Donald Trump’s attorneys began cross-examining prosecutors’ star witness in his hush money trial, portraying former attorney Michael Cohen as a media-obsessed liar determined to see the former president behind bars, Michael R. Sisak and Eric Tucker reported for the Associated Press (AP).

Cohen faced intense questioning by defense attorney Todd Blanche after providing pivotal testimony tying the presumptive Republican presidential nominee directly to the hush money scheme at the heart of the case. I Illustration: DonkeyHotey Flickr
Cohen faced intense questioning by defense attorney Todd Blanche after providing pivotal testimony tying the presumptive Republican presidential nominee directly to the hush money scheme at the heart of the case.
Prosecutors addressed Cohen’s history of falsehoods head-on to preempt attacks on the now-disbarred lawyer’s credibility.
They also sought to paint Cohen as a devoted Trump loyalist who committed crimes on the former president’s behalf, Michelle Price and Alanna Durkin Richer reported for AP.
Under questioning from prosecutor Susan Hoffinger, Cohen admitted that he lied to Congress during an investigation into potential ties between Russia and the 2016 Trump campaign.
Cohen described how his life and relationship with Trump were upended after the FBI raided his office, apartment, and hotel room in 2018, leading to his guilty plea to federal charges and implicating Trump in the hush money scheme.
Trump was never charged with any crime related to that federal investigation.
Cohen explained that his family convinced him to turn on Trump, saying, “My family, my wife, my daughter, my son, all said to me: ‘Why are you holding onto this loyalty? What are you doing? We’re supposed to be your first loyalty,’” as reported by Jill Colvin, Colleen Long, and Lisa Mascaro for AP.
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