Michael Cohen directly connected Donald Trump to the hush-money payment to adult-film actress Stormy Daniels to keep their alleged sexual encounter out of the news ahead of the 2016 election.
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Taking the witness stand in the Manhattan criminal trial Monday, Trump's former lawyer and fixer recalled an October 2016 conversation in which the former president said that public disclosure of Daniels' story would spell "disaster" for his White House bid. Trump expressed frustration that Daniels was trying to shop her story to the media and told Cohen to pay her $130,000 to buy her silence.
"This is a disaster, a total disaster," Cohen said Trump told him. "Women will hate me. Guys may think it's cool, but this is going to be a disaster for the campaign."
Cohen, the star witness in the hush-money case, detailed how Trump signed off on a plan to cover up the $130,000 Daniels payment under the guise of legal fees. Cohen's testimony offered an insider's perspective into Trump's state of mind when he entered into the agreement.
The testimony is a crucial moment for the district attorney's office, which must convince the jury that Trump falsified dozens of business records in order to conceal the true nature of checks he made out to Cohen throughout 2017. It's one of four criminal cases Trump is facing. as he campaigns to return to the White House.