Michael Cohen, former lawyer for former President Donald Trump, announced that he had to lie to complete the work assigned to him by Trump. He admitted that the former president asked him to do whatever it took to reach an agreement with porn star Stormy Daniels before the 2016 elections. Cohen's testimony is pivotal in the trial where Trump is accused of attempting to buy Daniels' silence and conceal information about their relationship out of concern for its impact on his election campaign at the time.
Cohen, who was one of Trump's most loyal aides and carried out secretive tasks on his behalf, is the main witness presented by the prosecution as the trial enters its fifth week in a Manhattan criminal court in New York. Cohen stated that he, Trump, and David Pecker, publisher of the "National Enquirer," agreed to use the tabloid to support Trump's presidential candidacy while preventing any negative news stories that could harm his chances. He recalled learning from the publication in June 2016, just a month before the Republican National Convention, that former Playboy model Karen McDougal discussed an affair she claimed lasted a year with Trump. Cohen recalled Trump saying, "Make sure that story is not published."
Deliberations in the case are likely to extend for more than a week before a verdict is reached. Trump views the case as an attempt by his opponents to tarnish his public image and distract him from engaging in the election campaign less than six months before the general election.
**Case Details**
Donald Trump's lawyer accused porn star Stormy Daniels of profiting from the story of her meeting with the former president in 2006, as part of an effort on her part to undermine her credibility as a witness in the first criminal trial of a current or former U.S. president. Daniels' unfavorable account for Trump regarding a meeting in a hotel suite on Lake Tahoe captured the jury's interest on Tuesday, bringing to American voters' minds more scandalous aspects of his presidency from 2017 to 2021, as he campaigns for a return to the White House this year.
Trump (77 years old) faces 34 charges related to falsifying business records to cover up the $130,000 payment made by his former lawyer Michael Cohen to Daniels (45 years old) before the 2016 elections in exchange for her silence about the alleged encounter.
