Cohen to Take the Stand in Trump Trial 05/13 06:20

   The star prosecution witness in Donald Trump's hush money trial is set to 
take the stand Monday with testimony that could help shape the outcome of the 
first criminal case against an American president.

   NEW YORK (AP) -- The star prosecution witness in Donald Trump's hush money 
trial is set to take the stand Monday with testimony that could help shape the 
outcome of the first criminal case against an American president.

   Michael Cohen, Trump's former lawyer and personal fixer, is by far the 
Manhattan district attorney's most important witness in the case and his 
expected appearance signals that the trial is entering its final stretch. 
Prosecutors say they may wrap up their presentation of evidence by the end of 
the week.

   Cohen is expected to testify about his role in arranging hush money payments 
on Trump's behalf during his first presidential campaign, including to porn 
actor Stormy Daniels, who told jurors last week that the $130,000 that she 
received in 2016 was meant to prevent her from going public about a sexual 
encounter she says she had with Trump in a hotel suite a decade earlier.

   He also matters because the reimbursements he received form the basis of the 
charges -- 34 felony counts of falsifying business records -- against Trump. 
Prosecutors say the reimbursements were logged as legal expenses to conceal the 
payments' true purpose.

   Defense lawyers have teed up a bruising cross-examination of Cohen, telling 
jurors during opening statements that the fixer-turned-foe is an "admitted 
liar" with an "obsession to get President Trump."

   The testimony of a witness with such intimate knowledge of Trump's 
activities could heighten the legal exposure of the presumptive Republican 
presidential nominee if jurors deem him sufficiently credible. But politically, 
prosecutors' reliance on a witness with such a checkered past -- Cohen pleaded 
guilty to federal charges related to the payments and to lying to Congress -- 
could be a boon for Trump as he fundraises off his legal woes and paints the 
case as the product of a tainted criminal justice system.

   Either way, his role as star prosecution witness further cements the 
disintegration of a mutually beneficial relationship that was once so close 
that Cohen famously said he'd "take a bullet for Trump." After Cohen's home and 
office were raided by the FBI in 2018, Trump showered him with affection on 
social media, praising him as a "fine person with a wonderful family" and 
predicting -- incorrectly -- that Cohen would not "flip."

   Months later, Cohen did exactly that, pleading guilty that August to federal 
campaign-finance charges in which he implicated Trump. By that point, the 
relationship was irrevocably broken, with Trump posting on the social media 
platform then known as Twitter: "If anyone is looking for a good lawyer, I 
would strongly suggest that you don't retain the services of Michael Cohen!"

   Cohen later admitted lying to Congress about a Moscow real estate project 
that he had pursued on Trump's behalf during the heat of the 2016 Republican 
campaign. He said he lied to be consistent with Trump's "political messaging."

   Prosecutors are expected to elicit detailed testimony from Cohen about his 
past crimes in hopes of blunting the impact of defense lawyers' questioning and 
showing that they're not trying to hide his misdeeds. But it's unclear how 
effective that will be, given that defense lawyers will be prepared to exploit 
all the challenges that accompany a witness like Cohen.

   In addition to painting Cohen as untrustworthy, they're also expected to 
cast him as vindictive, vengeful and agenda-driven. Since their fallout, Cohen 
has emerged as a relentless and sometimes crude critic of Trump, appearing as 
recently as last week in a live Tik Tok wearing a shirt featuring a figure 
resembling Trump with his hands cuffed, behind bars. The judge on Friday urged 
prosecutors to tell him to refrain from making any more statements about the 
case or Trump.

   "He has talked extensively about his desire to see President Trump go to 
prison," Trump attorney Todd Blanche said during opening statements. "He has 
talked extensively about his desire to see President Trump's family go to 
prison. He has talked extensively about President Trump getting convicted in 
this case."

   No matter how his testimony unfolds, Cohen is indisputably central to the 
case, as evidenced by the fact that his name was mentioned in the jury's 
presence during opening statements more than 130 times -- more than any other 
person.

   Other witnesses, including former National Enquirer publisher David Pecker 
and former Trump adviser Hope Hicks, have testified at length about the role 
Cohen played in arranging to stifle stories that were feared to be harmful to 
Trump's 2016 candidacy. And jurors heard an audio recording of Trump and Cohen 
discussing a plan to purchase the rights to a story of a Playboy model, Karen 
McDougal, who has said she had an affair with Trump.

   During a massive rally on Saturday in the southern New Jersey resort town of 
Wildwood, Trump revived his criticism of the case, wrongly blaming President 
Joe Biden for orchestrating the New York charges, calling the case a "Biden 
show trial."

   That argument ignores the reality that the hush money case was filed by 
local prosecutors in Manhattan who do not work for the Justice Department or 
any other White House office. The Justice Department has said the White House 
has had no involvement in the two criminal cases against Trump brought by 
special counsel Jack Smith.