Trump’s ex-fixer Michael Cohen fronts up to testify over hush money to porn star

Donald Trump’s former fixer testified before a grand jury on Monday, as prosecutors near a decision on whether to charge the ex-president over hush money paid to a porn star.

Former Donald Trump lawyer and loyalist Michael Cohen walks out of a Manhattan court after testifying before a grand jury on Monday. Picture: AFP

Donald Trump’s former fixer Michael Cohen testified before a grand jury on Monday, as prosecutors near a momentous decision on whether to charge the ex-president over hush money paid to a porn star.

If Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg files an indictment against Mr Trump, 76, it would mark the first time a former resident has been charged with a crime.

It would send shockwaves through the US and upend Mr Trump’s bid to win the Republican nomination for the 2024 presidential election.

“My goal is to tell the truth,” Mr Cohen said as he arrived at court, adding that Mr Trump “needs to pay for his dirty deeds”.

Mr Bragg’s investigation centres on a $US130,000 payment made two weeks before the 2016 presidential election to adult film star Stormy Daniels.

The money was allegedly intended to stop Daniels, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford, from publicly disclosing an affair she says she had with Mr Trump years earlier. The payment was made by Mr Cohen, Mr Trump’s former lawyer, who said he was later ­reimbursed.

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Former US President Donald Trump on the campaign trail in Davenport, Iowa, on Monday. Picture: AFP

n America, prosecutors put witnesses and evidence in front of a grand jury, which then ­decides whether there is a case to answer. The proceedings are not public.

The New York Times and The Washington Post reported last week that Mr Bragg’s team had offered Mr Trump an opportunity to testify, which he will ­almost certainly decline, to avoid potentially incriminating himself. But experts say the invitation is a sign that he is likely to be charged.

The payment to Mr Cohen, if not properly accounted, could result in a misdemeanour charge that could be raised to a felony if the false accounting was designed to cover up a second crime, such as a campaign ­finance violation.

Mr Cohen was sentenced to three years in prison in 2018 on federal charges related to the hush payment. He pleaded guilty but said he had been carrying out Mr Trump’s orders.

Mr Trump denies the affair and last week lashed out on his Truth Social page, calling the New York investigation “a political Witch-Hunt, trying to take down the leading candidate, by far, in the Republican Party”.

AFP