Live Updates: In His First Day of Testimony, Cohen Testifies Trump Authorized Hush-Money Payment
During nearly six hours on the stand Monday, Michael D. Cohen testified that Donald J. Trump urged him to buy the silence of Stormy Daniels late in the 2016 campaign and approved the plan to repay him.Michael D. Cohen, the one-time fixer for Donald J. Trump and the star witness at his criminal trial, testified Monday that Mr. Trump instructed him to make a hush-money payment to a porn star on the eve of the 2016 election — “Just do it,” he recalled his boss saying — then approved the plan to repay him.
The reimbursement that Mr. Cohen received for the $130,000 hush-money payment to the porn star, Stormy Daniels, is the subject of the 34 felony counts of falsifying business records against Mr. Trump. Mr. Cohen, who testified for roughly six hours and is expected back on the stand Tuesday, described being deeply involved in attempts to protect Mr. Trump’s campaign from scandal, including by silencing Ms. Daniels’s account of a sexual liaison — which he said Mr. Trump feared could tank his electoral hopes.Here’s what else to know about the trial:
Key testimony: Mr. Cohen, once the do-anything personal lawyer for Mr. Trump, offered a vivid description — backed by records of numerous text messages and phone calls — of the chaotic final weeks of Mr. Trump’s 2016 campaign. There was a $150,000 deal involving The National Enquirer to silence Karen McDougal, a Playboy model who said she had an affair with Mr. Trump, furious attempts to spin the “Access Hollywood” tape as “locker room talk,” and, finally, the deal with Ms. Daniels to bury her account of a sexual encounter from a decade earlier. Mr. Cohen testified that, at the time, Mr. Trump was deeply worried about his support among women.
Mr. Cohen described Mr. Trump as intimately involved in the Daniels deal, saying “everything required Mr. Trump’s sign-off.” He also groused about his year-end bonus being cut — and described the reimbursement he later received.
The hush-money deal: Mr. Cohen testified that Mr. Trump ordered him to make the payment after Mr. Cohen had put it off, risking the deal falling apart. Mr. Cohen financed the payment with a home equity line of credit, and Mr. Trump reimbursed him after the election. The Manhattan district attorney’s office has accused Mr. Trump of falsifying business records that disguised the reimbursement as ordinary legal expenses. He faces probation or up to four years in prison if convicted. Mr. Trump has denied any wrongdoing, as well as Ms. Daniels’s account of a sexual encounter.
Full-service fixer: Mr. Cohen recounted what prosecutors have described as a criminal conspiracy also involving Mr. Trump and the longtime tabloid publisher of The National Enquirer, David Pecker, to aid Mr. Trump’s campaign. Mr. Cohen testified about their use of so-called catch-and-kill deals to buy damaging stories and withhold them from publication.
Trump’s reaction: Mr. Trump has sat with his eyes closed for much of the day, and appeared at times to be asleep. At certain moments he was more animated, and he shook his head vigorously when Mr. Cohen described asking him about his wife, Melania, during a conversation about Ms. Daniels.
A risky witness: Other witnesses have offered unflattering portraits of Mr. Cohen, whom the defense has labeled a liar motivated by a deep-seated desire for revenge. Mr. Cohen disputed the notion he was angry about not receiving a spot in the Trump White House and described how being Mr. Trump’s lawyer opened “doors” for him with other clients.
Credibility is key: Mr. Cohen is, as the defense is fond of noting, a felon: In 2018, Mr. Cohen pleaded guilty to federal crimes, some related to the hush-money payment. Prosecutors have tried to prepare the jury for Mr. Cohen by eliciting testimony from witnesses who have little love for him.
