Donald Trump ‘ordered porn star payoff to save presidential campaign’, former lawyer Michael Cohen testifies
14 May 2024, 00:00
Donald Trump’s longtime lawyer has testified in court that the former president ordered an alleged hush money payment to a porn star to 'save his 2016 presidential campaign'.
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“Catastrophic - that this is horrible for the campaign,” was Trump’s reaction, according to Michael Cohen.
“Women are going to hate me. Guys may think it’s cool. But this will be a disaster for the campaign,” Trump apparently said, according to Cohen.
Cohen also testified in court on Tuesday that the former president was concerned about 'a lot of women' coming forward ahead of his election campaign.
The comments came as Cohen took to the stand to give evidence as part of Trump's ongoing 'hush money' trial in New York over allegations he was the 'fixer' who paid of adult entertainment star, Stormy Daniels.
Cohen is widely considered the most important witness in the trial, having paid $130,000 to Daniels ahead of the 2016 presidential election.
He was also involved in a $150,000 payment to Karen McDougal, a former Playboy model, and $30,000 which was paid to Dino Sajudin, a doorman working at Trump Tower.
Trump faces 34 charges relating to falsifying business records, all of which he denies.
Giving evidence in the Manhattan Courthouse, the lawyer revealed Trump told him to be prepared for "a lot of women" to come forward as he announced his bid to run for president.
He says his boss was "delighted" after the payment had been made, with Cohen alleging the money was paid at the request of the former president.
Cohen says Daniels was simply referred to by Trump as a "beautiful woman", with the former president allegedly saying: “One of the things that we need to do is we need to... take care of it.”
Trump's longtime lawyer spoke of how the former president had met Daniels at a golf course, adding: “She liked Mr Trump”.
The court also heard how Cohen organised cash "at the direction" of Trump.
Cohen testified that Trump ordered him to visit Trump Organization CFO Allen Weisselberg in order to handle the reimbursement to David Pecker, who had paid McDougal the six-figure sum for her silence.
Cohen also claims Weisselberg told him to avoid using company money as it would draw attention and potentially implicate individuals.
The court also heard how Weisselberg allegedly told Cohen to ensure Trump’s name was not affiliated with any of the payments.
Trump continued his tradition of appearing outside the courthouse to deliver a monologue on ongoing court proceedings, despite being warned multiple times by the judge that comments deemed in contempt of court could result in jail time.
The former president could be seen waving a handful of white papers as he spoke to waiting media on Monday morning.
Trump appeared visibly bored in court as the ex-lawyer took the stand, having already violated his gag order against attacking witness by labelling Cohen a "convicted liar".
Mr Trump was fined 1,000 dollars (nearly £800) as he was sternly warned not to harass witnesses and jurors.
The fine was the second for Mr Trump for inflammatory comments about witnesses since the start of the trial last month. He was fined 9,000 dollars (£7,172) last week for nine violations.
