors had advised him not to publicly discuss the case, but he believed he had a First Amendment right to speak.
Cohen testified that he decided to cooperate with investigators against Trump after speaking with his family, who questioned his loyalty to Trump. He mentioned that he made a decision to no longer lie for Trump and would tell the truth. Cohen estimated he only did less than 10 hours of legal work for Trump in 2017, which challenges Trump’s defense that the payments to Cohen were accurately labeled as legal fees. Cohen also claimed that the hush money payments to Daniels and others could not have occurred without Trump’s approval.
The trial is expected to continue until Thursday, with prosecutors indicating that Cohen will be their final witness. Trump’s lawyers have the opportunity to call witnesses for the defense. Cohen was known as Trump’s loyal “fixer” before he flipped on the former president in 2018. He pleaded guilty to crimes including lying to Congress and campaign finance violations related to the payment to Daniels. Cohen has since become a vocal critic of Trump and was sentenced to three years in prison for his crimes. Trump has denied any wrongdoing related to the payments and Daniels’ affair allegations. In his testimony, Cohen directly linked Trump to the hush money payments and alleged that Trump was involved in the scheme to pay Daniels for her silence.
