The White House Discussed My Payment to Stormy Cohen
Michael Cohen, former fixer for Donald Trump, shared details with jurors about a meeting in the Oval Office where Trump confirmed a plan to secretly reimburse Cohen for a hush money payment to a porn actor.
As the prosecution’s key witness in Trump’s criminal trial in New York, Cohen admitted to lying on multiple occasions, including under oath, out of loyalty to Trump. This preempted a defense attack on Cohen’s credibility.
Cohen revealed Trump’s order to pay Stormy Daniels $130,000 in October 2016, which is central to Trump’s trial. Trump denies any sexual encounter with Daniels and claims the case is a partisan attempt to interfere with his campaign.
Prosecutors allege that Trump repaid Cohen after the election through falsified records, leading to the 34 counts of falsifying business records against Trump.
Cohen recalled an Oval Office meeting with Trump in February 2017 where Trump said Cohen would receive a bonus package, including reimbursements for the Daniels payment.
Trump and his lawyer, Emil Bove, were cited in court with Cohen detailing invoices and checks falsely marked as legal fees. Cohen admitted there was no retainer agreement.
Throughout his testimony, Cohen confessed to lying to Congress about Trump’s Russia ties and the payments to Daniels and another woman. He also revealed crafting false statements with Daniels’ lawyer.
Cohen pleaded guilty to federal crimes related to the payments and his checkered history will face scrutiny from Trump’s lawyers during cross-examination.
A mid-level appeals court rejected Trump’s bid to lift a gag order during Cohen’s testimony, meant to prevent interference with the trial.
Cohen described Trump’s involvement in approving payments to prevent sex-scandal stories from damaging his campaign. The prosecution maintains that the payments were a secret contribution to the campaign, violating laws.
Trump, Pecker, and Cohen had a secret agreement in 2015 involving the National Enquirer to assist Trump’s campaign. This included a payment to former Playboy model Karen McDougal to bury her story about an alleged affair with Trump.
The Manhattan trial is seen as less significant than Trump’s other criminal cases, which involve attempts to overturn the 2020 election and mishandling classified documents.
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