Donald Trump’s former confidant, Michael Cohen, was cross-examined Tuesday by the defense of the former American president, tried in New York for hidden payments to an X-rated movie star before the 2016 presidential election .
Before the elections of November 5, 2024, where Donald Trump and Joe Biden will face each other, this historic criminal trial is increasingly politicized: the leader of the Republicans in the House of Representatives, Mike Johnson, came to denounce in front of the doors of the palace of Manhattan justice the prosecution of prosecutor Alvin Bragg and the legitimacy of the court presided over by Judge Juan Merchan.
Mike Johnson, one of the highest figures in the state, raged against a justice system “instrumentalized” according to him by the Democrats against his Republican champion, echoing the former president (2017-2021) who denounces “a hunt to witches” since the start of the trial.
Fifteen floors above, in the courtroom, Michael Cohen, the prosecution’s key witness, continued on Tuesday what he had done for five hours the day before: incriminating his former boss, while acknowledging that he “worshiped him” before turning against him in 2018.
As the cross-examination began, the former president had his eyes closed.
“I wasn’t lying, that’s what I felt” at the time, Michael Cohen, 57, responded to defense attorney Todd Blanche.
Why, asked prosecutor Susan Hoffinger, did he pay, at the very end of the 2016 presidential campaign, $130,000 to porn actress Stormy Daniels?
“To make sure the story wouldn’t come out and affect Donald Trump’s chances of becoming president of the United States,” he responded.
The story in question: a sexual relationship between Stormy Daniels and Donald Trump in 2006. Which the latter denies.
On whose behalf did he act? “On behalf of Donald Trump. »
Invoices and checks
In this historic and unprecedented trial for a former American president, the 77-year-old tycoon is facing criminal charges for 34 accounting falsification offenses.
The reimbursements to Michael Cohen, made in 2017 while Donald Trump was in the White House, were allegedly disguised, according to the prosecution, as “legal fees” in the accounts of the family real estate group Trump Organization.
In a moment full of intensity, the prosecutor showed the Court the invoices which made it possible to reimburse Michael Cohen, as well as 11 checks, most of them directly signed by Donald Trump.
The former lawyer calmly repeated for each receipt that they mentioned services he had not rendered and that it was about reimbursing him for the payments to Stormy Daniels.
Donald Trump faces the first criminal conviction of a former American head of state, and theoretically faces a prison sentence.
This would not prevent him from running against Joe Biden on November 5.
When the affair was revealed by the Wall Street Journal in 2018, Michael Cohen said he paid Stormy Daniels on his own initiative, without informing Donald Trump.
He turned around once he was caught by the courts in 2018.
” Don’t worry “
Michael Cohen then pleaded guilty to bank and tax fraud, lying before the US Congress and violating campaign financing laws, the latter offense being directly linked to the payment to Stormy Daniels. He was sentenced to 3 years in prison, including 13 months actually behind bars.
After a search by the FBI in April 2018, Donald Trump allegedly told him: “Don’t worry, everything will be fine, I’m the president of the United States,” said Mr. Cohen, who remembers being “reassured” because feeling “protected”.
According to the ex-lawyer, Donald Trump made a payment to Stormy Daniels because he feared a “catastrophic” effect, even “hatred” from the female electorate, during the 2016 presidential election against Hillary Clinton.
Loyal among Donald Trump’s followers, not denying the nickname “pitbull” ready to “take a bullet” for him, Michael Cohen admitted on Monday to having lied, intimidated and threatened on his behalf.
On Tuesday, he delivered a mea culpa: “To remain loyal and do what he told me to do, I violated my morals and suffered the consequences, as did my family. »
Her testimony joins that of Stormy Daniels, who last week gave a raw account of the sexual relationship she claims to have had with Donald Trump in 2006.
