Michael Cohen, a convicted perjurer, former lawyer and former political fixer for Donald Trump, will testify Monday in opposition to his former boss within the first felony trial in opposition to a US president.
Cohen, 57, labored for Trump, a New York actual property magnate, because the early 2000s, earlier than Trump grew to become a politician.
Cohen as soon as referred to as himself Trump’s “designated thug” and estimated in congressional testimony that he had made 500 threats to folks at Trump’s behest through the years.
Cohen as soon as referred to as himself Trump’s “designated thug” and estimated in congressional testimony that he had made 500 threats to folks at Trump’s behest through the years.
Trump, in 2017, within the first yr of his presidency, described Cohen as “a really proficient lawyer” and “ lawyer at my agency.”
That is all previously, nonetheless, they usually now face off in a high-stakes race with appreciable penalties: Trump’s private freedom and his standing because the presumptive 2024 Republican presidential nominee within the November election. He’s prone to face President Joe Biden, the Democrat who defeated him in 2020.
Trump is accused in a 34-count indictment of falsifying his Trump Group’s accounting books to hide reimbursement funds to Cohen for a $130,000 cost Cohen made to porn star Stormy Daniels. The cost was to stop her from speaking about her declare of a one-night tryst with Trump in 2006, simply as voters had been heading to the polls to elect Trump president in 2016.
Trump has denied Daniels’ declare that they’d a relationship at a star golf match in Lake Tahoe within the western state of Nevada. He stated the 2017 refunds to Cohen had been for his authorized work. Trump has additionally denied all felony fees he faces.
Cohen, who pleaded responsible to a marketing campaign finance violation associated to the hush cash cope with Daniels and different crimes, together with perjury for mendacity to Congress a few attainable Trump actual property deal in Moscow, served 13 1/2 months in a federal jail and a yr and a half. half underneath home arrest.
Since his launch, he has been on one thing of a mission to disparage Trump. Regardless of prosecutors’ efforts to curb his disdain for Trump, Cohen lately posted a TikTok video of himself sporting a T-shirt with a photograph of Trump behind bars.
With Trump making one other run for the White Home whereas additionally sitting in courtroom as a felony defendant, Cohen performed on that in one other TikTok remark, saying, “Trump 2024? Extra like Trump between 20 and 24 years outdated.
Trump, if convicted, could possibly be positioned on probation or imprisoned for as much as 4 years.
Cohen’s identify has been talked about virtually day by day throughout three weeks of testimony. Prosecution witnesses have usually described him as demanding, risky and profane and at all times loyal to Trump, till he stopped being so and have become the state’s key witness.
Prosecutors have usually painted such a adverse portrait of Cohen, their star witness, understanding full nicely that Trump’s protection legal professionals will model him a convicted liar who cannot be believed.
However prosecutors are ready to ask Cohen to inform the 12-member jury how, simply earlier than the election eight years in the past, “on the course of” Trump made the cost to Daniels to maintain her silence. They go on to say that Cohen met with Trump within the Oval Workplace of the White Home simply weeks after Trump took workplace to debate the reimbursement plan.
Trump’s protection attorneys have advised that the cost to the porn star was an effort by the then-future president to hide Daniels’ sexual declare a few relationship with Trump to stop his spouse, Melania, from discovering out and had nothing to do with attempt to affect the end result of the 2016 elections.
The previous president’s crew has additionally advised that Cohen, with out Trump’s information, made the cash cost to Daniels out of the goodness of his coronary heart.
However one among Trump’s closest advisers within the White Home, Hope Hicks, scoffed at that suggestion, saying it “would not be like Michael.”
In a tedious document-by-document presentation final week, two Trump firm payroll officers testified how they dealt with 11 invoices, 11 vouchers and 12 checks tied to 2017 refund funds to Cohen and that Trump signed many of the checks. reimbursement to Cohen.
On Friday, a paralegal within the prosecutor’s workplace put collectively a chart laying out the 34 paperwork masking the costs Trump faces.
Prosecutor Joshua Steinglass informed New York Supreme Court docket Justice Juan Merchan that the prosecution might conclude its case this week with testimony from Cohen and one other unnamed witness.
When the prosecution completes its case, Trump’s crew may have the chance to current its protection. Trump has usually stated that he plans to testify in his personal protection to disclaim Daniels’ declare about their alleged relationship and the felony fees he faces.
Nevertheless, it’s nonetheless unclear whether or not Trump will take the stand understanding he’ll face intense cross-examination from prosecutors.
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