The Testimony of Michael Cohen
During the trial against the former Republican president for the Stormy Daniels case, Michael Cohen, Donald Trump’s former lawyer, has presented shocking testimony. Trump’s defense has attempted to stymie Cohen’s testimony, which is supported by emails, invoices and even an audio recording of Trump.
Cohen has claimed that Trump tried to extort Daniels because their affair would not affect the 2016 election campaign. According to Cohen, Trump said: “I want her to go into hiding until the (2016) election is over. If I win, it won’t be relevant because it’s already I’ll be president; if I lose, I won’t even care.”
Impact on the Trump Campaign
Cohen has stressed that Trump’s obsession with silencing the adult film performer “was for the campaign, not for Melània (his wife).” This testimony reveals a shocking aspect, since Melania and Trump met in 1998, when he was 52 years old and she was 28, and they married in 2005, just a year before the alleged meeting with Daniels, which would have occurred while she was pregnant.
Repercussions on the Campaign
Cohen, sentenced to three years in prison in 2018 for illicit financing of the 2016 Republican presidential campaign, has described the possible revelation of the relationship between Trump and Daniels as “catastrophic.” According to Cohen, Trump would have expressed concern that “women will hate me… Men may think it’s okay, but it will be a disaster for the campaign.”
To prevent his campaign from being affected, Trump would have agreed to a payment of $130,000 in 2016 to silence Daniels. Despite the urgency to keep the relationship secret, the transfer was constantly delayed, leading Daniels’ legal team to consider publishing the story in the Daily Mail.
Cohen has also revealed that, despite Trump’s reluctance to make the payment, he himself advanced the money and later received it through a front company under the false concept of legal services provided to the Trump Organization.
Cohen’s feelings towards Trump
Despite everything, Cohen has wistfully recalled the ten years he worked for Trump, describing the experience as “fantastic.” Although he acknowledges that there were difficult moments, for the most part he enjoyed the responsibility and liked working with his colleagues in the Trump Organization.
