Michael Cohen set to take the stand in Trump's hush money trial
Cohen, who was Trump's lawyer and self-described "fixer," is expected to face days of questioning over a payment that's at the center of the charges against his former boss.
Michael Cohen — the most pivotal witness in the Manhattan district attorney’s hush money case against Donald Trump — took the stand Monday for what’s expected to be at least two days of testimony against his old boss in the first criminal trial of a former U.S. president.
In the witness box, Cohen was seated about 10 feet from Trump, whom he has repeatedly mocked on social media and in interviews, including since the start of the trial. Trump is not directly in Cohen's line of sight — he had to stand up and lean over to when asked to point Trump out to the jury. The former president had extra support in the courtroom — his son Eric Trump, Sens. J.D. Vance, R-Ohio, and Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala., and Rep. Nicole Malliotakis, R-N.Y., were all in attendance for the beginning of Cohen's testimony. Trump sat with his eyes closed soon after his former lawyer began his testifying.
Cohen is being questioned by veteran prosecutor Susan Hoffinger, who has been preparing Cohen for his testimony for about a year. He’ll be cross-examined by Trump’s lead attorney, Todd Blanche.
He began his testimony by recounting his legal career, and when he was hired by Trump in 2007. "It was all very exciting to me," Cohen said. He made $525,000 in his first year. Asked who he reported to, he said, "Just Mr. Trump." Cohen said they would speak “every single day, and multiple times a day.”
Cohen also said he encouraged Trump to run for president and was excited when he did so. But the man he called "boss" had a concern.
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