Democracy Dies in Darkness

One thing is already clear at Trump’s N.Y. trial: Nobody liked Michael Cohen

Even before the defense brings its case, government testimony has described Cohen, a key hush money witness, as a “jerk,” “difficult” and “hopeless.”

Updated May 2, 2024 at 4:55 p.m. EDT|Published May 2, 2024 at 5:00 a.m. EDT
Michael Cohen, longtime attorney for Donald Trump, in 2019. He will be a key prosecution witness later this month at Trump’s hush money trial. (Jahi Chikwendiu/The Washington Post)
6 min

NEW YORK — In the first weeks of testimony at Donald Trump’s hush money trial, witnesses have offered extensive evidence against the former president, describing in detail his efforts during the 2016 election to silence women who claimed to have had sex with him.

At times, however, the testimony has been just as devastating to Trump’s former attorney Michael Cohen, who will be a key prosecution witness later this month.