In the initial weeks of testimony at Donald Trump's trial concerning hush money, witnesses have provided extensive evidence against the former president. They have detailed his efforts during the 2016 election to silence women who alleged having had sexual encounters with him.
Interestingly, the testimony has also been damaging to Trump's former attorney, Michael Cohen, who is expected to be a key prosecution witness later this month. "The moral of the story," one witness testified, "is that no one wanted to talk to Cohen." This statement elicited laughter from jurors and prosecutors.
Cohen, who rose to prominence as a lawyer and a sort of attack dog for Trump, has become a national figure of mockery. He has been parodied on "Saturday Night Live," prosecuted by federal authorities, and criticized by both ends of the political spectrum for his aggressive legal and public relations tactics.
In this first criminal trial of a former U.S. president, the jury's perception of Cohen will be crucial. They must decide whether to believe his assertion that he acted under Trump's direction when arranging hush money payments to adult-film actress Stormy Daniels in 2016 and taking reimbursements the following year disguised as legal fees.
Trump faces 34 counts of falsifying business records to conceal these payments. Witnesses and trial evidence have portrayed Cohen as Trump's fixer but also as an abrasive, arrogant, and foul-mouthed individual. Even the judge has expressed frustration with Cohen, warning that if Cohen continues to publicly attack Trump, the judge may partially lift a gag order preventing Trump from retaliating against Cohen.
During the trial, Cohen has insulted Trump on social media and made provocative statements. Since pleading guilty in 2018 to federal crimes, including lying and tax evasion, Cohen has publicly denounced Trump in books, podcasts, social media posts, and interviews.
Cohen's transformation into a repentant figure has been noted by observers. Despite his past wrongdoing, Cohen claims he is committed to telling the truth and warns of dire consequences if Trump, the presumptive GOP nominee in the 2024 race, wins the presidency again.
Managing Cohen as a witness poses challenges for prosecutors. They have taken the approach of presenting Cohen's flaws to the jury themselves, rather than allowing Trump's team to do so. This strategy is meant to preserve the prosecutors' credibility with the jury.
While Cohen's misdeeds may make him unlikable to the jury, they may also reflect negatively on Trump, as Cohen is seen as Trump's associate. Despite efforts to discredit Cohen, some evidence presented about him during the trial has been positive, including a clip of Trump praising Cohen as a talented lawyer in a 2016 C-SPAN video.