Defence paints Cohen as vengeful, cites battery of expletives used against Trump
Trump’s lawyer is cross-examining former fixer in hush-money trial.
Donald Trump’s lawyer began questioning former fixer Michael Cohen on Tuesday, seeking to paint the star witness of the former president’s hush-money trial as vengeful and unreliable.
Trump lawyer Todd Blanche told jurors that Cohen had in the past several weeks called Trump a “dictator douchebag” and said that the former president “belongs in a f — ing cage.” “As a matter of fact, on April 23, after the trial started in this case, you went on TikTok and called me ‘a crying little s — ,’” said Blanche.
“Sounds like something I would say,” said Cohen, 57 years old, who served as Trump’s loyal fixer for years. A prosecutor lodged an objection, which the judge sustained. Trump, with his eyes closed, sat silently at the defence table.
Tuesday was Cohen’s second day on the stand. His cross-examination is expected to continue through Thursday. Whether Cohen, who has admitted in court to having a temper, can withstand what could be hours of questioning could be critical to whether jurors find him credible.
Earlier in the day, Cohen testified that he discussed the repercussions of paying off porn star Stormy Daniels with Trump throughout his early years in the White House.
Trump’s former personal lawyer said that he loyally cleaned up the aftermath of the hush-money payments until he turned on his boss and pleaded guilty to federal crimes. “I violated my moral compass,” Cohen told the jury. “And I suffered the penalty, as did my family.” Cohen testified that after the election, Trump directed that he be reimbursed for the Daniels payment in instalments, with the relevant invoices and other documents falsely labelled as being for legal services. That alleged cover-up is at the core of the 34 felony counts of falsifying business records that Trump faces. The former president has pleaded not guilty and said that Cohen, a lawyer at the time, had performed legitimate legal work.
Prosecutors then displayed a series of invoices and checks on screens around the courtroom, which had labels like “retainer agreement” for specific months. Cohen said he didn’t perform legal work in the listed months.
“Was this invoice a false record?” prosecutor Susan Hoffinger asked Cohen. “Yes ma’am,” Cohen replied.
“Whose signature is on the check?” Hoffinger asked, displaying a check with Trump’s trademark scrawl.
“Donald J. Trump,” replied Cohen.
Even after he had been fully reimbursed, Cohen continued to have contact with Trump, he testified. He said that in 2018, Trump directed him to try to get a temporary restraining order to bar Daniels from talking to the media.
Cohen said that in April of 2018, after federal agents executed search warrants at his hotel, home and office, he felt frightened and angry. He left a message for Trump, he said, and Trump returned his call. “He said to me, ‘Don’t worry, I’m the president of the United States,’” Cohen told the jury. Trump added, he said, “Everything is going to be OK. Stay tough.” In the following months, Cohen said Trump exerted pressure on him through public statements and various intermediaries. Trump’s message was clear, Cohen told jurors: “Don’t flip.” Cohen said the turning point came when his family questioned his loyalty to his boss. “We are supposed to be your first loyalty,” he said family members told him.
In August 2018, Cohen pleaded guilty to federal crimes, including violating campaign-finance laws related to hush-money payments, he told jurors.
Under questioning by Hoffinger, Cohen admitted to lying repeatedly. He told jurors he lied to Congress, lied to media outlets including The Wall Street Journal and pressured other people to lie, including Daniels’s lawyer.
“Why did you do that?” Hoffinger asked.
“In order to protect Mr. Trump,” Cohen replied.
The Wall Street journal
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