Michael Cohen testifies Trump approved hush money payment

Donald Trump knew – and approved. That’s what Mr. Trump’s former lawyer and fixer Michael Cohen said in a Manhattan courtroom Monday.

Mr. Cohen testified in Mr. Trump’s New York hush money trial that his actions to suppress stories about alleged infidelities of the then-candidate before the 2016 election were done at Mr. Trump’s direction. The point was to help the Trump campaign, Mr. Cohen testified, not to prevent embarrassment for the Trump family.

In saying so, Mr. Cohen – who once called himself the former president’s “designated thug” – clicked the last brick into place in the structure of District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s argument. He has charged Mr. Trump with 34 felony counts of falsifying business records.

Over four weeks of testimony, prosecutors have carefully built a portrait of Mr. Trump as someone who hates bad publicity, is averse to putting orders in writing, and is detail-oriented to a fault. Their goal: make jurors believe Mr. Trump must have been involved in the “catch-and-kill” of porn star Stormy Daniels’ account of their alleged affair.

But they have not offered testimony that tied Mr. Trump directly to the scheme used to pay Ms. Daniels – until now. 

“What I was doing ... I was doing at the direction and benefit of Mr. Trump,” Mr. Cohen said on the witness stand Monday.

Did Cohen tell the truth?

Mr. Trump has denied any wrongdoing in the Stormy Daniels case. His lawyers have said that he had no connection to the actual hush money payments.

Sarah Yenesel/Reuters

Former President Donald Trump sits at the defendant's table before his criminal trial at New York State Supreme Court in New York, May 13, 2024. Mr. Trump faces 34 felony counts of falsifying business records related to payments made to adult film star Stormy Daniels during his 2016 presidential campaign.

Trump attorneys also say the former president was mostly worried about the reaction of his wife, Melania, to Ms. Daniels’ story, as well as other stories suppressed by National Enquirer publisher David Pecker and Mr. Cohen as part of an alleged “catch-and-kill” scheme.

Mr. Cohen could be a troublesome witness for the prosecution as well. He has a recent criminal past, with convictions on campaign finance abuses, tax evasion, and other charges. He can be loud and combative, as former White House communications director Hope Hicks and other former Trump officials have already testified. He has taunted Mr. Trump on social media. Last week he posted a TikTok video in which he wore a shirt depicting the former president behind bars.

Last week, prosecution lawyers admitted to Justice Juan Merchan that they have little control over Mr. Cohen’s behavior. 

But in some ways, his character might actually help the case against Mr. Trump. 

Mr. Cohen made the initial $130,000 hush money payment to Ms. Daniels in late October 2016. He was eventually repaid by a series of checks from the Trump Organization and Mr. Trump’s personal account.

Some Trump allies have suggested that Mr. Cohen paid the $130,000 out of the goodness of his heart, without Mr. Trump’s knowledge. Ms. Hicks, in her testimony, scoffed at that notion.

Doing so “would be out of character for Michael,” she said.

Where the hush money payment came from

During his Monday testimony, Mr. Cohen described the scramble within the Trump Organization to come up with the $130,000 in the first place.

The Trump fixer was worried that Ms. Daniels was becoming impatient and that she would go ahead and make her story public elsewhere. He discussed the problem with Trump Organization finance chief Alan Weisselberg. They thought perhaps they could give away a golf membership at a Trump club to raise money, or solicit early payment for an event at Mar-a-Lago.

Those ideas were vetoed, since they would inevitably associate the name “Trump” with the payment.

Mr. Cohen says he asked if Mr. Weisselberg would front the money. The finance chief, currently incarcerated for perjury, demurred, saying he was paying for his grandchildren’s schooling.

Mr. Cohen decided that he would have to pay the money, and obtained a home equity line of credit to finance it. He told Mr. Trump, who said “good ... good,” according to Mr. Cohen’s testimony. Mr. Trump assured him he would be paid back.

Was Trump worried about Melania?

Mr. Trump’s former fixer was also adamant that the point of the payoff was to hide the story from the media prior to the upcoming election – not to keep the peace in Mr. Trump’s household.

He testified that at one point he asked Mr. Trump, “How are things going to go upstairs?” This referred to the fact that the Trump penthouse in Trump Tower was higher than their office space.

Mr. Trump told Mr. Cohen not to worry about that. 

“He wasn’t thinking about Melania. This was all about the campaign,” Mr. Cohen testified. 

After the Trump victory, Mr. Cohen hoped to be offered a plum job in Washington. But it wasn’t forthcoming. 

“It was more about my ego than anything else,” he said to the jury Monday. 

He did get his money back, however. Prior to the inauguration, Mr. Cohen met with the president-elect and Mr. Weisselberg in Trump Tower, he said. They discussed how he would be reimbursed: over 12 months, with the $130,000 doubled to account for the taxes he would have to pay on it, since it would be income. A bonus and money to repay an online polling firm were also added to the total.

Mr. Weisselberg showed Mr. Trump his handwritten notes that outlined the scheme, according to Mr. Cohen. 

Mr. Trump approved it. He said it was going to be “one heck of a ride” in Washington, his former fixer testified in court.