Michael Cohen, the former lawyer and fixer for Donald Trump, testified at the Manhattan Criminal Court in New York about payments made to silence allegations about Trump's extramarital affairs during the 2016 presidential campaign. Cohen's testimony on May 13, 2023, highlighted his dealings with adult film actress Stormy Daniels and Playboy model Karen McDougal, asserting that Trump had directed him to silence the women with payments that were later disguised as legal fees.
Cohen's account was corroborated in differing ways by various witnesses, including media executive David Pecker, who testified about his role in suppressing stories damaging to Trump through his tabloid, the National Enquirer. Both Cohen and Pecker depicted Trump as largely indifferent to the impact of his affairs on his marriage to Melania Trump, focusing instead on potential political fallout.
Stormy Daniels also testified, recounting her alleged 2006 sexual encounter with Trump. Other testimonies concentrated on the professional repercussions of the alleged affairs and Trump's direct involvement and approval of the financial settlements to suppress the allegations.
The prosecution in the case argues that Trump falsified business records, categorizing the reimbursements for these payments as legitimate business expenses. Trump faces 34 felony counts in connection with these matters. The defense, however, contends that the payments were personal matters, not campaign expenses. As the trial continues, the jury will be tasked with deliberating based on the testimonies of Cohen, Daniels, Pecker, and other key witnesses regarding whether Trump illegally manipulated business records to conceal these payments.