Michael Cohen, Donald Trump's former lawyer and “ex-handyman”, told jurors on Monday (13) that he secretly arranged with the businessman and the editor-in-chief of a tabloid newspaper a scheme to silence negative stories that could harm his presidential campaign in 2016.
Once one of Trump's most loyal aides, Cohen is now the prosecution's star witness in the trial over the former president's alleged illegally stealing purchase of an adult film star's silence.
The trial is entering its fifth week, being held in a New York state criminal court in Manhattan.
The focus of the case is Cohen's payment of $130,000 to Stormy Daniels before the 2016 election, with the aim of preventing her from speaking in public about sexual relations in 2006 that she claims she had with Trump.
Cohen reported that he, Trump and National Enquirer editor-in-chief David Pecker agreed to use the tabloid to boost Trump's presidential bid by blocking negative stories that could hurt his chances.
In June 2016, a month before the Republican National Convention, Cohen said he discovered from the Enquirer that former Playboy model Karen McDougal was trying to sell a story about a yearlong affair she claimed to have had with Trump.
“Make sure this doesn’t get published,” Trump was quoted as saying, according to Cohen.
Jurors heard a recording Cohen said he made of a call in which the former president asked: “So what do we have to pay for this? 150?”
According to the aide, Trump was referring to the Enquirer's refund of a $150,000 payment to Pecker to acquire exclusive rights to McDougal's story.
In the recording, the Republican can also be heard directing Cohen to pay in cash, which, according to the aide.
In a pretrial deposition, Pecker stressed that he bought McDougal's story to ensure it would never be published.
Prosecutors highlighted that the payment to Stormy Daniels was part of the same “catch and kill” operation between Trump, Cohen and Pecker to pay people with potentially negative stories about the businessman, violating campaign finance laws. .
Donald Trump is accused of having hidden the payment to Daniels, reimbursing Cohen with a false legal fee, irregularly recorded in the files of his real estate company.
According to prosecutors, the doctored business records covered up violations of electoral and tax laws. As a result, the 34 complaints against Trump would be upgraded from misdemeanors to felonies, punishable by up to four years in prison.
The Republican has pleaded not guilty to all 34 charges and denies having sexual relations with Daniels. He argues that the case is an attempt to interfere in his campaign for political reasons.
For almost a decade, Cohen, 57, worked as an executive and lawyer for Donald Trump's company and even said he would take a bullet for him.
The former Republican president will compete for the White House with Joe Biden in an election scheduled for November 5th.
Cohen is a frequent target of Trump
Cohen, who was the former president's personal lawyer after the start of his presidential term in 2017, broke with the Republican during an investigation by federal prosecutors into Trump's 2016 presidential campaign.
In 2018, Cohen pleaded not guilty to violating federal campaign finance laws by paying Daniels and testified that Trump directed him to do so. Federal prosecutors have not charged Trump with any crimes.
Cohen has become one of Trump's biggest critics. On Friday, Judge Juan Merchan asked prosecutors to speak to Cohen so she can stop making public statements about the case.
Cohen admitted to lying under oath several times, providing substantial material for the defense to try to undermine his credibility.
Source: CNN Brasil
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