Former President Donald Trump’s associate and lawyer, Michael Cohen, confessed to stealing thousands of dollars from The Trump Organization during his testimony at the former president’s trial in New York City on May 20. Facing cross-examination by defense attorney Todd Blanche, Mr. Cohen admitted that he had taken money from the organization based on the expected reimbursement plan for adult film performer Stephanie Clifford, also known as Stormy Daniels, and tech firm Red Finch.
The repayment plan aimed to pay Ms. Clifford $130,000 and Red Finch $50,000. Mr. Cohen testified that he went to the bank and took out cash over several days, totaling about $20,000 before keeping it in a small brown paper bag and giving it to the tech firm. He stated that he never gave the full $50,000 amount. The Trump Organization repaid Mr. Cohen $50,000 and then doubled the payment in a practice known as “grossing up” to cover taxes he would incur by declaring the money as income rather than a tax-free reimbursement.
Despite Mr. Cohen’s guilty pleas in 2018 for federal charges including a campaign finance violation for the hush money payment and unrelated tax evasion and bank fraud crimes, he has never been charged with stealing from President Trump’s company. During his testimony, Mr. Blanche asked if Mr. Cohen had paid back The Trump Organization the money he stole from them. Mr. Cohen responded, “No, sir.
President Trump was seen by courtroom reporters looking directly at the witness stand as Mr. Cohen made the admission about stealing. Eric Trump, President Trump’s son, who was in the courtroom, posted on social media at about the same time: “This just got interesting: Michael Cohen is now admitting to stealing money from our company.
The 34 charges of falsifying business records stem from internal Trump Organization records in which payments to Mr. Cohen were marked as legal expenses, with prosecutors saying they were really reimbursements for Ms. Clifford’s payment. President Trump has pleaded not guilty, and his lawyers say there was nothing criminal about the Clifford deal or the way Mr. Cohen was paid.
Last week, Mr. Cohen told jurors that President Trump was allegedly involved in the scheme to pay Ms. Clifford to prevent her from going public in 2016 about an alleged 2006 affair between her and President Trump. The former president has denied her claims, describing her and Mr. Cohen in April as “sleaze bags” who are making false statements against him.
Trump lawyers said they may call in Bradley Smith, a former Clinton administration-appointed Federal Election Commission (FEC) member, to provide his opinion on election laws. Judge Juan Merchan echoed his pretrial ruling that, if called, Mr. Smith can give general background on the FEC—including its purpose, background, and the laws it enforces—and the definitions of such terms as “campaign contribution.
However, the judge rejected the defense’s renewed efforts to have Mr. Smith define three terms in federal election law, saying that it would only serve to confuse and not assist the jury. Also on May 20, Judge Merchan said he believes that the trial will end on May 28, the Tuesday after Memorial Day.
After the scheduling update, the discussion turned to prosecutors’ objections to a planned defense exhibit. This kind of legal wrangling isn’t uncommon before a day’s testimony. The jury was not yet in court. Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s office is expected to rest its case once Mr. Cohen is off the stand, but prosecutors will have an opportunity to call rebuttal witnesses if President Trump’s lawyers put on witnesses of their own. Earlier this month, Mr. Blanche told the court that Mr. Cohen is the last witness that prosecutors will call, and it’s not clear who the Trump team might bring in.