Trump’s former fixer Michael Cohen expected to testify in hush-money trial
Donald Trump’s criminal hush-money trial enters its 16th day on Monday in New York with the potential for bombshell testimony as his former fixer turned prosecution witness, Michael Cohen, is expected to take the stand.
Cohen is core to the case against Trump, as he is accused of shuttling $130,000 to the adult film actor Stormy Daniels days before the 2016 election – in exchange for her silence about an alleged sexual encounter with Trump 10 years prior.
Prosecutors contend that Trump’s repayment of Cohen in 2017 was criminal, in that he listed the reimbursements as legal expenses in financial documents. Indeed, Trump is charged with felony falsification of business records.
The prosecution alleges that Trump, Cohen and the longtime tabloid honcho David Pecker met at Trump Tower in summer 2015, shortly after the real estate magnate announced his presidential candidacy. Pecker testified in court that he had vowed to give them a warning about any damaging information about Trump.
Cohen’s expected testimony comes on the heels of a particularly hard trial week for Trump. Daniels testified for nearly two days about her alleged liaison with Trump following a celebrity golf tournament in Lake Tahoe.
Daniels told jurors that, after initially deciding against it, she took up Trump on his invitation to dinner. She met him at his hotel room, she said, genuinely believing they would eat.
After hours of conversation, in which, she said, he repeatedly asked about whether she had sexually transmitted infections and about her condom use, Daniels said she excused herself to use the restroom. When she came back, she said, Trump was on the bed, sporting boxer shorts and a T-shirt.
While Daniels tried to exit the situation, Trump dangled the possibility of career development in front of her – with boorish condescension, she testified.
“He said, I thought we were getting
somewhere. I thought you were serious about what you wanted, if you want to get out of that trailer park …” Daniels remembered him saying. “I was offended, because I never lived in a trailer park.”
Daniels said they had sex, disclosed the position in front of the jury – prompting an objection – and said he did not wear a condom. More embarrassing to Trump, perhaps, was that her comments came shortly after Daniels testified about Trump’s remarks on family.
Not long before allegedly engaging in sex with Daniels, Trump allegedly referred to Ivanka, his daughter, when telling her: “You remind me of my daughter. She is smart and blonde and beautiful, and people underestimate her as well.” Also before the alleged entanglement, Trump also said he and wife Melania slept in separate bedrooms, Daniels told jurors.
The titillating testimony appeared to have taken a toll on Trump. When he came into the courtroom at about 9.30am on Friday, he carried himself with an apparent air of frustration.
Trump’s comments in the hallway seemed to corroborate his annoyance, with him railing against his inability to comment on witness testimony due to a gag order barring him from doing so.
Frustrating or not for Trump, his trial is moving at a brisk pace. As proceedings were wrapping for the week, prosecutor Joshua Steinglass said: “We expect to call two witnesses, and it’s entirely possible that we will rest by the end of next week.”