Former Trump attorney Michael Cohen was called to the stand on Monday.
Former Trump attorney Michael Cohen took the witness stand on Monday in former President Donald Trump as prosecutors hope to use him to make their case in the “hush-money” trial.
When he was called to the stand, Mr. Cohen gave his personal and professional background information. Court papers say that he is testifying pursuant to a subpoena in the case.
Before arriving at the courthouse, Mr. Cohen was seen leaving his New York City home. He did not take shouted questions from reporters.
While testifying, Mr. Cohen said that he would speak to President Trump only in person or via phone calls. “Mr. Trump never had an email address,” he said.
He also said “it’s fair” to describe him as having been President Trump’s personal “fixer” when he was asked about the term that’s often used in the media to reference him. However, a former aide, Hope Hicks, had testified earlier in May that Mr. Cohen “used to like to call himself Mr. Fix It, but it was only because he first broke it.”
The former president cannot publicly respond to Mr. Cohen’s remarks in the trial due to a gag order that was imposed on him in March by Judge Juan Merchan. His attorneys have attempted to fight the gag order but to no avail, with the judge late last week denying an attempt to allow President Trump to respond to another witness in the trial, Stormy Daniels.
Last week, Judge Merchan told prosecutors that they need to inform Mr. Cohen to not make any more public comments about the trial. It came after a Trump attorney asked the judge to tell Mr. Cohen from making public comments on the case, coming after he was seen in a TikTok video wearing a shirt that featured a cartoon depicting President Trump in jail.
“I will direct the People to communicate to Mr. Cohen that the judge is asking him to refrain from making any more statements about this case. That comes from the bench and you are communicating that on behalf of the bench,” the judge said, according to court reporters.
Mr. Cohen is widely seen as the Manhattan district attorney’s most important witness in the case, and his expected appearance signals that the trial is entering its final stretch. Prosecutors have said they may wrap up their presentation of evidence by the end of the week.
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