Michael Cohen testified today, intending to provide critical components to fill in the prosecution's case against former President Donald Trump.
Mr. Cohen described his "amazing experience" during the decade of working for President Trump, during which praise from his employer made him feel "on top of the world," motivating him to do whatever he felt was necessary to accomplish the tasks assigned. To Mr. Cohen, this included lying, bullying, and threatening legal action. In interviews from this period, he proudly referred to himself as a "pitbull" and "fixer" for the real estate mogul, highlighting his relentless tenacity.
After court adjourned, President Trump addressed media gathered outside the courtroom.
"What’s going on in that courtroom is a threat to democracy and we cannot have a country where we get to prosecute your political opponents, instead of persuading voters," he said.
He said the case could have brought years ago, instead of right in the middle of his presidential campaign, except federal prosecutors had declined to pursue any charges.
"We went to Mr. Trump's office in order to speak to him about this," Mr. Cohen said. "Right before he left for inauguration."
Mr. Cohen said during that conversation, Mr. Weisselberg "turned around and said to me, come over here, what we're going to do is, we're going to pay you over 12 months."
"It will be paid out to you monthly, as like, a legal service rendered, as I was being given the title of personal attorney to the president," Mr. Cohen said. That came out to $35,000 monthly.
Mr. Cohen said after the new year, there was no conversation about the reimbursement.
"So Allen Weisselberg asked for me to bring him a copy of the statement showing the $130,000 transfer from First Republic Bank," Mr. Cohen said. He said this was a meeting about his position and other outstanding matters like his bonus.
Prosecutors showed documentation of Mr. Cohen's wire transfer, and then the bank statement Mr. Cohen brought to Mr. Weisselberg.
Mr. Cohen said it was customary for him to receive a year-end bonus.
"So after. Mr Trump would leave, he would be on a plane or would have already arrived to Mar-a-Lago, Rhona would walk around with a Christmas card and it would be signed by Mr. Trump and others, and in it would be a check. And that’s how you would find out what your bonus was," Mr. Cohen said.
"When you opened up the card and saw the check, how did you feel about your 2016 bonus?" Ms. Hoffinger asked.
Ms. Hoffinger asked what role Mr. Cohen pitched instead.
"Personal attorney to the president," Mr. Cohen said. "First of all, I thought that he would need it because there were still outstanding matters that we were dealing with, and every president has a personal attorney. So I thought that I could continue to protect him."
Last fall, Mr. Cohen testified that he had not been offered a White House role and did not want one. Earlier in this case, Mr. Davidson testified that he received a long call from Mr. Cohen that led Mr. Davidson to believe Mr. Cohen was suicidal after being passed over for a White House role.
After a short break, attorneys showed texts between Mr. Cohen and Ms. Hicks. The two had been monitoring coverage of the Karen McDougal agreement and found that few outlets picked up the story. Days later, Mr. Trump won the presidential election.
"My service was no longer necessary, as I was special counsel to Mr Trump and he was now President-elect," Mr. Cohen said.
"Did you want that role of assistant general counsel?" Ms. Hoffinger asked.
Mr. Cohen received a call from Mr. Schiller on Nov. 4, 2016, asking him to call.
"Do you believe that you spoke to Mr. Trump using Mr. Schiller's phone at that time?" Ms. Hoffinger asked.
"Yes," Mr. Cohen said. "This was a serious, again, problem, especially so close to the election day, and I told him exactly who I had spoke to, the substance of the conversations with each of them. David said he was going to get to the bottom of this ... we were going to do everything in our power to protect Mr. Trump."
Mr. Cohen said when he found out the Wall Street Journal was to publish an article about the nondisclosure agreement he contacted Mr. Davidson. He said he called Hope Hicks and David Pecker about this.
"Trying to get my head around the article and figuring out how to change the narrative and quash negative results that would come from it, because it was days before the election," Mr. Cohen said.
He had sent Ms. Hicks draft statements for Mr. Trump and the campaign, including on casting a story as a distraction "by the liberal media and the Clinton machine."
Prosecutors showed wire transfer authorization forms signed by Mr. Cohen. He confirmed the purpose listed on the form was not truthful.
Mr. Cohen said he sought assurance from Mr. Davidson that his funds would be held in a trust account and demanded a fully executed nondisclosure agreement before the funds could be distributed from the account.
Mr. Cohen affirmed that Mr. Trump's name did not appear on the nondisclosure agreement, saying it would have looked very bad. He said he signed the agreement on behalf of David Dennison.
Mr. Cohen painted the picture of urgency as he received news that another publication was interested in buying up Ms. Clifford’s story, and he didn’t know anyone willing to put the $130,000 he had agreed to.
He said he hoped AMI would pay it but Mr. Pecker gave him a firm no, saying the last $130,000 payment nearly cost him his job. Call records showed a "flurry" of calls to Mr. Pecker, and Mr. Cohen said it was because signal was terrible so they were constantly going back and forth.
Mr. Cohen said he went across the street from his Trump Tower office to First Republic Bank, where he had a line of credit on his home.
"I said to Allen Weisselberg, you're CFO, you're making seven figures, why don't you pay it? You'll get paid back. He said, Michael as you know, I have kids in prep school ... I just can't do it."
"I ultimately said, OK, I'll pay it," Mr. Cohen said.
"He said, 'Don't worry about it, I'll make sure you get paid back,'" Mr. Cohen recalled Mr. Weisselberg telling him.
Prosecutors showed a text from Melania Trump to Mr. Cohen on the morning of Oct. 18, 2016: "Good morning, Michael. Can you please call DT on his cell. Thanks."
Mr. Cohen confirmed he also appeared on CNN that day.
"In order to respond to a series of topics that affected Mr. Trump and the campaign," he said. "As a surrogate."
"I called Mr. Trump," Mr. Cohen said. "In order to advise him of this situation, that because I didn't forward the funds, she's now declared the agreement void and we're not going to be in a position to delay the post until after the election as he had wanted us to do, and the story was now going to go to the Daily Mail."
Mr. Cohen confirmed he believed he could no longer delay the transaction after Mr. Davidson's email.
Mr. Cohen continued his testimony by discussing the Stormy Daniels contract. He said he sent his bank representative Gary Farro, who previously testified, documents to open a bank account for Resolution Consultants LLC.
"In the event that the need for an account to be open, to transfer the funds," Mr. Cohen said.
"Is this what you anticipated might need to happen soon?" Ms. Hoffinger asked.
After a lunch break, Rep. Malliotakis and Sen. Vance were seen reentering the courtroom with President Trump.
Mr. Cohen confirmed he received a settlement agreement on Oct. 11, 2016, for Ms. Clifford's story.
He also affirmed that he insisted on a provision whereby Ms. Clifford would need to pay $1 million per violation of the contract.
He said he was the only one who would have page one of the contract, which indicated the pseudonyms used in the contract.
Ms. Hoffinger asked if he had a conversation with Mr. Trump "about a particular strategy about how to deal with it."
"Well, he told me to work with David and purchase the life rights," Mr. Cohen said. "We need to stop this from getting out."
Mr. Cohen said he spoke to Mr. Trump after hearing from Mr. Howard.
"Because it was a matter that affected him, and also because that was what I always did, to keep him abreast of everything," Mr. Cohen said. "He was really angry with me. 'I thought you had this under control. I thought you took care of this.'"
"I expressed to Mr. Trump, we did in 2011, and I have no control over what she goes out and does," Mr. Cohen said. He said he was told, "Just take care of it."
Mr. Cohen said on Oct. 8, 2016, he was also aware that Ms. Clifford was trying to sell her story. He thought it would be "catastrophic" for the Trump campaign if it came out.
"After I received the information from Dylan Howard, I immediately went and knocked on his door, can I speak to you, and I told him about the substance of the conversation I had with Dylan Howard," Mr. Cohen said. He said Mr. Trump told him "do it, take care of it."
Mr. Cohen said Mr. Trump told him about meeting her at the golf tournament in 2006, and that "women prefer Trump even over someone like Big Ben," referring to NFL quarterback Benjamin Roethlisberger.
On Oct. 8, 2016, Mr. Cohen also learned about a story titled "DONALD TRUMP, PLAYBOY MAN" that was published on Radar Online, which talked about the audio clip.
Mr. Howard had sent Mr. Cohen an email about it, and Mr. Cohen asked them to take it down.
"It was negative to Mr. Trump, it would have impacted the campaign," Mr. Cohen said.
Oct. 8, 2016, texts between Mr. Cohen and former CNN anchor Chris Cuomo were shown.
"You going to defend him?" Mr. Cuomo wrote.
"I'm in London. I've been asked by everyone to do shows starting Tuesday," Mr. Cohen texted. "Not sure what I will do."
He confirmed that on Oct. 8, 2016, Mr. Trump joined a call that Mr. Cohen and Ms. Hicks were on. Mr. Cohen said he was with his family and friends in London at the time.
"He wanted me to reach out to all my contacts in the media. We needed to put a spin on this, and the spin that he wanted put on it was that this is locker room talk, something that Melania had recommended, at least he told me, that’s what Melania had thought it was, and use that in order to get control over the story and minimize its impact on him and his campaign," Mr. Cohen said.
Mr. Cohen said he reached out to members of the media, and they had also reached out to him.
Mr. Cohen said he became aware of the Access Hollywood tape when communications director Hope Hicks forwarded him an email with questions from a Washington Post reporter. The email had been forwarded to key members of the Trump Campaign.
Replies read: "Need to hear the tape to be sure" and "Deny deny deny".
Mr. Cohen replied asking Steve Bannon to call him. He wrote, “It’s all over the place. Whose [sic] doing damage control here?”
"In your understanding, who was going to pay that $125,000?" Ms. Hoffinger asked.
"Mr. Trump," Mr. Cohen said. "I gave him a complete and total update on everything that had transpired the day before."
"Why did you speak with him the day before you signed it?" Ms. Hoffinger asked.
Mr. Cohen said that Mr. Trump was the one who directed him to speak with Mr. Weisselberg.
"So when I went to Allen's office I expressed to him that we needed funding, $150,000 to consummate this transaction. Allen then said to me, well if we do it from a Trump entity, that kind of defeats the purpose, because the point is not to have the Trump name affiliated to this at all, to create a barrier," Mr. Cohen said. "So he asked me, think about ways that we could raise the $150,000."
Mr. Cohen said he opened an LLC to "keep it separate."
After a break, Mr. Cohen continued testifying about the conversation with Mr. Trump.
"Why did you think it was a bad idea, to pay in cash?" Ms. Hoffinger asked.
"Because we needed to acquire the information about the documents, and I believed the proper way to do it would be by check and make it appear to be a transaction," Mr. Cohen said.
The first two minutes of the recording were unrelated to the McDougal contract, and Mr. Trump and Mr. Cohen discussed Charleston.
"We need to open up a company for the transfer of all that info regarding our friend David, and I've spoken to Allen Weisselberg about how to set that up, the funding," Mr. Cohen said. "I'm all over that, I've spoken to Allen about it when it comes time for the financing."
Mr. Trump asks "what financing?" and later is heard saying "pay with cash."
Mr. Cohen said he felt it was important to tape this conversation with Mr. Trump so he could reassure Mr. Pecker.
"It was so I could show it to David Pecker ... Mr. Trump is going to be paying you back," Mr. Cohen said. "A
Because it became a regular conversation between the two of us. And I also wanted him to remain loyal to Mr. Trump."
Mr. Cohen said he also had other conversations with Mr. Trump about Mr. Pecker. He said Mr. Pecker was being considered to lead another publication under Time magazine, and he was worried what might happen if he left.
"And one of the concerns I expressed to Mr. Trump was, if he goes, there's a series of papers that relate to you. I don't know what those stories were, but they would be open for use. Because we didn't know who the potential CEO or replacement would be," Mr. Cohen said.
Prosecutors asked if Mr. Cohen had conversations about Mr. Trump reimbursing AMI for buying the McDougal story.
"Yes. David asked me when they should anticipate AMI receiving the $150,000. He needed, he wanted the $150,000 back because it was too much money for him to hide from the CEO of the parent company, and he had just laid out $30,000 previous, so he was putting pressure on me to speak to Mr. Trump to get the money back," Mr. Cohen said. "I don't know if I would characterize it as urgent as much as he insisted.
Mr. Cohen said they had met at Mr. Pecker's favorite Italian restaurant.
Mr. Cohen said he had worked with Mr. Davidson back in 2011 when a story came out about Stormy Daniels, real name Stephanie Clifford, and Donald Trump that Ms. Clifford had wanted taken down.
"We had worked together effectually then," he said.
Mr. Davidson's recollection had been a tad more colorful, with him saying that he had called Mr. Cohen out of courtesy to inform him of a cease-and-desist letter Mr. Davidson sent, and Mr. Cohen had cursed and yelled.
Mr. Cohen said he was also aware of the contract with Karen McDougal, which he told Mr. Trump about.
Mr. Pecker previously testified about these two deals, saying he only dealt with Mr. Cohen and had lacked personal knowledge of Mr. Trump's involvement for much of these events. Prosecutors need Mr. Cohen's testimony to establish that Mr. Trump was involved in these deals as an accomplice.
"I went to the office, knocked on it, came in, said boss I've got to talk to you. ASked him if he knew anything about who Karen McDougal was. His response to me was 'she's really beautiful,'" Mr. Cohen said.
Mr. Cohen confirmed that in the fall of 2015 he learned of a story alleging that Mr. Trump fathered an illegitimate child.
He said he provided Mr. Trump with all of the information, and "he told me to make sure that the story doesn't get out. 'You handle it.'"
"Now what did you do?" Ms. Hoffinger asked.
Ms. Hoffinger asked Mr. Cohen what Mr. Trump said about possible problems when he announced his run, and asked him to share with the jury what happened in the 2015 Trump Tower meeting with Mr. Pecker.
"You know that when this comes out, there's going to be a lot of women coming forward," Mr. Cohen said he recalled Mr. Trump saying.
Mr. Cohen said the National Enquirer was sold at the checkout of supermarkets and bodegas, and that was powerful.
Mr. Cohen said when Mr. Trump said he wouldn't run in 2011, "he actually promised me he was going to do it in the next election cycle."
"I wasn't going to be part of it, I was just going to be a surrogate," Mr. Cohen said. "Someone who speaks to the press but not as a member of the campaign, but as an outside person, it gives the appearance it's unbiased."
"I would make public appearances on TV, CNN, MSNBC, ABC, whoever. CBS. I would frequently provide comment to press regarding different matters that were popping up," he said.
Mr. Cohen said he had come across a poll in 2011 that showed 6 percent of those polled thought Mr. Trump should be president.
"So I took that article, I brought it to Mr. Trump, and said what do you think? and he said it's interesting, we should take a look at it," Mr. Cohen said.
"I created a website called shouldtrumprun.com and many people came to that website, and it was further proof that his name recognition, his popularity, especially because of his hit show The Apprentice, was so strong," he said.
"Prior to Mr. Trump announcing his run for the presidency, are you aware of AMI ever paying to suppress a story?" Ms. Hoffinger said.
"No ma'am," Mr. Cohen said.
Mr. Pecker had previously testified about his company's practice of "checkbook journalism."
Mr. Cohen provided his cell phones to prosecutors in January 2023, in which he kept "names, email addresses, potential addresses, cell phone numbers, home phone numbers, fax numbers" that are synced with Mr. Trump's own contact list.
He said they had decided it would be easier to sync contacts so when Mr. Trump was traveling Mr. Cohen could put Mr. Trump's contacts on the line.
Mr. Cohen confirmed he was in contact with David Pecker, whom he knew even before he met Mr. Trump.
"During your years at The Trump Organization, did you at times lie for him?" Ms. Hoffinger asked.
"I did. If it was what was needed to accomplish a task," Mr. Cohen said.
"Did you bully people for him?" Ms. Hoffinger asked.
"It was fantastic, working for him, especially during those 10 years was an amazing experience in many, many ways," Mr. Cohen said. "There were great time, there were several less than great times, but for the most part I enjoyed the responsibility that was given to me, I enjoyed working with my colleagues at the Trump Organization, the children, it was a big family."
Mr. Cohen said he spoke with Mr. Trump "every single day and multiple times per day," sometimes in person and sometimes by phone.
Mr. Cohen said when it was by phone, Mr. Cohen would use his cell phone and one of Mr. Trump's assistants, like Rhona Graff, Hope Hicks, or his bodyguard Keith Schiller, would put them in touch via an office line.
He added that "during certain conversations Trump would comment that emails are like written papers, it's too many people who have gone down as a result of having emails that prosecutors can use in a case."
Ms. Hoffinger asked, "Did you threaten at times to sue people or companies?"
"Yes," Mr. Cohen said, "It would depend on what the issue was. WE had an issue with a Miss USA pageant contestant, Mr. Trump being defamed, so we brought an arbitration with her. THat matter ultimately got resolved."
"With press, if they said something that angered him, I would reach out to the press, and I would express to them their need to either redact or take the argument down, or we would file an action against them," he said.
Mr. Cohen said he worked on "whatever concerned him, whatever he wanted." He said early on he pitched a golf course redevelopment project that ultimately didn't come to fruitition but was "an exciting project" because "it was new and I enjoyed the challenge.
Later, "Trump University fell into trouble" with some 50 vendors requiring payment and $2 million in the bank, Mr. Cohen said. "So what I did was put them into a handwritten spreadsheet ... came up with basically 20 percent of each one's invoice. I contacted the vendors and all but two accepted the 20 percent we had."
He said each and every release was separate and "would go straight to Mr. Trump's office and I advise him of the task we accomplished."
He said he met Donald Trump through his son. Mr. Cohen was moving into one of the Trump properties and Donald Trump Jr. was doing construction.
"There was an issue over at Trump Tower, because not only did I own a unit there but my parents, and there was an issue with the board, and what we did was end up overtaking the board and resolving the issue to Mr Trump’s satisfaction," Mr. Cohen said. "He liked the way that occurred and asked if I would assist in other legal issues that he had."
He was asked to review documents for a deal with Trump Entertainment resorts.
Mr. Cohen took the witness stand, outlining his background under questioning by prosecutors.
His testimony is expected to fill key gaps in the prosecution's case presented so far.
"I really didn't want to be a lawyer. My grandmother wanted me to be a lawyer. I wanted to go on Wall Street," he said. He said he was admitted to the bar in 1992 and started his career in a personal injury law firm.
Prosecutors sought last week to enter former Trump Organization CFO Allen Weisselberg's severance agreement as a reason for his absence from court.
Justice Merchan denied the motion Monday morning.
"It would come in as a business record but I'm not going to allow it in," he said. "This would be used as a justification as to why Allen Weisselberg is not here but it doesn't meet the burden of evidence, as it doesn't move the ball either way. I'm going to deny this application."
Sen. JD Vance (R-Ohio), Rep. Nicole Malliotakis (R-N.Y.), and Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.) were among those who turned out to attend the historic trial against former President Donald Trump.
The lawmakers stood behind the former president in the hallway as he addressed the media before heading into the courtroom.
This morning the lines were massive outside the courthouse at 100 Centre St., as journalists and citizens from around the world vied for a chance to take one of a limited number of seats in the courtroom where Michael Cohen is expected to testify in the criminal trial of Donald J. Trump, or in the overflow room where the proceedings play out onscreen. Some people had reportedly been on line since 2:00 a.m. or even earlier. As on past trial days, members of local companies that show up to take places in line, and then sell them to members of the media, did a brisk business.
With prosecutors expecting to call only two more witnesses before resting their case against former President Donald Trump, the trial this coming week is sure to feature extensive testimony by the Manhattan District Attorney’s star witness, Michael Cohen.
The controversial ex-Trump lawyer originated the claims that led to the 34-count criminal indictment of President Trump, alleging that 11 invoices that Mr. Cohen billed and their corresponding check payments and vouchers were falsified business records created to cover up a scheme to influence the 2016 elections.
Prosecutors allege that the payments to Mr. Cohen were not in fact legal expenses but reimbursement for a “hush money” payment. They spent earlier parts of the trial establishing context with witnesses on the peripheries of these transactions but have not yet presented in court testimony directly alleging President Trump’s involvement.
NEW YORK—At the end of a week of lively direct and cross-examination in the criminal trial of Donald J. Trump, his lawyers asked Justice Juan Merchan to impose a gag order on Michael Cohen, the defendant’s former attorney and “fixer,” who they said has not refrained from attacking President Trump on social media despite repeated promises to do so.
Attorney Todd Blanche got up in the courtroom to argue that it was unfair for Mr. Cohen to attack President Trump constantly in a public forum while the GOP’s front-runner is himself subject to a gag order so strict that Justice Merchan earlier this week threatened to impose a jail sanction in the event of further violations.
But the government’s lawyer, Joshua Steinglass, promptly fired back at the defense, saying that prosecutors had already strongly urged Mr. Cohen to cease his antics.