Trump trial: Ex-lawyer Michael Cohen reveals key witness in impeachment trial against ex-president

It was one of the few times the two have been in the same room recently since Cohen, 57, arrived decades ago to work for Trump, 77.

The son of a Long Island Holocaust survivor, Cohen said he never wanted to be a lawyer and that his grandmother pressured him to be one.

But after studying law in college, Cohen worked at a personal injury firm, where he did some “legal” and “non-legal” work for Trump, he testified.

In 2007, Cohen decided to take a job as Trump’s special counsel, with a base salary of $375,000 a year.

It’s a coveted job for Cohen, who has been there for 10 years.

Trump sent staff to pack up his old office and gave his daughter Ivanka an office on the 26th floor of Trump Tower, not far from the boss, Cohen said.

He eventually moved to an office closer to Trump, whom he called “boss”.

It’s been an “incredible experience in many, many ways,” said Cohen, who called the Trump organization a “big family.”

He told Trump directly about “everything that bothered him, what he wanted,” explained Cohen, who described his former boss as a controlling boss.

“Everything requires Mr. Trump’s approval.”Accurate.

At the same time, Trump was careful not to leave a paper trail, Cohen said.

The Trump Organization founder never had an email address and told Cohen that “emails are like written documents.”

Cohen said Trump once told him that “a lot of people have gone down as a direct result of having emails that prosecutors could use in a case.”

At first, Cohen’s job involved negotiating invoices from suppliers that Trump didn’t think were fair, he testified.

When he did well, Trump let him know. It made Cohen feel “on top of the world,” he admitted in court.

But working for Trump sometimes required unethical practices, Cohen said. When prosecutors asked him if he could lie on Trump’s behalf, Cohen said yes.

Sometimes it was necessary to “get the job done,” he said.

After Trump announced his presidential candidacy in 2015, Cohen’s role included other scandalous practices: facilitating strategies. Catch and kill (“catch and kill”, a technique that refers to preventing the press from publishing certain news that may harm a third party).

In this case, the purchase was to ensure that the women’s stories of sexual encounters with Trump would not be published.

Cohen testified that this was a deal designed to increase Trump’s chances of winning the election.

The point was “Do everything we can to protect Mr. Trump”Cohen revealed. But the scheme, and his lies to cover for Trump, would eventually land Cohen behind bars.

The former Trump fixer pleaded guilty in 2018 to federal charges of lying to Congress for violating campaign finance rules related to Trump’s foreign real estate interests and payments to Stormy Daniels on behalf of the former president.

He emerged from three years in prison and house arrest as a staunch critic of Trump and one of the key witnesses against him.