A high-profile civil fraud case by the state of New York against former President Donald Trump kicked off a fourth week this week and saw him back in the courtroom.
Here’s the latest on the case and more on Tuesday’s star witness.
What Happened: Trump is not required to attend every day in person for his civil fraud case in New York, but he showed up last week to check in on the trial and hear testimony from a key witness.
Trump was back in court Tuesday likely due in part to the testimony from one of the biggest witnesses in the case against him.
Trump’s former attorney Michael Cohen, who worked for Trump from 2006 to 2018, testified Tuesday after his testimony was delayed from last week due to health concerns.
During his testimony, Cohen attacked Trump with accusations of criminal activity and cheating.
“I did that at the direction of, in concert with and for the benefit of Mr. Trump,” Cohen said of lying to Congress previously, as shared by the New York Times.
Witnesses saw Trump in court scoff at Cohen’s testimony and appear angry, oftentimes shaking his head or talking to his lawyers. Tuesday’s court appearance by Cohen marked the first time the lawyer and Trump had been together in five years.
Cohen is a star witness for the state of New York in a case to prove that Trump lied on financial statements.
“I was tasked by Mr. Trump to increase the total assets based upon a number that he arbitrarily elected.”
Cohen said he was given the responsibility to “increase those assets in order to achieve the number.”
Trump’s former lawyer said he and another person were directed to “reverse engineer” the financial statements to please Trump.
Throughout his testimony, Cohen discussed valuations and financial statements having incorrect information. While the former lawyer noted several people within the Trump Organization involved, he also highlighted to the court “all final decisions were done by Mr. Trump.”
Cohen testified against Trump before Congress and a grand jury and also served time in prison.
Prior to the courtroom testimony, Trump labeled Cohen as a “proven liar” and a “felon” to media reporters. During a lunch break for the trial, Trump called out the record of Cohen and said his former lawyer was “not a credible witness.”
Ahead of the trial, Cohen shared on Twitter that he would “continue to speak truth to power,” despite a harassment campaign by the former president against him.
A video shared by The Recount showed Cohen greeting reporters outside the courtroom Tuesday.
“This is not about Donald Trump versus Michael Cohen, or Michael Cohen versus Donald Trump. This is about accountability, plain and simple,” Cohen said.
What’s Next: Trump is expected to be in court throughout Cohen’s testimony.
Other key witnesses still to testify in the case include his older children Eric Trump, Donald Trump Jr. and Ivanka Trump. Trump previously told reporters that his kids should be left out of the case and they did nothing wrong. Donald Jr. and Eric are co-defendants in the case. Ivanka was a co-defendant before a court of appeals dismissed the case against her.
More than 100 potential witnesses could testify in the case before its conclusion. Trump is expected to take the witness stand as the second to last to testify. The last scheduled witness is an expert on damages.
New York Attorney General Letitia James is seeking $250 million in penalties against Trump and his businesses and a ban on the former president being able to conduct business in the state of New York in the future.
The civil fraud trial is expected to last until Dec. 22, 2023, according to a previous statement by the judge.
Along with testifying in this civil fraud trial, Cohen is also expected to testify in another case against Trump over alleged hush money payments made to adult actress Stormy Daniels. Cohen said he made the payment to Daniels during the 2016 election cycle on behalf of Trump.
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