The work, fallout, and testimony of Michael Cohen

Michael Cohen, former President Donald Trump personal attorney. Photo Credit: AP.

Michael Cohen, a former Donald Trump fixer, worked for the former president on a number of
projects when the going was good. From helping Trump silence his accusers, to suing critics, Mr.
Cohen worked extensively, exhibiting the highest level of loyalty to his boss. When things didn’t
go as planned and Cohen did not get everything he wanted, including financial and White
House job compensation, the relationship turned sour. But as time went on, Mr. Cohen began
to pay the price for his many illegal dealings, He was investigated by federal prosecutors and
spent time in federal prison. The scope of his work was narrated on Monday, May 13, 2024, as
he sat face-to-face with Mr. Trump. Feeling betrayed, Mr. Trump held on with a demeaning
composure. Mr. Cohen took his time to take vengeance against the person he celebrated for
more than a decade, propelled by a strong feeling of being used and dumped. Testifying before
a Manhattan court, the newly found enemies barely looked each other in the face as they dealt
with a new reality.  

His Work

Mr. Cohen promoted Mr. Trump’s presidential ambitions when the former president began to
nurse his intentions for the White House in 2011. At the time, Trump was the star of his own
show, “The Apprentice.”. 
In 2015, Mr. Trump formally launched his White House bid, but Cohen is taking credit for
helping design the successful launch at Trump Tower. Cohen took legal action against a Miss
USA contestant for daring to criticize his amiable boss and went after reporters who provoked
his boss with similar threats of legal action, and Mr. Trump could not love him more. Mr. Cohen
did a remarkable job, helping Mr. Trump settle off adult-film actress Stormy Daniel in a
$130,000 non disclosure agreement to keep her silent during the 2016 elections, which is today
the hush money controversy. Daniels accused Trump of having sex with her after a golf
tournament in 2006, even though he was married, something Mr. Trump has repeatedly denied
as false. When a former Trump Tower doorman came up with his allegations that Mr. Trump
had a secret child with a former employee, Cohen sprang into action and fixed the mess. He
coordinated with a tabloid,, the National Enquirer, owned by Trump’s friend, to buy off rights to
the story, but the story was never published. He worked like a superman. Cohen admitted he
encouraged Mr. Trump back in 2011 about a possible White House presidency by showing him
some polls that indicated some voters may vote for him if he ran.

The Fallout

Having worked for years defending Mr. Trump and fixing his problems, it was time to be
rewarded—something that never saw the light. 
In 2017, Mr. Cohen had hoped he would be considered for a White House job, but this never
happened. Instead, the now estranged lawyer received a bonus he considered smaller than his
many sacrifices and fixes. Things got messier as federal agents went after Mr. Cohen, and he
was convicted in 2018 as part of investigations into possible misuse of campaign funds for a
hush money settlement. 

Cohen pleaded guilty to lying to Congress, other financial crimes not connected to his boss, and
campaign finance violations relating to hush money payments to Stormy Daniels in the same
year. Cohen lied to Congress about a real estate project in Moscow, which Mr. Trump was
pursuing. He was convicted and consequently sent to federal prison, but was released under a
plea bargain that allowed him to testify against Donald Trump. 
Cohen truly wants Mr. Trump behind bars, as evident in a tee-shirt he wore with an image of
the former President behind bars, at least if nothing for underpaying him for his many fixes. 
In 2007, Mr. Cohen agreed to work for Trump, but the old debts the former president owed his
law firm, totaling about $100,000, were not paid, according to testimonies made by Cohen.
Trump threatened to fire him when he asked about the money, and he never paid the money
but instead rhetorically asked Cohen if he would like to get fired on his first day at work.

The Testimony

New York prosecutors are seeking to link Trump to an illegal hush money scheme, and Cohen is
the celebrated star witness in this case who can help make that happen. 
What is Trump being charged for?
Trump is facing 34 felony counts of falsifying business records with “intent to defraud,”
including intent to “commit another crime or to aid or conceal” another crime. Prosecutors said
Trump falsified business records to disguise hush money-related payments in order to protect
his 2016 White House bid. Mr. Trump denied the allegations and continues to maintain his
stance that he never had sex with the pornography star.

In an explosive testimony, Cohen said he helped Trump suppress two stories brought by two
women, former Playboy model Karen McDougal and Stormy Daniels, all relating to having an
affair with Trump while the former president was married. 
To achieve this, Cohen said he worked with the National Enquirer, which prosecutors said
bought rights to the story to prevent it from being published elsewhere. 
Cohen told jurors that Trump never cared about the Stormy Danuels story getting to his wife,
Melania, and her reaction but that it “was all about the campaign.”.
Cohen said he felt on “top of the world” at the peak of his fixing role, especially when Trump
praised him for his outstanding performance. 

The estranged former Trump personal attorney said he helped set up a National Diversity
Coalition for Trump in 2015 when he noticed that the crowds at Trump’s events were “very
white.”
Cohen noted he remembered a private call with Mr. Trump in relation to Daniels’ case as it
became clear the case might affect his presidential campaign. During the call, Mr. Trump angrily
said, “I thought you had this under control.” At the time, Mr. Trump polled “very, very poorly
with women,” Cohen said.

According to Cohen, when he finally paid Daniels for her story, he informed Trump
“immediately,” so the former president “knew the task he gave me was accomplished,” but also
“to take credit for myself, so he knew that I did this, because this was important.”
Trump is currently under a gag order that prohibits him from discussing jurors or witnesses and
has violated the order twice, according to a ruling by New York Supreme Court Justice Juan
Merchan. Trump is facing three other criminal cases as the run-up to the 2024 presidential
elections gathers momentum. 

Mr. Cohen admitted secretly recording Mr. Trump on his iPhone in relation to a secret payment
made to former National Enquirer publisher David Pecker, according to his testimony. The
recording was made on September 6, 2016 to assure Pecker that the $150,000 he paid to
former Playboy Karen McDougal would be refunded by Mr. Trump and to keep him loyal to
Trump, Cohen said. The payment was intended to purchase rights to her story that she had sex
with Trump while he was married to Melania, according to Cohen.
Trump was not aware he was being recorded at the time. . 

Prosecutors allege the Trump organization made reimbursements to Cohen in relation to the
Stormy Daniels payment and logged the payments as legal expenses in a bid to falsify records
with the intent to commit or conceal a second crime. 
In confirmation of Cohen’s testimony, Daniels told the jury that she had an affair with Trump in
2006 at Lake Tahoe during a celebrity golf tournament, noting that it happened in Trump’s
hotel room. 
Cohen, a former Trump personal attorney, said he initially paid the $130,000 non-disclosure
agreement to Daniels from his personal funds and was assured by Trump Organization CFO
Allen Weisselberg, who said, “Don’t worry, we’ll make sure you get paid back.” 
Cohen testified that he and Weisselberg informed Trump that Cohen should use his personal
account for the transaction, which would later be treated as legal fees for Cohen. He noted that
he did not inform his wife about the payment but had to source money through a home equity
credit instead of withdrawing directly from his personal account. 

Cohen said he agreed to “pay it,’” because Daniels’ story would have been “catastrophic to Mr.
Trump and the campaign” in an election year. 
Cohen informed the court that Trump was comfortable with his idea of using his personal funds
to settle the payment, saying, “Good, good.” He said that everything was done with Trump’s
express approval, noting that he could not do a $130,000 NDA for anybody. 
Cohen opened a bank account with First Republic Bank in order to transfer payments to Daniels
but fraudulently described the account as one that would deal with management consulting. in
order to conceal the real intent, which was to make payments to the adult-film actress. On October 27, 2016, Cohen made a wire payment to Daniels’ attorney, Keith Davidson, and
marked the payment as a “retainer,” despite the true intent, which was to “execute the NDA”
to silence her, according to his testimony. 

Is Cohen a credible witness?

Trump’s defence council is seeking to underscore Cohen’s testimony as false and lacking
legitimacy. 
On Thursday, April 16, 2024, Trump’s attorney, Todd Blanche, described Cohen’s testimony as a
“lie” during cross-examination. He said Cohen called Trump’s bodyguard about a prank caller,
which the defence intends to explore to cast doubt on Cohen’s testimony. 
But Cohen insisted his testimony was true, adding he discussed Daniels with Trump during a
phone call on November 24, 2024.
What makes Cohen’s testimony more doubtful is his criminal record, profane public criticism of
Mr. Trump, and lying to Congress, which landed him in federal prison. 

The defence counsel played a recording of Cohen’s podcast, “Mea Culpa”, on Thursday
morning, where the star witness said he wants to see Trump “go down,”  something the
defence is trying to portray as vendetta.
Blanche queried Cohen’s post on X, formerly Twitter, where he referred to the former president
as “Dumbass Donald.”
Confirming he received embarrassing calls in October 2016 from a prank caller and discussing
that during a phone call with Trump’s bodyguard Keith Schiller, Mr. Blanche expressed doubt
about how Cohen could have possibly discussed the prank caller and the six-figure payment to
Daniel during the short call. The call lasted a minute and 36 seconds.

But Cohen countered, insisting part of the call was about the 14-year-old behind the prank calls
and the hush money deal, adding he always ran “everything by the boss” and that was why the
call was short. 
“That. was a lie,” Blanche asserted strongly in response. 
Mr. Trump sat quietly during the testimony, even as several members of his Republican Party
and his son Eric Trump attended the proceedings as a show of support.