Michael Cohen blasts the previous President
Michael Cohen, former attorney for former US President Donald Trump arrives at the New York Courthouse on March 13, 2023 in New York City, USA.
Eduardo Munoz | Reuters
Donald Trump’s former personal attorney Michael Cohen testified for three hours Monday before a Manhattan grand jury investigating the former president and will return Wednesday to answer more questions from prosecutors about a hush money payment to a porn star he made arranged for Trump.
“Michael has had a long and productive afternoon,” Cohen’s attorney Lanny Davis told reporters outside Manhattan Criminal Court, NBC News reported.
Davis added that Cohen plans to return Wednesday afternoon to “complete his testimony.” The attorney declined to go into detail about what Cohen told prosecutors.
Before entering the courthouse early Monday, Cohen told reporters his “goal is to tell the truth” and not to engage in “revenge” against Trump.
“This is all about accountability. He must be held accountable for his dirty deeds,” Cohen said.
Cohen, who served as Trump’s attorney for years, paid porn star Stormy Daniels $130,000 just before the 2016 presidential election to conceal an alleged sexual tryst with Trump.
The Trump Organization later reimbursed him but classified the payout as legal costs. False characterization is now the focus of the criminal investigation into the former president.
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Cohen later pleaded guilty in Manhattan federal court to multiple felonies, including one related to the Daniels payoff. He has been an outspoken critic of Trump ever since.
Trump declined an offer to testify before the grand jury investigating him, his attorney said Monday.
Such an offer is common just before prosecutors file charges against those who have extended the chance to testify.
Trump has denied having sex with Daniels and condemned the probe into the payout. The investigation is being conducted by the Manhattan Attorney’s Office.
In a post on his social media page over the weekend, Trump said the late former Manhattan District Attorney Robert Morgenthau would “turn in his grave if told that his office was even considering indicting the 45th… leading Republican contender for the 2024 nomination.”
Trump called the case a “scam” spearheaded by Daniels, Cohen and Daniel’s ex-attorney Michael Avenatti, who is serving a federal sentence for cheating clients.
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