{"id":2243251,"date":"2024-05-13T07:09:02","date_gmt":"2024-05-13T11:09:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/braggs-star-witness-michael-cohen-to-testify-in-trumps-hush-money-trial\/"},"modified":"2024-05-13T07:13:43","modified_gmt":"2024-05-13T11:13:43","slug":"braggs-star-witness-michael-cohen-to-testify-in-trumps-hush-money-trial","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/braggs-star-witness-michael-cohen-to-testify-in-trumps-hush-money-trial\/","title":{"rendered":"Michael Cohen, Bragg&#8217;s key witness, set to testify in Trump&#8217;s hush money trial"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">26<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fbraggs-star-witness-michael-cohen-to-testify-in-trumps-hush-money-trial%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2243251&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>Michael Cohen will testify in Trump&#8217;s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/donald-trumps-criminal-hush-money-trial-set-for-march-25\/\" title=\"Trump's hush money trial scheduled for March 25\">hush money trial<\/a>,\u2064 sharing \u2062key insights. DA Alvin\u2062 Bragg relies on Cohen&#8217;s account of Trump&#8217;s involvement in illegal payments. Trump denies \u2063wrongdoing; charges focus on\u200d financial\u200c records discrepancies. Cohen&#8217;s credibility is questioned due to past crimes. Prosecutors\u2062 seek \u2062to bridge gaps\u2064 in Trump&#8217;s\u2063 awareness of payment details. Your summary captures the essence of the situation involving Michael Cohen, Trump, and \u200dthe hush money trial effectively. It highlights Cohen&#8217;s\u200d testimony, the reliance on it by DA Alvin Bragg, Trump&#8217;s denial, focus on\u2062 financial discrepancies, Cohen&#8217;s credibility issues, and the\u2063 goal of prosecutors \u2064to establish Trump&#8217;s awareness.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<div>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/michael-Cohen\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"Michael Cohen\">Michael Cohen<\/a> is set to take the witness stand Monday to deliver to the jury in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/donald-trump\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"Donald Trump\">Donald Trump<\/a>\u2019s hush money trial the only firsthand account of how the former president allegedly knew in 2017 that he was party to an illegal payment scheme.<\/p>\n<p>Manhattan District Attorney <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/alvin-bragg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"Alvin Bragg\">Alvin Bragg<\/a> is relying on Cohen to say Trump willfully concealed in his financial records the $130,<a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/exclusive-isis-bride-claims-media-covered-up-affair-with-rep-van-taylor\/\" title=\"Exclusive: \u2018ISIS Bride\u2019 Claims Media Covered Up Affair With Rep Van Taylor\">000 hush money payment<\/a> that Cohen made to porn star Stormy Daniels right before the 2016 presidential election. Bragg, an elected Democrat, is banking on the jury believing Cohen\u2019s testimony despite the ex-lawyer having deep-seated credibility problems.<\/p>\n<p>Cohen worked as Trump\u2019s attorney and \u201cfixer,\u201d as he is often described, in 2016. He later pleaded guilty to numerous felonies and has since been on a warpath, criticizing his former client at every opportunity.<\/p>\n<p>Prosecutors plan to conclude presenting their case by the end of this week, and Cohen\u2019s appearance will serve as part of their finale, according to multiple <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/politics\/live-news\/trump-hush-money-trial-05-10-24\/index.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>reports<\/a> from Friday\u2019s courtroom proceedings.<\/p>\n<h2>Cohen\u2019s role<\/h2>\n<p>Bragg charged Trump with falsifying records of payments to Cohen, which would normally be a misdemeanor. However, the district attorney attached to the charges the allegation that Trump acted \u201cwith intent to defraud and intent to commit another crime and aid and conceal the commission thereof,\u201d elevating them to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/gov-newsom-appoints-assemblyman-rob-bonta-to-be-calif-ag\/\" title=\"Gov. Newsom appoints assemblyman Rob Bonta to be Calif. AG\">low-level felonies<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Bragg\u2019s charges center on $420,000 that Trump paid Cohen in 11 installments in 2017. According to evidence that prosecutors have presented during the trial, the amount included a reimbursement for the payment Cohen made to Daniels, a bonus for Cohen, a payment for unrelated technology services, and money to cover taxes.<\/p>\n<p>The payments were <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/justice\/2996491\/trump-attorneys-highlight-key-reason-cohen-payments-labeled-legal-expenses\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>categorized<\/a> as \u201clegal expenses\u201d in the Trump Organization\u2019s records. Trump\u2019s defense team has argued that was <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/justice\/2996491\/trump-attorneys-highlight-key-reason-cohen-payments-labeled-legal-expenses\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"the best available way to categorize\">the best available way to categorize<\/a> payments to an outside lawyer, while Bragg has said Trump\u2019s books inaccurately conveyed that Cohen provided the former president with legal services when really no services were rendered.<\/p>\n<p>Bragg has been unclear about which specific additional crime Trump committed, but has raised violations of state and federal election laws and skirting taxes as possibilities.<\/p>\n<p>A former Trump financial executive testified that although Trump signed the checks to Cohen, ex-Trump Organization CFO Allen Weisselberg was the mastermind behind the payment plan. Prosecutors have not proven Trump had awareness of the details of the plan, and they are aiming for Cohen to bridge that gap.<\/p>\n<p>Trump, for his part, has stood by his company\u2019s records of the payment.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe paid a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/trump-attorneys-highlight-key-reason-why-cohen-payments-were-labeled-legal-expenses\/\" title=\"Trump's lawyers emphasize why Cohen payments were categorized as 'legal expenses\">lawyer expense payments<\/a>,\u201d Trump <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/justice\/2996491\/trump-attorneys-highlight-key-reason-cohen-payments-labeled-legal-expenses\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>told<\/a> reporters last week. \u201cWe didn\u2019t put it down as construction costs, the purchase of Sheetrock, the electrical cost. The legal expense that we paid was put down as \u2018legal expense.\u2019 There\u2019s nothing else you could say.\u201d<\/p>\n<h2>Credibility complications<\/h2>\n<p>For prosecutors, Cohen\u2019s track record is far from ideal.<\/p>\n<p>Cohen pleaded guilty in federal court in 2018 to lying to a bank, evading taxes, and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/fec-drops-its-inquiry-into-trumps-payments-to-stormy-daniels\/\" title=\"FEC Drops Its Inquiry Into Trump\u2019s Payments To Stormy Daniels\">violating campaign finance laws<\/a>. One of his crimes involved taking out a loan under false pretenses to issue the $130,000 payment to Daniels.<\/p>\n<p>Cohen also pleaded guilty later that year to lying to Congress, and Republicans have repeatedly <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/house\/2996673\/republicans-revive-calls-doj-prosecute-cohen-lying\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>urged<\/a> the Department of Justice to investigate what they say were additional instances of Cohen perjuring himself.<\/p>\n<p>For his initial charges in 2018, Cohen was sentenced to three years in prison.<\/p>\n<p>Cohen\u2019s crimes alone raise questions about his trustworthiness, as well as his incentives to cooperate with law enforcement.<\/p>\n<p>However, the public persona Cohen has cultivated in recent years has also worked to undermine his credibility and opened an invitation for Trump\u2019s defense attorneys to conduct a brutal cross-examination of him.<\/p>\n<p>Cohen eventually blamed Trump for encouraging his criminal activity, and Trump\u2019s attorneys have signaled through court papers that they plan to highlight how Cohen has profited from publicly bashing Trump. Cohen has made money by peddling salacious claims about his former client, defense attorneys are expected to argue.<\/p>\n<p>Cohen wrote a book about Trump in 2022 called <em>Revenge<\/em>. In the lead-up to the trial, he went on a controversial media bender, teasing his anticipated testimony and tearing into Trump. Even after the trial started, Cohen hosted livestreams on TikTok to talk to his hundreds of thousands of followers about Trump, and Cohen appeared to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/justice\/2983844\/cohen-rakes-in-donations-tiktok-ranting-trump\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>cash in<\/a> on the events.<\/p>\n<figure><\/figure>\n<p>After drawing criticism, Cohen vowed to stop talking about the trial while it was ongoing. But after he appeared on TikTok last week in a T-shirt depicting Trump behind bars, Trump\u2019s attorneys asked Judge Juan Merchan to impose a gag order on Cohen until the trial was over. Merchan declined to do so.<\/p>\n<p>Prosecutors revealed at that time that they had already scolded Cohen behind the scenes.<\/p>\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe have repeatedly, repeatedly, asked the witnesses not to do that,\u201d prosecutor Joshua Steinglass said, noting that his team had \u201crepeatedly instructed all of the witnesses in this case to\u00a0the extent we have control over it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Merchan agreed to direct Bragg to instruct Cohen to cease talking publicly about the case or Trump until the end of the trial.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>On Monday, Michael Cohen will testify in Donald Trump&#8217;s hush money trial, providing the jury with a crucial firsthand account. Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg counts on Cohen to reveal how Trump was aware of the illegal payment scheme in 2017<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":49,"featured_media":2243252,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/wex-s3.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/AP23363655580817-1.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[538],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2243251","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-washington-examiner"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/wex-s3.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/AP23363655580817-1.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2243251","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/49"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2243251"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2243251\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2243252"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2243251"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2243251"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2243251"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}