{"id":2243531,"date":"2024-05-13T14:09:02","date_gmt":"2024-05-13T18:09:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/prosecutors-use-michael-cohen-in-attempt-to-link-trump-and-hush-money-payments\/"},"modified":"2024-05-13T14:12:08","modified_gmt":"2024-05-13T18:12:08","slug":"prosecutors-use-michael-cohen-in-attempt-to-link-trump-and-hush-money-payments","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/prosecutors-use-michael-cohen-in-attempt-to-link-trump-and-hush-money-payments\/","title":{"rendered":"Prosecutors leverage Michael Cohen to connect Trump with hush money payments"},"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\">22<\/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%2Fprosecutors-use-michael-cohen-in-attempt-to-link-trump-and-hush-money-payments%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=2243531&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 testified at Trump&#8217;s trial, revealing details of a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/supreme-court-rejects-trump-bid-to-shield-financial-records\/\" title=\"Supreme Court Rejects Trump Bid To Shield Financial Records\">hush money payment<\/a> to \u2062a porn \u200cstar over \u2062a alleged pre-2016 election encounter.\u2062 Manhattan DA Alvin \u2064Bragg accuses Trump, the \u200dRepublican \u2063nominee, of falsifying records to cover the reimbursement. Cohen, \u2064once a loyal Trump associate, testifies about their\u2064 rocky relationship \u200din court. Michael\u2064 Cohen testified at Trump&#8217;s trial, \u2063divulging a hush money\u2064 payment to a porn star\u200d linked to \u200da pre-2016 election affair. \u200dManhattan DA Alvin Bragg accuses Trump \u200bof falsifying records to conceal\u200c the\u200d reimbursement.\u2064 Cohen, a former close associate of Trump, shares insights into their tumultuous relationship during the \u200dcourt proceedings.  <\/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\/donald-trump\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Donald Trump<\/a>\u2018s former attorney <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/michael-Cohen\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Michael Cohen<\/a> began testifying Monday at the former president\u2019s criminal trial, and Cohen described how he arranged a hush money payment to a porn star who claimed to have had a sexual encounter with his client years before the 2016 election.<\/p>\n<p>Manhattan District Attorney <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/alvin-bragg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Alvin Bragg<\/a> alleges Trump, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/trump-indictment-in-stormy-daniels-hush-money-payment-investigation-imminent\/\" title=\"Trump indictment in Stormy Daniels hush-money payment investigation 'imminent'\">falsified business records<\/a> to cover his reimbursement to Cohen of the payment to silence a porn star in the final days of his 2016 campaign. Trump, who has denied the affair, has pleaded not guilty to the charges and kept his eyes closed in court on Monday morning during portions of Cohen\u2019s testimony.<\/p>\n<figure><figcaption>Michael Cohen leaves his apartment building on his way to Manhattan criminal court on May 13, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo\/Julia Nikhinson)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Cohen, 57, worked as an executive and lawyer for the Trump Organization for nearly 10 years and once said he would take a bullet for Trump. Now, sitting across from the former president in a criminal courtroom, Cohen testified about the time Trump offered him a job after Cohen handed him a $100,000 bill for work his previous firm did for one of Trump\u2019s companies.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI was honored. I was taken by surprise, and I agreed,\u201d Cohen said, according to reporters in the courtroom, adding that Trump never paid the bill. The 12-member jury was watching intensely as prosecutor Susan Hoffinger questioned Cohen.<\/p>\n<h2>Cohen accepts title as \u2018fixer\u2019<\/h2>\n<p>Early into questioning from prosecutors, Cohen was asked by Hoffinger about whether his longtime label of \u201cfixer\u201d was accurate, prompting Cohen to say the title was \u201cfair.\u201d Cohen\u2019s response came after he admitted to the prosecutor that he lied in his past to help his former boss, saying, \u201cIt\u2019s what was needed to accomplish the task.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>While Monday marks the first time jurors saw Cohen in person, his <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/justice\/2999919\/bragg-star-witness-michael-cohen\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>presence has loomed large over the trial<\/a>. Witnesses have spoken about him dozens of times, while Trump\u2019s defense lawyers have attacked his credibility from the trial\u2019s outset, calling him an untrustworthy liar in their opening statement.<\/p>\n<figure>\n<div>\n<blockquote data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">I have never seen anything more rehearsed!<\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Eric Trump (@EricTrump) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/EricTrump\/status\/1790032069797482582?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">May 13, 2024<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<p>Trump\u2019s son Eric tweeted from within the courtroom, \u201cI have never seen anything more rehearsed!,\u201d in response to Cohen\u2019s testimony.<\/p>\n<h2>Ex-fixer recounts crucial 2015 meeting with <em>National Enquirer<\/em> publisher<\/h2>\n<p>Cohen testified that he met frequently with then-<em>National Enquirer <\/em>publisher <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/justice\/2980034\/trump-trial-four-takeaways-pecker-witness-stand\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>David Pecker<\/a> in an effort to stop former <em>Playboy<\/em> model Karen McDougal\u2019s allegations about a relationship she said she had with Trump. Cohen said he would use the encrypted Signal application to communicate with Pecker and editor Dylan Howard in their bid to quash McDougal\u2019s story.<\/p>\n<p>The ex-fixer said Pecker stated in June 2016 that it would cost $150,000 to \u201ccontrol the story.\u201d Cohen later relayed the message back to Trump, claiming his boss said, \u201cNo problem, I\u2019ll take care of it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Cohen explained that it was the <em>National<\/em> <em>Enquirer<\/em> publisher that would first lay out of the funds to purchase McDougal\u2019s story, and then, Trump would pay Pecker back. The manner in which Trump would reimburse Pecker was not immediately determined, Cohen testified.<\/p>\n<h2>Trump warned \u2018a lot of women\u2019 would come forward after 2016 election announcement: Cohen<\/h2>\n<p>Early into his testimony, Cohen said that Trump informed him ahead of his 2016 presidential campaign announcement that \u201ca lot of women\u201d would come forward with negative allegations about him.<\/p>\n<p>According to Cohen, Trump said: \u201cYou know that when this comes out \u2014 meaning the announcement \u2014 just be prepared, there\u2019s going to be a lot of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/third-woman-accuses-cuomo-of-making-unwanted-advances\/\" title=\"Third Woman Accuses Cuomo of Making Unwanted Advances\">women coming forward<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n<h2>Secret recording caps off morning of testimony<\/h2>\n<p>Prosecutors played audio of a September 2016 conversation between Cohen and Trump that the former fixer surreptitiously recorded. The jury has already heard this recording previously.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cTold you about Charleston. I need to open up a company for the transfer of all of that info regarding our friend, David, you know, so that \u2014 I\u2019m going to do that right away,\u201d Cohen is heard saying to Trump.<\/p>\n<p>Prosecutors intended for the recording to support Cohen\u2019s narrative that he was often communicating to Trump updates about his progress on the McDougal hush money deal. In the recording, Cohen merely mentioned Pecker\u2019s name and Trump seemed to become aware that Cohen was referring to that deal, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/live\/2024\/05\/13\/nyregion\/trump-trial-michael-cohen\">according<\/a> to the <em>New York Times<\/em> live blog.<\/p>\n<p>The jury relistened to the recording on Monday with Cohen\u2019s added context.<\/p>\n<h2>Former president gets boost from new allies in court<\/h2>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/senate\/3001434\/trump-allies-vance-and-tuberville-appear-behind-former-president-at-new-york-courthouse\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"Flanked by political allies\">Flanked by political allies<\/a>, including Rep. Nicole Malliotakis (R-NY), Sen. J.D. Vance (R-OH), and Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-AL), Trump called his <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> a \u201cpolitical witch-hunt\u201d before heading into the courtroom on Monday.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI should be out campaigning now instead of sitting in a very cold courthouse all day long,\u201d Trump told reporters.<\/p>\n<p>Last week, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/crime\/3001097\/rick-scott-claims-everyone-involved-in-trumps-trials-is-part-of-the-democrat-machine\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>Sen. Rick Scott<\/a> (R-FL) made a brief appearance at the courthouse in support of the former president.<\/p>\n<figure><\/figure>\n<h2>Judge limits prosecution\u2019s ability to dredge up former CFO\u2019s severance agreement<\/h2>\n<p>Shortly after entering the courtroom on Monday, Judge Juan Merchan ruled that prosecutors won\u2019t be allowed to introduce evidence of former Trump Organization CFO <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/justice\/2993557\/trump-trial-witness-testifies-weisselberg-mastermind-behind-cohen-payments\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Allen Weisselberg<\/a>\u2018s severance agreement.<\/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>\u201cIt seems to me that this would be used to justify an explanation for why somebody is not here,\u201d Merchan said, adding that the severance payment doesn\u2019t seem to prove anything or move the ball in any one direction.<\/p>\n<p>When Cohen returned to the stand after a break, he began discussing the hush money payment made to Stormy Daniels, which is at the heart of the 34-count indictment against Trump.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Michael Cohen testified at Trump&#8217;s trial, revealing details of a hush money payment to a porn star alleging a pre-2016 election encounter. Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg accuses Trump of involvement<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2633,"featured_media":2243532,"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\/05\/AP24134416668103.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[538],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2243531","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\/05\/AP24134416668103.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2243531","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\/2633"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2243531"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2243531\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2243532"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2243531"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2243531"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2243531"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}