'Beyond angry': Former Trump confidant testifies financial feud followed hush-money payment

Michael Cohen also told the court about lying to protect former U.S. president

Alexander Panetta· CBC News · Posted: May 13, 2024 3:28 PM ADT

 

 

 Michael Cohen, left, the former lawyer for Donald Trump, is shown in this composite photo with the former U.S. president. Cohen testified at Trump's criminal trial in New York on Monday and will be returning to the stand on Tuesday. (Julia Nikhinson/The Associated Press, Angela Weiss-Pool/Getty Images)

Seated before Donald Trump was a ghost from his past life, an erstwhile ally whose testimony could land him a criminal conviction for old misdeeds.

Seated behind him, in a courtroom, were his present-day allies — elected Republicans, including a potential vice-presidential pick.

Trump's amen corner joined him in the Manhattan courthouse on Monday to offer support during the most critical testimony of the felony criminal case against him.

Michael Cohen walked prosecutors through his decade of service as Trump's legal Mr. Fix It — a solver of problems often tangentially related to his professional title as lawyer.

Most crucially, Cohen is being asked to prove key pillars of the prosecution's case: that Trump knew of payments to conceal his fling with a porn star, that he intended to cover them up and that it was done primarily for electoral reasons.

Early in Monday's testimony, Cohen recalled a head-spinning week in the 2016 presidential election that is at the heart of this case.

• Preview
  Trump trial nears final phase with key witness: confidant-turned-nemesis Michael Cohen

He described his reaction when he learned that Stormy Daniels was shopping around her story, just days after the release of an explosive Access Hollywood tape that captured Trump describing crude, unwanted sexual advances against women.

Of the decision to pay $130,000 US to keep Daniels quiet, Cohen said the motivation was politics, not about keeping the news from Trump's wife. "He wasn't thinking about Melania. This was all about the campaign," said Cohen, who summed up his own reaction at the time: "Catastrophic. This is horrible for the campaign."

 

In this courtroom sketch, Cohen, right, is questioned by prosecutor Susan Hoffinger before Justice Juan Merchan, left, as Trump watches, during his criminal trial on charges that he falsified business records to conceal money paid to silence porn star Stormy Daniels, in New York on Monday. (Jane Rosenberg/Reuters)

He recalled Trump's horrified reaction upon hearing, in October 2016, that Daniels was shopping around her story — a subject of old gossip the Trump team thought it had squelched years earlier.

Cohen testified that he remembered Trump telling him: "This is a disaster, a total disaster. Women will hate me. Guys — they'll think it's cool. But this is going to be a disaster for the campaign." He said Trump ordered him to deal with it and make sure it didn't emerge before the election.

Cohen testified he lied for Trump

That electoral element is fundamental: The only reason this case is being charged as a felony is because prosecutors alleged Trump falsified business records in order to skirt other laws, including a federal campaign-spending law.

Trump and Cohen barely acknowledged each other in the courtroom. It was a rare encounter between two allies who once spoke multiple times a day.

They were so close, in fact, that Cohen testified that he downloaded all of Trump's phone contacts into his own phone, to reach anyone, at any time, at Trump's request.

WATCH | What to expect from Cohen's testimony, from former prosecutor Michael Zeldin:

 

Former federal prosecutor on Michael Cohen's upcoming testimony in Donald Trump's "hush money" trial

Cohen described lying for Trump, bullying people and encouraging Trump to run for president in 2012, even creating a now-expired website intended to drum up interest.

He told court that Trump decided to run years in advance of 2016 but took a pass on the previous race, in part because his contract had been renewed for the reality TV show The Apprentice. He recalled Trump saying at the time: "You don't leave Hollywood. Hollywood leaves you."

As they strategized over a presidential run, Cohen said Trump warned him of inevitable sex scandals: "Just be prepared, there's gonna be a lot of women coming forward," he remembered Trump saying.

They are now such bitter foes that Cohen began his memoir with the opinion that Trump probably wishes he were dead.

Trump did not turn to look at Cohen as he walked in. In fact, the former U.S. president had his eyes closed for stretches of Monday's hearing, prompting speculation about whether he'd been dozing off.

Cohen appeared to very furtively, briefly, shoot a glance in Trump's general direction as he sat down at the witness stand.

He recalled with fondness his decade-long work with Trump. His base salary started at $375,000. And he waxed nostalgic about getting to know Trump's children — Ivanka's office at Trump Tower even became his own.

"It was fantastic," recalled Cohen, who has described Trump as a father figure. "It was a big family."

But it's not family — at least not anymore.

Trump's entourage in courtroom

On Monday, Trump's actual son, Eric, was in that courtroom, seated behind the defendant. They were surrounded by the entourage that walked in with the former president, which included Trump's new political family.

The group consisted of Sen. J.D. Vance of Ohio, who has neither confirmed nor denied rampant rumours that he's being considered to become Trump's running mate in this fall's election.

While Cohen was working to elect Trump in 2016, Vance was publicly trashing him. Vance, who now says he's had a change of heart, is among the vice-presidential contenders who won't commit unconditionally to accepting the next election result.

Trump walks over to reporters after his trial for allegedly covering up hush-money payments ended for the day in criminal court in New York on Monday. (Spencer Platt/Pool Photo/The Associated Press)

Several vice-presidential aspirants have made those sorts of comments as Trump seeks a replacement for his previous running mate. Mike Pence is another past ally now out of Trump's favour, because Pence certified the 2020 election.

Pence has also testified against his old boss in a criminal case. Just like Cohen.

But Trump is moving forward, leading the latest opinion polls, increasingly considered the favourite in this year's rematch with President Joe Biden.

Entering the courthouse on Monday, he fretted that this is the only reason he's on trial: to damage him politically in the election lead-up.

"This is election interference at a level that nobody in this country has ever seen before," he said. Behind him entering that courtroom were Vance, Alabama Sen. Tommy Tuberville and congresswoman Nicole Malliotakis.

They all spent part of their day tweeting and doing interviews on his behalf — and denouncing the prosecution and witness.

Prosecution's case to end this week

The prosecution is expected to rest its case this week, as the trial enters its final stretch. It said it expects to be done with Cohen sometime on Tuesday and that it expects to call only one other witness.

Cohen's credibility has been assailed by Trump's allies. They've pointed to his numerous criminal convictions, including for lying to Congress and to the federal tax agency.

He shared deeply personal details about some of those lies, including to his wife of three decades.

Cohen is shown leaving his apartment building on his way to the criminal courthouse in New York City on Monday to testify for the prosecution at Trump's trial. (Julia Nikhinson/The Associated Press)

Cohen said he tried structuring complex ways to pay Daniels instead of using his own bank account, which he shares with his wife.

"I clearly could not tell her [I was paying Daniels $130,000]," Cohen testified. "That would've been a problem for me."

After the election, he said, he became livid at Trump. Cohen said his annual holiday bonus had been chopped down two-thirds from the previous year, to $50,000.

He recalled unleashing a string of expletives in a colleague's office. Not only had he not been offered a senior White House position, but now he was earning less than the previous year after having spent his own money to silence his boss's sex scandal.

"Angry. Beyond angry," Cohen testified, recalling his reaction to the cut to his bonus. "After all I had done.... It was insulting."

Trump promised to make amends. After the holidays, Cohen claims to have received $420,000 from Trump, to cover the Daniels payments and other expenses, with a bonus to cover taxes.

 

Stormy Daniels details alleged sexual encounter with Donald Trump at hush money trial

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Alexander Panetta

Alexander Panetta is a Washington-based correspondent for CBC News who has covered American politics and Canada-U.S. issues since 2013. He previously worked in Ottawa, Quebec City and internationally, reporting on politics, conflict, disaster and the Montreal Expos.

'He directed me to make the payments': Cohen says Trump's denials aren't believable

Trump says Cohen acted of his own volition and it was a private matter, not a campaign expense

- Michael Cohen

Returning to Washington on Air Force One on April 6, Trump for the first time answered questions about the reports of the Daniels payment, issuing a blanket denial to reporters while saying they would "have to ask Michael Cohen."

Three days later, the FBI raided Cohen's office, seizing records on topics including the payment to Daniels. Furious, Trump called the raid a "disgrace" and said the FBI "broke into" his lawyer's office.

He also tweeted that "Attorney-client privilege is dead!"

The raid was overseen by the U.S. attorney's office in Manhattan and arose from a referral from special counsel Robert Mueller, who is investigating Russian election interference and potential co-ordination with the Trump campaign.

Earlier this year, Cohen said he arranged hush money payments to Stormy Daniels, left, and Karen McDougal, former Playboy playmate of the year, who have both claimed they had sexual encounters with Trump. (Matt Sayles/Associated Press, Evan Vucci/Associated Press, Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty for Playboy)

In recent weeks, Trump has shifted to asserting they were private transactions that weren't illegal.

"I never directed him to do anything wrong," Trump said of Cohen in an interview with Fox News broadcast on Thursday. "Whatever he did, he did on his own."

Cohen scoffed at that assertion in the ABC interview.

"I don't think there is anybody that believes that," he said. "First of all, nothing at the Trump organization was ever done unless it was run through Mr. Trump."

Cohen said there were certain things he couldn't talk about given that not all investigations have been completed, but that "there's a substantial amount of information that [the special counsel] possessed that corroborates the fact that I am telling the truth."

Likely distinction with Obama example

Cohen, Trump and David Pecker, chairman of the company that owns the National Enquirer, had a meeting at Trump Tower in August of 2015 to discuss ways the media company could help the campaign, including buying the silence of women who might talk publicly about affairs with Trump, according to documents made public by federal prosecutors.

It is part of what makes the case different than the one Trump has brought up this week in comparison, involving President Barack Obama's 2008 campaign. The Federal Election Commission, which typically handles smaller campaign finance violations when the actions aren't wilful and with civil penalties that are typically fines, docked the Obama campaign $375,000 for regulatory civil violations. The fines stemmed from the campaign's failure to report a batch of contributions, totalling nearly $1.9 million, on time in the final days of the campaign.

• Hush money 'simple private transaction,' Trump says amid impeachment talk

• Analysis
  Could Trump spike a story in the Enquirer? Almost certainly: Keith Boag

But legal analysts said the accusations against Trump could amount to a felony because they weren't an oversight, but revolve around an alleged conspiracy to conceal payments from campaign contribution reports — and from voters.

It's unclear what federal prosecutors in New York will decide to do if they conclude that there is evidence that Trump himself committed a crime.

It is alleged that the National Enquirer, owned by AMI, which is chaired by David Pecker, went along with buying the silence of women who might come forward and allege affairs with Trump. (Marion Curtis via The Associated Press)

Trump has derided Cohen for co-operating with prosecutors and turning state's evidence, which is a staple of the criminal justice system.

"It's called flipping and it almost should be illegal," said Trump.

The president has downplayed his involvement with Cohen, who worked for him for a decade, saying he was just a "part-time" or "low-level" lawyer.

'I'm angry at myself'

Cohen said it was not his intention to embarrass Trump, but that "the man doesn't tell the truth."

"I think the pressure of the job is much more than he thought it would be … he doesn't understand the system," said Cohen, who is due to turn himself in to authorities on March 6.

He attributed his years of doing Trump's bidding to misplaced loyalty.

"I'm angry at myself because I knew what I was doing was wrong," said Cohen.

Cohen, second from right, Trump's former lawyer, is accompanied Wednesday to his court appearance by his wife Laura Shusterman, and children Samantha and Jake. (Craig Ruttle/Associated Press)

Cohen said he feels most badly for his family and for disappointing his parents.

Maurice Cohen, 83, reportedly wrote a letter to the court asking for leniency, in which he detailed the family's history; the elder Cohen survived the Holocaust and emigrated from Poland to Canada, he wrote, attending medical school in Toronto before finding work in the U.S.

Cohen, 52, also pleaded guilty to lying to Congress about statements regarding a potential Trump building project in Moscow. The project, it is alleged, was talked about at the highest levels of Russian government, it was alleged, well into the 2016 campaign.

Trump has insisted the project wasn't a secret.

On Friday, White House spokesperson Hogan Gidley faulted the news media for "giving credence to a convicted criminal," and called Cohen "a self-admitted liar."

Cohen is among a number of people in Trump's orbit who have pleaded guilty to criminal charges. The list also includes his former presidential campaign chair, Paul Manafort, and Manafort's colleague, Rick Gates, former national security adviser Michael Flynn and campaign foreign policy adviser George Papadopoulos, who was released last week after serving a short prison sentence.

While Trump has mused about not being opposed to offering a presidential pardon to Manafort, Cohen's prosecution at the state level would make him ineligible for a pardon.

• Analysis
  Mueller getting closer to Trump family: 5 takeaways from Cohen's plea deal

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Original Blogs

Wednesday 12 December 2018

Former Trump lawyer Michael Cohen gets 3 years in prison