US: Donald Trump authorised 'hush money' payment, testifies his former lawyer

Michael Cohen the former lawyer of Donald Trumps hushmoney case testified against the former US President on Monday local time in the New York City courtroom and admitted that he lied and bullied on behalf of his former boss Al Jazeera reported It was what was needed in order to accomplish the task said Cohen a key prosecution witness in the case on Monday one of the most widely anticipated days in court since the start of the trialProsecutors have accused Trump of falsifying business records related to hushmoney payments made before the 2016 election which he won The prosecutions case hinges on a USD 130000 payment Cohen made to adult film star Stormy Daniels before the vote in an effort to keep her from speaking publicly about a 2006 sexual encounter she says she had with Trump Al Jazeera reportedHowever the former president has denied any such encounter taking place He also has rejected the charges against him as politically motivated Trump continues to campaign seeking his return to the White House Cohen 57 testified that it was fair to describe his role as being a fixer for Trump testifying that he took care of whatever he wanted Rather than work as a traditional corporate lawyer Cohen reported directly to Trump and was never part of the general counsels office for the Trump OrganizationCohen also told jurors that Trump was furious that Daniels the adult film star was shopping a story about the sexual encounter she says she had with the expresident He Trump said to me This is a disaster a total disaster Women are going to hate me Cohen testified Guys they think its cool but this is going to be a disaster for the campaignThis came during a critical moment for Trumps 2016 presidential campaign An audio recording was leaked from the TV show Access Hollywood in which Trump bragged about grabbing womens genitals according to Al Jazeera The tape left the Trump campaign scrambling to contain the damage only weeks before Election Day in November 2016Cohen also provided detailed testimony about the hushmoney payment that he made to Daniels which is at the heart of the prosecutions case Cohen said Trump urged him to delay sending payment to Danielss lawyer until after the election telling him that the story would no longer matter In October 2016 with Danielss story about to come out Cohen said Trump told him to finally pay upHe expressed to me Just do it Cohen testified saying Trump advised him to meet Trump Organization executive Allen Weisselberg and figure it out But since Weisselberg baulked at paying so Cohen decided to come up with the money himself Al Jazeera reported I ultimately said OK Ill pay it Cohen testified adding that Trump promised him Youll get the money backCohen testified that at a meeting in 2015 with Trump and David Pecker thenpublisher of the National Enquirer the trio discussed using the supermarket tabloid to boost Trumps candidacy while attacking his rivals According to the testimony Trump told Pecker to let Cohen know if he became aware of negative press that might arise and the three men agreed that Pecker would try to suppress any such storiesNotably Trumps defence team is expected to challenge Cohens credibility during crossexamination later this week and paint him as a liar who cannot be trusted according to Al Jazeera Cohen pleaded guilty in 2018 to federal charges related to the hushmoney payments as well as for lying to Congress He was sentenced to three years in prisonThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever