Donald Trump Hush Money Case Live Updates: Third Day of Witness Testimony Begins
NewsweekMay 01
Michael Cohen Testifies in Trump Hush-Money Trial
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The Facts
Donald Trump's former lawyer Michael Cohen testified in the former US president's Manhattan hush-money trial Monday. He told the court that Trump ordered him to "get control" of the National Enquire newspaper's story on his alleged affair with porn star Stormy Daniels.
Jurors also heard a secret recording Cohen kept of Trump regarding another alleged affair with former Playboy model Karen McDougal. Cohen claimed he paid former National Enquirer publisher David Pecker $150K to purchase the McDougal story, adding that Trump never reimbursed him.
The Spin
Anti-Trump narrative
This case is about the lengths to which Donald Trump is willing to go to retain his power and silence women. Two brave women at the heart of this case, Daniels and former Trump employee Hope Hicks have provided the evidence necessary to prove Trump's records alteration was ultimately in furtherance of another crime — election influence. Trump may have gotten away with silencing women for years, but this trial won't allow him to hush-money his way out of justice.
Pro-Trump narrative
This trial isn't a case of brave women taking on a powerful man but rather the state of New York coordinating with maligning "witnesses" to target its political opponent. District Attorney Alvin Bragg, who campaigned on going after Trump, has been credibly accused of withholding phone records between Cohen and Daniels' manager. Tampering with evidence is a felony in New York, so it appears Bragg, not Trump, should be on trial.