In the fourth week of the civil fraud trial against the former US president, Michael Cohen, Donald Trump’s former trusted lawyer, was called to the stand in New York State Court. Testifying as a “key witness” for the Prosecutor’s Office, Cohen stated that he would have modified the value of the magnate’s properties to put “arbitrary” amounts chosen by Trump himself.
First modification:
2 min
“Mr. Trump instructed me to increase the total assets, based on a figure that he arbitrarily chose,” said Cohen, who when asked by the Prosecutor’s Office about what figures he changed the real values for, the now former presidential lawyer said. He limited himself to answering: “Whatever number Mr. Trump told us.”
In addition, Cohen stated that, following instructions from the now Republican presidential candidate, he would also have lied about the net value of Trump’s assets. In that sense, he assured that the magnate had stated: “I am worth 6,000 million.” This is in reference to his declaration of assets, which would actually be around $4.5 billion.
The statements by Trump’s former legal ally come in the context of a lawsuit filed by New York Attorney General Letitia James against the former president, his family businesses and his children that, although it had been prepared since 2018, was presented until September of this year.
Cohen is ‘a proven liar’: Trump
Cohen, a lawyer with a revoked license and serving a domestic prison sentence since 2019 for tax evasion, has already had experience with the US Justice Department when he confessed that he had lied in front of Congress when questioned about the former president’s business dealings in Russia. At that time, the lawyer declared that he had lied on Trump’s instructions.
Using his former lawyer’s troubled record, the former president rejected Cohen’s allegations. According to Trump, he “is totally discredited.” In addition, he described him as a “disgraced criminal.”
On the other hand, the former president confirmed that he would also be in court on October 25, when his lawyers directly questioned the Prosecutor’s witness.
Outside the court, the one who once declared that he would “stop a bullet for Trump” ruled out that it was a personal or vindictive trial, asserting that it is about doing justice and “accountability.”
“This is not about Donald Trump against Michael Cohen or Michael Cohen against Donald Trump. It is about accountability, plain and simple,” the former lawyer said for the local press.
Amid multiple lawsuits against him, including two federal cases related to an attempt to overturn the 2020 presidential election and the extraction of classified White House documents, Trump faces statements from his former political allies and rivals, heading to obtain his presidential candidacy for 2024.
With Reuters and AP
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