5 months ago
17
Star witness Michael Cohen on Monday appeared at a New York criminal court to testify at former President Donald Trump's hush money trial.
Cohen worked as an executive and lawyer at Trump's New York-based real estate company and also served as the former president's personal lawyer after the start of Trump's term in 2017. He has since become an outspoken critic of Trump.
At the start of his testimony Cohen said it was "fair" to describe him as Trump's "fixer" throughout his tenure at the Trump Organization.
What is Trump accused of?
The lawyer says that he made a $130,000 (€120,340) payment to adult actress Stormy Daniels before the 2016 election to prevent her from speaking publicly about a sexual encounter she had with Trump in 2006.
Prosecutors have accused Trump of falsely labeling reimbursement payments to Cohen as legal expanses in his real estate company's books.
Trump has been hit with 34 counts of misdemeanors and felonies over allegedly altering business records, which could land him up to four years in prison if he is convicted.
The former president has pleaded not guilty to all the charges and denies having had a sexual encounter with Daniels.
Trump's legal troubles
Besides the criminal case in New York, Trump is facing a number of other legal battles that could complicate his bid to be elected president in November in a rematch with incumbent President Joe Biden.
Trump had been accused of illegally keeping classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago residence in Florida. However, the trial was indefinitely suspended earlier this month and is unlikely to resume before the presidential election.
Last month, Trump posted a $175 million bond to halt a New York court's seizure of his properties after it found that he had lied about his wealth in order to deceive banks and financial institutions.
18 Trump aides have been indicted in Arizona over alleged election fraud to keep Trump in office.
sdi/lo (AP, Reuters)
