Trump 'Should Be Worried' About Hush-Money Trial: Michael Cohen

Former President Donald Trump "should be worried" about his impending hush-money criminal trial in New York, according to his former attorney Michael Cohen.

Cohen, who served as Trump's personal lawyer and "fixer" for more than a decade, said during an MSNBC interview with former White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki on Monday night that the ex-president should expect his testimony and evidence presented by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg to paint a damning "picture" when it begins in three weeks.

"He should be worried about me," Cohen said. "This is a case based upon documentary evidence and corroborating testimony. You know, these documents don't lie and they paint a very specific picture, one that [is not] to the benefit of Donald Trump."

The Context

Trump is facing dozens of felony charges in New York, accused of falsifying business records and concealing hush-money payments to adult-film actress Stephanie Clifford, also known as Stormy Daniels, during his 2016 presidential campaign. Cohen has admitted to paying Clifford $130,000 to keep quiet about an alleged affair with Trump.

New York State Supreme Court Justice Juan Merchan rejected an attempt by Trump's legal team to delay the trial or dismiss it on Monday, scheduling the first day of the proceedings for April 15. The former president vowed to appeal the decision. He has pleaded not guilty to all charges.

Cohen has become one of Trump's fiercest critics in the years following his own criminal indictment. He was sentenced to almost three years of prison and home confinement combined in 2018 after pleading guilty to federal tax crimes, lying to Congress and violations of campaign finance laws related to the hush-money payment.

What We Know

Cohen refused to reveal specific details of his planned testimony during his interview on Monday night, saying that he was "pretty sure the Manhattan district attorney prosecutors would prefer" that he does not discuss what he plans to say in court ahead of the trial.

However, Cohen teased that his and others' testimony would present a challenge for his former boss that could potentially result in a criminal conviction before this year's presidential election, when Trump will likely be facing a rematch with President Joe Biden.

"[Trump] should be worried about me," Cohen said. "He should be worried about the Manhattan district attorney, the district attorney of New York prosecutors. He should be worried about the documentary evidence, he should be worried about all of the witnesses that are going to be coming into that trial."

"This is a very simple case," he added.

Cohen also argued that Trump's continuing legal attempts to further delay the trial "or have it knocked off the calendar altogether" were "just wishful thinking."

Views

Trump's team is expected to fiercely attack the credibility of Cohen during the coming trial. In a statement emailed to Newsweek on Monday night, Trump campaign Communications Director Steven Cheung accused Cohen of being "a compulsive liar."

"Michael Cohen is a convicted, repeated perjurer and compulsive liar. Nothing he says can be taken as anything other than fiction," Cheung said. "Just recently, a federal judge refused to reduce his supervised release sentence because he continues to lie and cheat the system, including lying on the stand in the NYAG case and his A.I.-generated legal brief. No ethical prosecutor or judge can use Cohen's testimony in any case."

During the court hearing earlier on Monday, Merchan harshly responded to current Trump lawyer Todd Blanche for accusing Bragg's office of "prosecutorial misconduct," arguing that he did not "have a case" to make the claim.

What's Next?

Although Trump suggested on Monday that he was unsure whether there would even be a trial despite Merchan's ruling, the former president revealed that he is planning to testify if the trial moves forward as scheduled.

The trial had originally been scheduled to begin on Monday. Legal analysts including former U.S. Attorney Joyce Vance suggested on social media that Trump was unlikely to succeed in an attempted last-minute appeal of the revised trial date.

If not blocked on appeal, the trial will be the first of four criminal proceedings scheduled against the former president. Trump has repeatedly protested his innocence in all cases, claiming to be the victim of a "witch hunt" and "election interference" as he seeks to return to the White House.