Prosecutors will call their star witness, Michael Cohen, when former President Donald Trump’s hush-money trial resumes on Monday, bringing the state’s case to a climax and setting the stage for a bruising cross-examination.
Prosecutors will call their star witness, Michael Cohen, when former President Donald Trump‘s hush-money trial resumes on Monday, bringing the state’s case to a climax and setting the stage for a bruising cross-examination.
Mr. Cohen went from being Mr. Trump’s loyal lawyer, or “fixer,” to his top detractor during Mr. Trump’s presidency.
His testimony could make or break prosecutors’ core allegation: That Mr. Trump, through Mr. Cohen, paid $130,000 before the 2016 election to suppress porn actress Stormy Daniels‘ story about a 2006 sexual encounter with Mr. Trump, and took illegal steps to conceal the payment through reimbursement checks to Mr. Cohen.
“Cohen connects Trump to the hush money and payments. He also is needed to show how Trump orchestrated the payments and did so in a way to conceal them,” said David Schultz, a political science and legal studies professor at Hamline University who is tracking Mr. Trump’s cases.
Mr. Trump, the presumptive GOP nominee for president, has pleaded not guilty to 34 counts of falsifying business records. He denies having a sexual encounter with Ms. Daniels.
Defense lawyers are expected to batter Mr. Cohen by pointing to his criminal record and history of lying. They will cast him as a rogue actor who paid Ms.
