After a full day on the witness stand on Monday, former attorney for Donald Trump, Michael Cohen, retook the stand on Tuesday to face further direct examination from the prosecution, followed by a sharp cross-examination by the Trump defense team in the case wherein Trump is charged with falsifying business records.
Prosecutor Susan Hoffinger resumed her questioning of Cohen when trial got underway on Tuesday. Cohen testified regarding his meeting with Trump in the Oval Office in February 2017.
“I was sitting with President Trump and he asked me if I was OK. He asked me if I needed money. And I said, ‘no all good.’ He said because I can get a check. I said, ‘no, I’m OK.’ He said, ‘Alright, just make sure you deal with Allen.'”
Cohen testified to numerous times he lied.
He continued to lie for Trump: Cohen said he continued to lie for Trump “out of loyalty and in order to protect him.” He confirmed he continued to pressure people like attorney Keith Davidson to lie about the deals with Karen McDougal and Stormy Daniels in 2018, and he said it was done to protect Trump.
He made false statements to Congress: Cohen said he felt “a tremendous amount of pressure” when he was subpoenaed to testify to the House and Senate Intelligence Committees during the Russia investigations in 2017. Cohen’s attorney was being paid by the Trump Organization
While on the stand, Cohen said he made false statements to Congress. When asked why, Cohen said:
“Because I was staying on Mr. Trump’s message that there was no Russia, Russia, Russia, and again in coordination with the joint defense team that’s what was preferred.”
