Michael Cohen Testifies Donald Trump “Approved” of Paying $130,000 As Part of Stormy Daniels Deal

On his first day of testimony, Michael Cohen made remarks that could potentially make or break the Hush Money trial in the upcoming days. The former attorney turned nemesis alleged that Donald Trump was informed of every step of the Stormy Daniels deal of paying her $130,000 to buy her silence ahead of the 2016 elections.

The former fixer spent nearly six hours on the stand on Monday, May 13, 2024, in the Manhattan courtroom and testified that he made the hush payment to the porn star which was authorized by the Republican front-runner, per The New York Times. Cohen is among Trump’s many aides who turned against him after he was indicted in multiple legal cases.

Trump is the first president in the history of the United States to face a criminal trial. The former president allegedly had a sexual encounter with Daniels, an adult film star, back in 2006 when his wife Melania Trump gave birth to their son Barron Trump . Before running for the presidency in 2016, he ordered his loyalist Cohen to silence her so the affair wouldn’t come into the media because it would be “catastrophic” for his reputation.

However, the “star witness” bared it all during his testimony and recalled what Trump said before announcing his 2016 campaign , “You know that when this comes out, meaning the announcement, just be prepared, there’s going to be a lot of women coming forward,” Cohen told the court.

He further revealed that as part of his job, he agreed to protect the presumptive GOP presidential nominee by burying the negative stories about him. Cohen also told the Judge that Trump wanted him to delay the agreement with Daniels and “just get past the election.” He recounted, “Because if I win, it won’t have relevance, I’m going to be the president. And if I lose, I won’t really care.”

Prosecutors said that Cohen received 11 checks from Trump which were classified as legal fees. But apparently, they were “hush” payments in disguise to cover up the deal with Daniels. Also, the ex-lawyer testified that the ex-commander-in-chief approved the plan to reimburse him.

Daniels, originally Stephanie Gregory Clifford, testified last week in the Hush Money trial and revealed explicit details of her “intimate moment” with Trump inside a hotel room in 2006. She told the court everything, from her first meeting with the GOP front-runner to how he approached her through his bodyguard to have shared the bed with him.

Expectedly, the 77-year-old politician lambasted the Judge and criticized the trial by calling it a “scam.” After the court proceedings concluded for the day, he went on a nearly six-minute rant to condemn the testimonies. He pronounced that the case is a “terrible thing” to have happened to American democracy, per Daily Mail.

“What’s going on in that courtroom is a threat to democracy and we cannot have a country where we get to prosecute your political opponents, instead of persuading voters. The whole world is laughing now at the New York weaponized legal system. It’s really a sad day for the country. It’s sad for New York… We have a corrupt judge.” Trump blasted.