(USNewsMag.com) – Michael Cohen, former attorney for former President Donald Trump, took the stand in a Manhattan courtroom on May 13th in the former president’s hush-money trial.
In response to questions from Manhattan prosecutor Susan Hoffinger, Cohen stated that his only responsibilities were not legal work but that he was Trump’s right-hand man, doing “whatever he wanted.” Cohen, the key witness for the prosecution, testified that Trump ordered him to “handle” negative stories leading up to the 2016 election, having negative stories either redacted or taken down, noting that he was the one who would communicate with the press.
According to Cohen, he told Trump that former adult film star Stormy Daniels needed to be paid in exchange for rights to her story about an alleged encounter she had with Trump in 2006 and her signing a non-disclosure agreement. He said he talked with Trump Organization CFO Allen Weisselberg, who noted he was not in a position to make the payment. Cohen testified that he then used his own money, taking out a line of credit on his home so his wife would not notice a large bank withdrawal, to pay $130,000 to Daniels because her claims would have been “catastrophic” for Trump’s campaign in the wake of another scandal involving a salacious recording of a private conversation. He testified Trump knew about the details of how the payment would be made, claiming to have had Trump’s approval before he made the arrangements for the payment.
As other witnesses have testified, Cohen testified that Trump did not communicate through email, adding that Trump has never had an email address. He noted that once the deal was complete with Daniels, he called Trump to tell him the situation was “completely under control and locked down.”
Cohen’s testimony follows Daniels, who testified on May 7th and was cross-examined on May 9th, providing salacious details about the alleged encounter. Her testimony led Trump’s attorneys to file two motions for a mistrial, both of which were denied by Judge Juan Merchan.
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