Trump Saw Stormy Daniels’ Story as a ‘Total Disaster,’ Testifies Michael Cohen

Donald Trump’s ex-attorney, Michael Cohen, informed the jury that the Republican presidential candidate was extremely upset when he found out that adult film actress Stormy Daniels was trying to sell a story in 2016 about an alleged sexual encounter with him. Cohen stated during Mr Trump’s trial in a New York state criminal court in Manhattan that Trump believed it would be disastrous for his campaign.

“He told me, ‘This is a complete disaster. Women are going to hate me,'” Cohen testified. “‘Guys might think it’s cool, but this will be a disaster for the campaign.'”

Cohen, the key witness for the prosecution, revealed that he discovered Daniels was shopping her story at a crucial moment for Trump’s White House bid, following the release of an audio recording from the TV show’ Access Hollywood’ where Trump used sexually aggressive language.

The tape caused the Trump campaign to scramble to minimize the damage just weeks before the 2016 Election Day.

Cohen’s $130,000 (€120,000) payment to Daniels to secure her silence about the alleged 2006 encounter is central to the case.

A payment to Stormy Daniels before the 2016 US presidential election is at the centre of the case (file image)

For almost a decade, Cohen, 57, served as an executive and lawyer for Trump’s company and once stated he would take a bullet for Trump, a Republican seeking to reclaim the White House from Democratic President Joe Biden in this year’s 5 November US election.

Prosecutors claim that Trump reimbursed Cohen after the election and concealed the payment by falsely recording it as a legal retainer fee in Trump’s real estate company’s records.

Trump is facing 34 counts of falsifying business records related to the reimbursement.

Prosecutors argue that the altered records concealed violations of election and tax laws – as the money was essentially an unreported contribution to Trump’s campaign – which would elevate the charges from misdemeanours to felonies carrying a maximum sentence of four years in prison.

Trump, who is running against Democratic President Joe Biden in November, has pleaded not guilty and denies any sexual encounter with Daniels, who testified last week.

Donald Trump’s ex-attorney, Michael Cohen, informed the jury that the Republican presidential candidate was extremely upset when he found out that adult film actress Stormy Daniels was trying to sell a story in 2016 about an alleged sexual encounter with him. Cohen stated during Mr Trump’s trial in a New York state criminal court in Manhattan that Trump believed it would be disastrous for his campaign.

“He told me, ‘This is a complete disaster. Women are going to hate me,'” Cohen testified. “‘Guys might think it’s cool, but this will be a disaster for the campaign.'”

Cohen, the key witness for the prosecution, revealed that he discovered Daniels was shopping her story at a crucial moment for Trump’s White House bid, following the release of an audio recording from the TV show’ Access Hollywood’ where Trump used sexually aggressive language.

The tape caused the Trump campaign to scramble to minimize the damage just weeks before the 2016 Election Day.

Cohen’s $130,000 (€120,000) payment to Daniels to secure her silence about the alleged 2006 encounter is central to the case.

For almost a decade, Cohen, 57, served as an executive and lawyer for Trump’s company and once stated he would take a bullet for Trump, a Republican seeking to reclaim the White House from Democratic President Joe Biden in this year’s 5 November US election.

Prosecutors claim that Trump reimbursed Cohen after the election and concealed the payment by falsely recording it as a legal retainer fee in Trump’s real estate company’s records.

Trump is facing 34 counts of falsifying business records related to the reimbursement.

Prosecutors argue that the altered records concealed violations of election and tax laws – as the money was essentially an unreported contribution to Trump’s campaign – which would elevate the charges from misdemeanours to felonies carrying a maximum sentence of four years in prison.

Trump, who is running against Democratic President Joe Biden in November, has pleaded not guilty and denies any sexual encounter with Daniels, who testified last week.

No charges were filed against Mr. Trump by federal prosecutors.

During the trial, Mr Trump’s defence lawyers emphasized that Cohen acted independently in making payments to Ms Daniels, aiming to distance Mr Trump from the central issue of the case.

Cohen has admitted to perjury on multiple occasions, which has provided ample material for the defence to undermine his credibility.

He has confessed to lying to the US Congress in 2017 regarding a real estate project in Moscow associated with the Trump Organization. However, he now claims that he did so to protect Mr. Trump.

The trial judge issued a gag order to stop Trump from making statements about witnesses and jurors.

In 2018, he pleaded guilty to violating tax laws but denies committing that crime.

Cohen has been subjected to harsh social media attacks from Mr Trump, some of which the judge has deemed as violations of a gag order that restricts Mr Trump from making statements about witnesses, jurors, and the families of the judge and prosecutors if it is intended to interfere with the case.

Mr. Trump has argued that the gag order infringes upon his right to free speech and believes it is unfair to prevent him from responding to attacks by witnesses.

Judge Merchan has imposed a $10,000 (€9,200) fine on Trump for repeated violations and warned the former president that he could face imprisonment if he continues his attacks.

While this case is considered less significant than the other three criminal prosecutions Mr Trump faces, it is the only one that will proceed to trial before the election.

The other cases accuse him of attempting to overturn his 2020 presidential defeat and mishandling classified documents after leaving office. He has pleaded not guilty to all three charges.