Cohen Tells of Arranging Catch-and-Kill Deals as Trump’s Fixer

 

Live Updates: Cohen Tells of Arranging Catch-and-Kill Deals as Trump’s Fixer

Mr. Cohen described trying to manage what the news media said about Donald J. Trump, including through deals to bury potentially damaging stories. Mr. Cohen made the hush-money payment at the center of the criminal case.

 

Jonah E. Bromwich and Ben Protess

https://www.nytimes.com/live/2024/05/13/nyregion/trump-trial-michael-cohen

 

Cohen’s testimony is at the crux of the case. Here’s the latest.

Michael D. Cohen, the one-time lawyer for Donald J. Trump who is now the star witness against him, described his job as doing “whatever” Mr. Trump wanted. “The only thing that was on my mind was to accomplish the task, to make him happy,” Mr. Cohen told the jury.

 

Prone to tirades and charm, Mr. Cohen is an unpredictable witness whose testimony is at the heart of the first criminal trial of an American president. In the final days of the 2016 presidential campaign, Mr. Cohen paid $130,000 in hush money out of his own pocket to a porn star, silencing her story of a sexual encounter with Mr. Trump, and was later reimbursed by the man he called “the boss.”

 

Here’s what else to know about the trial:

 

The repayment is key to the case: Prosecutors say Mr. Trump orchestrated a plan to falsify business records that disguised the reimbursement as ordinary legal expenses. The Manhattan district attorney’s office has charged Mr. Trump with 34 felony counts, and he faces probation or up to four years in prison.

 

Trump’s reaction: Mr. Trump did not appear to react as Mr. Cohen took the stand, staring straight ahead as Mr. Cohen walked in and only glancing in his direction after he passed the defense table. He mostly sat with his eyes closed as Mr. Cohen spoke, shifted in his seat and pursed his lips as he began to testify about Mr. Trump’s presidential campaign.

 

A risky witness: Mr. Cohen’s testimony comes with considerable risks for the prosecution. Since the trial began, the defense has labeled him a liar motivated by a deep-seated desire for revenge. He is also, as the defense is fond of noting, a felon: In 2018, Mr. Cohen pleaded guilty to federal crimes, some related to the hush-money payment. Prosecutors have tried to prepare the jury for Mr. Cohen’s outsize personality, eliciting testimony from witnesses who have little love for the former fixer.

 

A fixer-turned-antagonist: Mr. Cohen outlined his duties at Mr. Trump’s business, where he was an executive vice president. But in recent years, he has cast himself as an anti-Trump crusader, dedicating two books, a podcast and countless television appearances to seeking what he once called a “way to right some of the many wrongs I committed at his behest.”

 

Stormy Daniels speaks: Last week, Stormy Daniels, the woman to whom Mr. Cohen paid the hush money on Mr. Trump’s behalf, took the stand, with gripping testimony that took jurors inside the Lake Tahoe, Nev., hotel suite where she said she and Mr. Trump had sex. Ms. Daniels was then cross-examined by the defense, which sought to portray her as a lying opportunist. Mr. Trump denies that they had sex. Here’s what happened in court last week.

 

What’s next: Monday is the start of the fifth week of the trial, and the fourth of testimony. Prosecutors have called 18 witnesses; Mr. Cohen is the 19th, and the final big-name witness. After prosecutors rest their case, Mr. Trump’s lawyers will be allowed to call witnesses, but do not have to. Once testimony has concluded, both sides will make closing arguments and then the case goes to the jury.