Michael Cohen admitted on the witness stand Monday that he stole from the Trump Organization, according to multiple reports.
Cohen testified Monday that he lied to former Trump Organization Chief Financial Officer Allen Weisselberg in 2017 about how much he needed to be reimbursed for a payment to the tech company RedFinch. While he asked for $50,000, Cohen testified that he only gave the company $20,000.
“You stole from the Trump Organization, correct?” Trump’s defense attorney Todd Blanche asked, according to ABC News.
“Yes, sir,” Cohen replied. (RELATED: Trump’s Attorney Made Swiss Cheese Out Of Michael Cohen’s Testimony, Raising Questions Of Perjury)
Trump Attorney: “You stole from the Trump organization?”
Cohen: “Yes sir.” pic.twitter.com/Kc7egoJfsV
— Daily Caller (@DailyCaller) May 20, 2024
Cohen asked for reimbursement for the tech company payment alongside the $130,000 payment he made ahead of the 2016 election for a nondisclosure agreement with Stormy Daniels, which is at the heart of Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s case against Trump.
Trump was charged with 34 counts for allegedly falsifying business records to reimburse Cohen for the Daniels’ payment through monthly installments of $35,000, labeled as payment for “legal services.”
…These are hits below the waterline for Cohen but also the prosecutors. They had a man admitting to a major larceny but never charged Cohen. That made Cohen not only their man, but allowed him to keep stolen money…
— Jonathan Turley (@JonathanTurley) May 20, 2024
Cohen is the only witness who has testified to Trump’s direct involvement in the payments. He testified last week that Trump approved of the plan to reimburse him, affirming that Weisselberg stated it in front of Trump and said Cohen would receive a total of $420,000 over 12 months.
Defense attorneys accused Cohen of lying at a key point of his testimony Thursday, presenting text messages that showed a call he placed to Trump’s bodyguard Keith Schiller had a different purpose that Cohen claimed. Cohen stated he made the Oct. 24, 2016 call to discuss the Stormy Daniels matter with Trump, but Trump’s defense attorney Todd Blanche argued the messages Cohen actually talked to Schiller about handling harrassing calls he was receiving from a 14-year-old.
NEW YORK, NEW YORK – MARCH 13: Former Donald Trump lawyer and loyalist Michael Cohen walks out of a Manhattan courthouse after testifying before a grand jury on March 13, 2023 in New York City. (Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images)
George Washington Law professor Jonathan Turley wrote on X that Blanche’s hits were “below the waterline for Cohen but also the prosecutors” who allowed Cohen to keep the “stolen money.”
“They had a man admitting to a major larceny but never charged Cohen,” Turley said.
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