4:36 PM ET, May 13, 2024
Highlights of Michael Cohen’s testimony on how to pay hush money
From CNN’s Eric Levenson
Michael Cohen will be questioned by prosecutor Susan Hoffinger on Monday. Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg is in the foreground.
Christine Cornell
Michael Cohen ended his day’s testimony by explaining how he, a former member of the Trump Organization, supported the Trump administration. CFO Allen Weisselberg and Donald Trump have agreed to reimburse Stormy Daniels for the $130,000 hush money they paid her.
After Mr. Trump won the election, Mr. Cohen pitched Mr. Trump an arrangement in which he would serve as Mr. Trump’s personal lawyer for free, but would receive compensation from companies hoping to gain insight into Mr. Trump.
In early January, Mr. Cohen went to see Mr. Weisselberg about a $130,000 refund, and Mr. Weisselberg agreed, Mr. Cohen testified. He showed Mr. Weisselberg wire transfer documents, and Mr. Weisselberg took handwritten notes calculating how much Mr. Trump owed Mr. Cohen based on their conversations.
Mr. Weisselberg suggested that Cohen take the money as income rather than as a tax-free redemption, Cohen testified. “I didn’t really think about it. I just wanted my money back,” he said.
They agreed that Trump would pay a total of $420,000, Cohen said. This includes $130,000 in repayments for payments made to Mr. Daniels, $50,000 in repayments for unrelated technical services, $180,000 in estimated taxes, and $60,000 in bonuses. The payments would be made over 12 months for “sort of legal services, because I was to be given the title of personal attorney to the president,” Cohen testified.
They presented the plan to President Trump, who approved it, Cohen said. Although the payments were designed to look like future legal services, they were actually reimbursement for the Daniels’ contract, he testified.
“What[Mr. Weisselberg]said to me was, ‘Send us your invoice every month and we’ll give you a check, just less the fees for the legal services provided pursuant to the contract.’ ” Cohen testified.
Mr. Cohen never actually worked out a retainer agreement for any future work he might do for Mr. Trump because “I knew there would be no compensation,” he testified.
