Donald Trump received regular updates on efforts to cover up salacious stories about him during his 2016 presidential campaign and personally approved a scheme to falsify related records, according to his former lawyer Michael Cohen’s testimony at Trump’s criminal trial on Monday.
Cohen, once one of Trump’s most trusted legal advisers, has since become a vocal critic of his former boss. On the stand, Cohen testified that Trump was fully aware of “hush money” payments made before the 2016 election to two women who claimed they had sexual encounters with him.
The presumptive GOP presidential nominee faces 34 felony counts of falsifying business records, to which he has pleaded not guilty, denying any sexual involvement with the women.
Cohen is a central figure in the prosecution’s case, having personally made one of the “hush money” payments. In October 2016, he paid $130,000 out of his own pocket to adult film star Stormy Daniels to secure her silence. Cohen stated he did this to protect Trump, who wanted the agreement with Daniels delayed until after the election.
“Because if I win it won’t have relevance, I’m going to be the president. And if I lose, I won’t really care,” Trump said, according to Cohen.
Prosecutors allege that 11 checks Trump issued to Cohen over the following year were falsely recorded as legal fees to conceal the payment to Daniels. Cohen testified that Trump approved the reimbursement plan. Trump’s CFO at the Trump Organization, Allen Weisselberg, devised the details, inflating the amount to $420,000 to account for taxes and a bonus.
Defense attorneys are expected to rigorously challenge Cohen’s credibility. In 2018, Cohen pleaded guilty to federal charges related to the Daniels payment and lying to Congress. He also admitted to lying under oath in other instances during testimony in a separate Trump civil case last year.
