Former Trump attorney Michael Cohen testified that the ex-president has been using his favorite legal strategy since 2016.
Ex-President Donald Trump has been using the same legal strategy for nearly a decade, his former fixer Michael Cohen testified during Trump’s criminal trial.
Since leaving the White House, Trump has become embroiled in numerous lawsuits, including four criminal indictments, one of which is unfolding in Manhattan Criminal Court. For the last four weeks, the former president has been standing trial, accused of 34 felony charges tied to hush money paid ahead of the 2016 presidential election. Trump has pleaded not guilty.
Cohen, Trump’s friend-turned-foe, is the star witness in the case. On Monday, Cohen was called as one of the final witnesses for the district attorney’s office, and while testifying, he said that Trump’s been relying on the same legal strategy since 2016.
Although Trump’s legal problems vary widely, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee has purportedly deployed the same tactic to fend them off: delay. Legal commentators have said that Trump and his legal team have been attempting to delay his legal issues until after the 2024 election, given the number of lengthy, last-minute filings and appeal requests.
Cohen on Monday testified that Trump’s pattern of pushing for delays in his legal headaches started before his presidency.
While on the stand, Cohen said that while he was tasked with resolving the issue of adult-film actress Stormy Daniels, the former Trump lawyer had no intention to actually see his promises through.
Cohen testified that less than a month before the 2016 election, he was informed that Daniels—who alleges to have had a sexual encounter with Trump in 2006—was shopping around her story.
