Michael Cohen testifies Trump approved hush money payment
Donald Trump knew 鈥� and approved. That鈥檚 what Mr. Trump鈥檚 former lawyer and fixer Michael Cohen said in a Manhattan courtroom Monday.
Mr. Cohen testified in Mr. Trump鈥檚 New York hush money trial that his actions to suppress stories about alleged infidelities of the then-candidate before the 2016 election were done at Mr. Trump鈥檚 direction. The point was to help the Trump campaign, Mr. Cohen testified, not to prevent embarrassment for the Trump family.
In saying so, Mr. Cohen 鈥� who once called himself the former president鈥檚 鈥渄esignated thug鈥� 鈥� clicked the last brick into place in the structure of District Attorney Alvin Bragg鈥檚 argument. He has charged Mr. Trump with 34 felony counts of falsifying business records.
Why We Wrote This
The Trump trial reaches a critical moment as lawyer Michael Cohen testifies that Donald Trump approved hush money payments with the goal of influencing the 2016 election. Mr. Cohen鈥檚 veracity is now a key issue.
Over four weeks of testimony, prosecutors have carefully built a portrait of Mr. Trump as someone who hates bad publicity, is averse to putting orders in writing, and is detail-oriented to a fault. Their goal: make jurors believe Mr. Trump must have been involved in the 鈥渃atch-and-kill鈥� of porn star Stormy Daniels鈥� account of their alleged affair.
But they have not offered testimony that tied Mr. Trump directly to the scheme used to pay Ms. Daniels 鈥� until now.聽
鈥淲hat I was doing ... I was doing at the direction and benefit of Mr. Trump,鈥� Mr. Cohen said on the witness stand Monday.
Did Cohen tell the truth?
Mr. Trump has denied any wrongdoing in the Stormy Daniels case. His lawyers have said that he had no connection to the actual hush money payments.
Trump attorneys also say the former president was mostly worried about the reaction of his wife, Melania, to Ms. Daniels鈥� story, as well as other stories suppressed by National Enquirer publisher David Pecker and Mr. Cohen as part of an alleged 鈥渃atch-and-kill鈥� scheme.
Mr. Cohen could be a troublesome witness for the prosecution as well. He has a recent criminal past, with convictions on campaign finance abuses, tax evasion, and other charges. He can be loud and combative, as聽former White House communications director聽Hope聽Hicks and other former Trump officials have already testified. He has taunted Mr. Trump on social media. Last week he posted a TikTok video in which he wore a shirt depicting the former president behind bars.
Last week, prosecution lawyers admitted to Justice Juan Merchan that they have little control over Mr. Cohen鈥檚 behavior.聽
But in some ways, his character might actually help the case against Mr. Trump.聽
Mr. Cohen made the initial $130,000 hush money payment to Ms. Daniels in late October 2016. He was eventually repaid by a series of checks from the Trump Organization and Mr. Trump鈥檚 personal account.
Some Trump allies have suggested that Mr. Cohen paid the $130,000 out of the goodness of his heart, without Mr. Trump鈥檚 knowledge. Ms. Hicks, in her testimony, scoffed at that notion.
Doing so 鈥渨ould be out of character for Michael,鈥� she said.
Where the hush money payment came from
During his Monday testimony, Mr. Cohen described the scramble within the Trump Organization to come up with the $130,000 in the first place.
The Trump fixer was worried that Ms. Daniels was becoming impatient and that she would go ahead and make her story public elsewhere. He discussed the problem with Trump Organization finance chief Alan Weisselberg. They thought perhaps they could give away a golf membership at a Trump club to raise money, or solicit early payment for an event at Mar-a-Lago.
Those ideas were vetoed, since they would inevitably associate the name 鈥淭rump鈥� with the payment.
Mr. Cohen says he asked if Mr. Weisselberg would front the money. The finance chief, currently incarcerated for perjury, demurred, saying he was paying for his grandchildren鈥檚 schooling.
Mr. Cohen decided that he would have to pay the money, and obtained a home equity line of credit to finance it. He told Mr. Trump, who said 鈥済ood ... good,鈥� according to Mr. Cohen鈥檚 testimony. Mr. Trump assured him he would be paid back.
Was Trump worried about Melania?
Mr. Trump鈥檚 former fixer was also adamant that the point of the payoff was to hide the story from the media prior to the upcoming election 鈥� not to keep the peace in Mr. Trump鈥檚 household.
He testified that at one point he asked Mr. Trump, 鈥淗ow are things going to go upstairs?鈥� This referred to the fact that the Trump penthouse in Trump Tower was higher than their office space.
Mr. Trump told Mr. Cohen not to worry about that.聽
鈥淗e wasn鈥檛 thinking about Melania. This was all about the campaign,鈥� Mr. Cohen testified.聽
After the Trump victory, Mr. Cohen hoped to be offered a plum job in Washington. But it wasn鈥檛 forthcoming.聽
鈥淚t was more about my ego than anything else,鈥� he said to the jury Monday.聽
He did get his money back, however. Prior to the inauguration, Mr. Cohen met with the president-elect and Mr. Weisselberg in Trump Tower, he said. They discussed how he would be reimbursed: over 12 months, with the $130,000 doubled to account for the taxes he would have to pay on it, since it would be income. A bonus and money to repay an online polling firm were also added to the total.
Mr. Weisselberg showed Mr. Trump his handwritten notes that outlined the scheme, according to Mr. Cohen.聽
Mr. Trump approved it. He said it was going to be 鈥渙ne heck of a ride鈥� in Washington, his former fixer testified in court.
