Democracy Dies in Darkness
Former President Donald Trump arrives at Manhattan criminal court in New York, on Thursday, May 16, 2024. (Mike Segar/Pool Photo via AP) (Mike Segar/AP)

Michael Cohen pressed on past lies during cross-examination at Trump’s hush money trial

1 min

Donald Trump’s former fixer Michael Cohen testified Thursday that he lied before Congress and in other official proceedings, as cross-examination continued for a second day in the former president’s hush money and records falsification trial. Cohen’s testimony is key to the prosecution’s case, tying Trump to reimbursements for the hush money payment to adult-film actress Stormy Daniels, and prosecutors have said Cohen will be their last witness. Trump’s defense team is grilling him aggressively, trying to undermine both his prior testimony and his credibility.

Key updates
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Cohen began testifying Monday, and he is likely to spend most or all of Thursday on the witness stand. His testimony could extend into next week because the trial is off on Friday. (Wednesday was also a day off.)
Trump attorney Todd Blanche questioned Cohen for more than two hours on Tuesday. But that felt like a warm-up for Thursday’s confrontation, in which the defense is trying to show that Cohen’s long history of lying means a criminal conviction cannot be based on his word.
The trial is not being televised. The Washington Post has reporters in the courtroom and media overflow room who are posting live updates.
Trump faces 34 counts of falsifying business records related to his reimbursement of Cohen for a hush money payment before the 2016 election to adult-film actress Stormy Daniels, who alleged that she had a sexual encounter with Trump years earlier.
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Skip to end of carousel
Cohen began testifying Monday, and he is likely to spend most or all of Thursday on the witness stand. His testimony could extend into next week because the trial is off on Friday. (Wednesday was also a day off.)
Trump attorney Todd Blanche questioned Cohen for more than two hours on Tuesday. But that felt like a warm-up for Thursday’s confrontation, in which the defense is trying to show that Cohen’s long history of lying means a criminal conviction cannot be based on his word.
The trial is not being televised. The Washington Post has reporters in the courtroom and media overflow room who are posting live updates.
Trump faces 34 counts of falsifying business records related to his reimbursement of Cohen for a hush money payment before the 2016 election to adult-film actress Stormy Daniels, who alleged that she had a sexual encounter with Trump years earlier.
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