Michael Cohen, a former lawyer for Donald Trump who is now a central witness in the New York election interference case against the ex-president, is expected to begin his testimony on Monday in the trial, sources said.
The former lawyer and fixer is a key part of federal prosecutors’ case against Mr Trump in which he is accused of falsifying business records in order to cover up hush money payments to influence the 2016 presidential election.
According to prosecutors, Cohen paid Ms Daniels $130,000 to prevent her from going public about a potentially damning story about an alleged affair. This was part of a larger catch-and-kill scheme that Cohen admitted to participating in with Mr Trump and former tabloid publisher David Pecker to improve Mr Trump’s image.
Mr Trump later repaid Cohen for the hush-money payment but allegedly misrepresented those payments as part of his attorney retainer.
Cohen is a major part of the prosecution’s case. His testimony will likely last several days given other witnesses, like Mr Pecker, testified for days.
Cohen’s highly-anticipated testimony is consequential for the prosecution. As Mr Trump’s former lawyer and fixer, he was one of the closest people to the situation and had the rare position of being a confidant to the former president for seven years.
His testimony could reveal some insights into Mr Trump’s intentions in concealing the hush-money payments as part of his non-existent retainer. Similar to how Cohen did when he testified to Congress in 2019.
But whether or not the jury finds Cohen credible is going to be a widely-watched aspect of the defence’s cross-examination.
Mr Trump denies having an affair with Ms Daniels and maintains that the payments to Cohen were for legal services.
The former president’s defence lawyers are expected to hound Cohen about his history of lying – likely pointing to the former lawyer pleading guilty to lying to Congress about a Trump Tower project in Russia, his disbarring and the time he spent in prison for tax evasion.
The defence team may also point to Cohen’s recent social media tirade against the former president to paint the former lawyer as a scorned ex-employee.
So far the jury has heard from multiple witnesses who have corroborated facts of the case that will likely lead up with Cohen’s testimony.
Mr Pecker admitted to participating in the catch-and-kill scheme with Mr Trump and Cohen in order to suppress negative stories that could hurt the then-presidential candidate’s reputation.
Former Trump aid Hope Hicks testified to the behind-the-scenes press chaos that occurred when Mr Turmp’s vulgar comments about women in an Access Hollywood tape were made public.
Rhona Graff, a former assistant to Mr Trump, testified to seeing Ms Daniels in Trump Tower.
A former managing director at First Republic Bank testified to working with Cohen about opening two limited liability companies – one that eventually would be used to pay Ms Daniels.
Ms Daniels offered detailed testimony about a sexual encounter with the former president and then accepted the $130k from Cohen to remain silent about the affair.
Notably, Mr Trump’s defence team faced contention while cross-examining Ms Daniels who remained controlled and confident during the grilling.
Cohen’s testimony will likely be among the final witnesses for the prosecution.
So far, prosecutors have not confirmed who they will call to the stand after former White House aid Madeleine Westerhout.
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