Donald Trump's lawyers sought to use Michael Cohen's words against him today, grilling him about insulting social media posts and television appearances to try to undermine his testimony that Mr Trump authorized a hush money payment to an adult film actress.
Under aggressive questioning from Trump attorney Todd Blanche, Mr Cohen acknowledged calling the former president a "dictator douchebag" on TikTok and said he had persisted in commenting on the case even after prosecutors expressed frustration about it.
Mr Cohen, Trump's former lawyer and now the prosecution's star witness, spent about nine hours on the witness stand yesterday and today answering prosecutors' questions.
In detail, he testified that Mr Trump ordered him to pay adult film actress Stormy Daniels in 2016 to stay quiet about an alleged 2006 sexual encounter, lest it torpedo his presidential campaign.
But Mr Cohen's checkered history - he served time in federal prison for various crimes, including the hush money payment, and has admittedly lied under oath - is a prime target for Mr Trump's lawyers, who have cast him as a liar with an ax to grind.
Cross-examination by Mr Trump's lawyers began after a break for lunch.
The defence showed jurors pictures of Trump-themed merchandise for sale on Mr Cohen's website, including shirts with an illustration of Mr Trump behind bars and mugs reading: "Send him to the big house, not the White House."
As Mr Blanche peppered Mr Cohen with questions, Mr Trump occasionally exchanged notes with his lawyers before assuming his customary posture, leaning back with his eyes closed.
At one point, his mouth appeared to hang slack for a moment.
Mr Cohen's $130,000 (€120,000) payment to Ms Daniels in October 2016 is at the heart of Mr Trump's historic trial, now in its fifth week.
Prosecutors say Mr Trump paid Mr Cohen back after the election by creating false records indicating they were for legal fees.
Those disguised reimbursements provide the basis for the 34 counts of falsifying business records that Mr Trump faces.
Mr Trump, 77, the 2024 Republican presidential candidate, has pleaded not guilty and denies any sexual encounter with Ms Daniels.
He has characterized the case as a partisan attempt to interfere with his campaign to take back the White House he lost in 2020 to Democratic President Joe Biden.
Earlier, Mr Cohen told jurors about an Oval Office meeting in which the then-US president confirmed a plan to reimburse Mr Cohen secretly for a hush money payment to an adult film actress.
Mr Cohen also acknowledged lying on multiple occasions - including under oath - but emphasized that he did so out of loyalty to Mr Trump, as prosecutors sought to pre-empt an expected defence attack on Mr Cohen's credibility.
In his first day as a witness yesterday, Mr Cohen laid out in painstaking detail how Mr Trump ordered him to pay the adult film actress Stormy Daniels to keep her story about an alleged 2006 sexual encounter under wraps.
"Just do it," Mr Cohen remembered Mr Trump saying.
Prosecutors say Mr Trump paid Cohen back after the election by creating false records indicating they were for legal fees. Those disguised reimbursements provide the basis for the 34 counts of falsifying business records that Trump faces.
In testimony today, Mr Cohen recounted an Oval Office meeting with Mr Trump in February 2017 when the newly inaugurated president told him he would soon be receiving the first two installments of a bonus package.
That package, Mr Cohen said, included reimbursements for the Ms Daniels payment.
Mr Trump spoke at times with his lawyer Emil Bove, seated to his left, as prosecutor Susan Hoffinger walked Mr Cohen through a series of invoices and checks - some signed by Mr Trump himself - that Mr Cohen said were falsely marked as paying to retain him for legal services.
"There was no retainer agreement, was there?" Ms Hoffinger asked.
"No, ma'am," Mr Cohen replied.
Mr Cohen, 57, said he lied multiple times to Congress during an investigation into Mr Trump's Russia ties, eventually pleading guilty to perjury.
He also told jurors he lied repeatedly about the payments to Ms Daniels and another woman, telling journalists that Mr Trump had no involvement and pressing Ms Daniels to issue a statement denying their encounter.
Asked how he knew Ms Daniels' statement was false, Mr Cohen replied, "Because I helped him craft it," referring to Ms Daniels' lawyer.
In 2018, during a federal investigation into the Daniels matter, FBI agents raided Mr Cohen's home. He said he called Mr Trump in a panic.
"He said to me, 'Don't worry, I'm the president of the United States, there's nothing here, everything is going to be OK, stay tough, you're going to be OK,'" Mr Cohen said. That was the last time they spoke directly, he added.
Mr Cohen pleaded guilty to federal crimes in 2018, including offenses related to the Ms Daniels' payment, and his checkered history is sure to draw a bruising cross-examination from Mr Trump's lawyers, who have already cast him as a liar.
A day after several Republican politicians attended the trial in support of Mr Trump, US House Speaker Mike Johnson joined him before today's session and was set to address reporters outside the courthouse later.
Former presidential candidates Vivek Ramaswamy and North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum, both vice-presidential hopefuls, also accompanied Mr Trump.
While Mr Cohen testified on Tuesday, a mid-level appeals court denied Mr Trump's latest effort to throw out a gag order that Mr Trump asserted violated his right to free speech and left him unable to respond to criticisms from people like Mr Cohen.
The order, imposed by Justice Juan Merchan, who is overseeing the trial, prohibits Mr Trump from making public comments about jurors, witnesses, and families of the judge and prosecutors if meant to interfere with the case.
After a brief conference between the judge and lawyers from both sides today, Mr Cohen walked to the witness stand in a dark suit and blue tie.
He and Mr Trump did not appear to acknowledge each other.
During his first day on the witness stand, Mr Cohen, 57, described multiple episodes in which he said Mr Trump approved payments to keep damaging sex-scandal stories out of the public eye, lest they torpedo his presidential campaign.
"Everything required Mr Trump's sign-off," Mr Cohen said.
In October 2016, he said, he learned that Ms Daniels was shopping her story to tabloids.
Access Hollywood recording
At the time, the Trump campaign was in crisis mode after the release of an audio recording from the TV show 'Access Hollywood' in which Mr Trump bragged about grabbing women's genitals.
"He said to me, 'This is a disaster, a total disaster. Women are going to hate me,' Mr Cohen told jurors Mr Trump had said.
"'Guys, they think it's cool, but this is going to be a disaster for the campaign.'"
Mr Cohen testified that Mr Trump was solely concerned about the impact Ms Daniels' story could have on his White House bid - and not, as Mr Trump's defence lawyers have suggested, about the effect on his wife and family. That distinction is crucial to the prosecution's case.
Under New York law, falsifying business records can be elevated from a misdemeanor to a felony if the crime helped conceal another offense.
In Mr Trump's case, prosecutors have argued that the payment was effectively a secret contribution to his campaign, violating federal and state laws.
Mr Cohen's own past dishonesty - he pleaded guilty to federal crimes in connection with the Daniels payment and has admitted lying under oath multiple times - is sure to prompt a bruising cross examination from Mr Trump's lawyers whenever he concludes his direct testimony.
Defence lawyers have already signaled their intention to attack his credibility, calling him a liar in their opening statement and warning jurors not to trust his word.
