Michael Cohen gives more evidence in Donald Trump hush money trial

Entourage of Republicans – including House speaker and others considered vice presidential condenders for 2024 campaign – join ex-president in court

Donald Trump’s fixer-turned-foe Michael Cohen has returned to the witness box, giving evidence in detail about how the former US president was linked to all aspects of the hush money scheme that prosecutors say was an illegal effort to purchase and then bury stories that threatened his 2016 campaign.

Trump, the first former US president to go on trial, was joined at the courthouse by an entourage of Republican legislators that included House speaker Mike Johnson and others considered vice presidential contenders for Trump’s 2024 campaign.

Their presence was a not-so-subtle show of support meant not just for Trump, but also for voters tuning in to trial coverage and for the jurors deciding Trump’s fate.

Former US President Donald Trump returns to the courtroom after a break in his trial for allegedly covering up hush money payments at Manhattan Criminal Court. Photo: Justin Lane - Pool/Getty Images

As proceedings began, Mr Johnson held a news conference outside the courthouse, using his powerful pulpit to attack the US judicial system.

It was a remarkable moment in American politics as the person second in line to the presidency sought to turn his political party against the rule of law by declaring the Manhattan criminal trial illegitimate.

“I do have a lot of surrogates, and they’re speaking very beautifully,” Trump said before court as the group gathered in the background.

“And they come … from all over Washington. And they’re highly respected, and they think this is the greatest scam they’ve ever seen.”

US Speaker of the House Mike Johnson speaks outside the Manhattan Criminal Court as former President Donald Trump attends his trial for allegedly covering up hush money payments linked to extramarital affairs. Photo: Alex Kent / POOL / AFP

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Mr Cohen, meanwhile, resumed his place in the witness box as prosecutor Susan Hoffinger worked to paint him as a Trump loyalist who committed crimes on behalf of the former president.

Mr Cohen told jurors that he lied to Congress during an investigation into potential ties between Russia and the 2016 Trump campaign to protect Trump.

He also described for jurors the April 2018 raid by law enforcement on his apartment, law firm, a hotel room where he stayed and a bank where he stashed valuables.

“How to describe your life being turned upside-down. Concerned. Despondent. Angry,” he said.

“Were you frightened?” Ms Hoffinger asked.

“Yes, ma’am.”

But he said he was heartened by a phone call from Trump that he said gave him reassurance and convinced him to remain “in the camp”.

Mr Cohen said: “He said to me, ‘Don’t worry. I’m the president of the United States. There’s nothing here. Everything’s going to be OK. Stay tough. You’re going to be OK’.”

Mr Cohen told jurors that “I felt reassured because I had the president of the United States protecting me … And so I remained in the camp”.

But their relationship soured, and now Mr Cohen is one of Trump’s most vocal critics.

His evidence is central to the Manhattan case.

Mr Cohen said that after paying out 130,000 dollars (£103,000) to adult film actress Stormy Daniels in order to keep her quiet about an alleged sexual encounter, Trump promised to reimburse him.

He said Trump was constantly apprised of the behind-the-scenes efforts to bury stories feared to be harmful to the campaign.

Jurors followed along as Ms Hoffinger, in a methodical and clinical fashion, walked Mr Cohen through that reimbursement process.

It was an attempt to show what prosecutors say was a lengthy deception to mask the true purpose of the payments.

As jurors were shown business records and other paperwork, Mr Cohen explained their purpose and reiterated again and again that the payments were reimbursements for the hush money.

They were not for legal services he provided or for a retainer, he said.

It is an important distinction, because prosecutors allege that the Trump records falsely described the purpose of the payments as legal expenses.

These records form the basis of 34 felony counts charging Trump with falsifying business records.

All told, Mr Cohen was paid 420,000 dollars (£333,000), with funds drawn from a Trump personal account.

“Were the descriptions on this cheque stub false?” Ms Hoffinger asked.

“Yes,” Mr Cohen said.

“And again, there was no retainer agreement,” Ms Hoffinger asked.

“Correct,” Mr Cohen replied.

Trump has pleaded not guilty and also denies that any of the encounters took place.

During his time in the witness box, Mr Cohen delivered matter-of-fact evidence that went to the heart of the former president’s trial: “Everything required Mr Trump’s sign-off,” Mr Cohen said.

He told jurors that Trump did not want Ms Daniels’ account of a sexual encounter to get out.

At the time, Trump was especially anxious about how the story would affect his standing with female voters.

A similar episode occurred when Mr Cohen alerted Trump that a Playboy model was alleging that she and Trump had an extramarital affair.

“Make sure it doesn’t get released,” was Mr Cohen’s message to Trump, according to evidence.

The woman, Karen McDougal, was paid 150,000 dollars (£119,000) in an arrangement that was made after Trump received a “complete and total update on everything that transpired”.

“What I was doing, I was doing at the direction of and benefit of Mr Trump,” Mr Cohen said.

Prosecutors believe Mr Cohen’s insider knowledge is critical to their case.

But their reliance on a witness with such a chequered past – Mr Cohen pleaded guilty to federal charges related to the payments – also carries sizeable risks with a jury.

The men, once so close that Mr Cohen boasted that he would “take a bullet” for Trump, had no visible interaction inside the courtroom.

The sedate atmosphere was a marked contrast from their last courtroom face-off in October, when Trump walked out of the courtroom after his lawyer finished questioning Mr Cohen during his civil fraud trial.

Throughout Mr Cohen’s evidence on Tuesday, Trump reclined in his chair with his eyes closed and his head tilted to the side.

He shifted from time to time, occasionally leaning forward and opening his eyes, making a comment to his lawyer before returning to his recline.

Even some of the topics that have animated him the most as he campaigns did not stir his attention.

Trump’s lawyers will get their chance to question Mr Cohen as early as Tuesday, when they are expected to attack his credibility.

He was disbarred, went to prison and separately pleaded guilty to lying about a Moscow real estate project on Trump’s behalf.