Selected Testimony of Michael Cohen in the Donald Trump "Hush Money" Trial (four key excerpts)
1. Cohen learns in October 2016 that Daniels is shopping a story of her affair with Donald Trump…Cohen recalls taking down a similar story in 2011 and recounts a conversation about Daniels with Trump. (Transcript, pp. 3378-3382):
Direct Examination by Prosecutor Susan Hoffinger:
Q Now, do you recall having several calls in the evening of October 8th with David Pecker and also with Dylan Howard?
A Yes.
Q Did you have a number of calls with them that night?
A Yes.
Q Do you recall what was discussed with each of them, in general, that night?
A The Access Hollywood tape.
Q And was it discussed, also, the Playboy online article?
A As well as the Playboy.
Q Did there also come a time that night where one of them indicated to you that a woman named Stormy Daniels was out looking to sell her story publicly?
A Yes. That conversation came up as well.
Q Did that come up with Dylan Howard?
A I believe it was Dylan Howard.
Q Now, did you know, at the time when he advised you about that about who Stormy Daniels was?
A I am sorry?
Q That's okay. I will say it one more time. When Dylan Howard told you on the evening of October 8th of 2016, that Stormy Daniels was out looking - well, her manager was out looking to sell her story, did you know who Stormy Daniels was at that time?
A I did.
Q How did you know who she was?
A Because it referenced back to the 2011 scenario that I had dealt previously with David Pecker on -- I am sorry, with Keith Davidson on -- in order to have a story removed from TheDirty.com.
Q And so, hearing now after the Access Hollywood tape release that her story might come out again, what, if anything, did you think about the potential impact that might have on the campaign?
MR. BLANCHE: Objection.
THE COURT: Overruled.
A Catastrophic. That this is horrible for the campaign.
Q I will take you back for a minute now to 2011, when you first learned about Ms. Daniels' account of her encounter with Mr. Trump. Had you learned at that time in 2011 about what Ms. Daniels' did for a living?
A I did.
Q What did you hear at that time in 2011 about what she did for work?
A That she was an adult film star.
Q And this came up, again, I think you mentioned because it was an article on TheDirty.com at the time?
A Correct.
Q And you worked with Keith Davidson to get that article taken down?
A Yes, ma'am.
Q In 2011, when you were engaged in doing that, in getting the article taken down, did you have a conversation with Mr. Trump about Stormy Daniels?
A Yes.
Q Can you tell us, in general, the gist of that conversation?
A After I received the information from Dylan Howard, I immediately went to Mr. Trump's office, knocked on the door, I said, Boss, I got to speak to you. And I told him about the 8 conversation, the sum and substance of the conversation that I just had with Dylan Howard. And I asked him if he knew who she was. He told me that he did. And I stated about the story that existed on TheDirty.com, that they had a relationship that occurred during a golf outing going back to, like, 2006. And I told him that one of the things that, you know, we need to do is we need to, obviously, take care of it. We need to absolutely do it, take care of it.
Q. Did he also tell you about meeting her?
MR. BLANCHE: Objection.
Q. Did Mr. Trump also tell you anything about having met her at the golf tournament back in 2006?
A. Yes.
Q. What did he tell you?
A. He told me that he was playing golf with Big Ben Roethlisberger, the football player, and they had met Stormy Daniels and others there. But she liked Mr. Trump; that women prefer Trump even over someone like Big Ben.
Q. And did you ask him at that time in 2011 whether he had had a sexual encounter with Stormy Daniels?
A. I did.
Q. Did he answer you directly?
A. No, ma'am.
Q. What did he say? Did he say anything in response to that?
A. No, ma'am.
Q. Did he mention anything about what she looked like?
A. He said she was a beautiful woman.
2. Cohen testifies about conversations with Donald Trump concerning the Stormy Daniels story….Trump says to purchase Daniels rights or push payment date past Election Day…Cohen testifies issue was all about the campaign and Trump was not worried about Melania (Transcript, pp. 3388-3391)
Q. Now, after you learned from Dylan Howard and from Keith Davidson about the Stormy Daniels story, and her wanting to publish that story [in October 2016], and the conversations about purchasing that story, did you speak to Mr. Trump?
A. I did.
Q. Can you tell us -- first of all, why did you speak to Mr. Trump about it?
A. Because it was a matter that affected him and because that was what I always did, which was, to keep him abreast of everything.
Q. Was this also a serious matter at that time?
A. A very serious matter.
Q. Did you tell him what you had heard from Dylan Howard and Keith Davidson?
A. Yes.
Q. And what was his reaction?
A. He was really angry with me: I thought you had this under control. I thought you took care of this. I expressed to Mr. Trump: We did, 2011. I have no control over what she goes out and does. And he expressed to me: There is previous denial. Just take care of it. There was a lot going on at the campaign at the time. He was like: Just take care of it.
Q. Did he say anything to you at that time about how this might be viewed if it got out?
A. Yes.
Q. What did he say, in substance?
A. He said to me: This is a disaster, total disaster. Women are going to hate me. Because this is really a disaster, women will hate me. Guys may think it's cool, but this is going to be a disaster for the campaign.
Q. What, if anything, did you understand about -withdrawn. Why did you understand -- what did you understand him to mean by "women will hate this," and what his concern was?
MR. BLANCHE: Objection.
THE COURT: Overruled.
A. So, at the time Mr. Trump was polling very, very low with women and -
Q. You said "very well?"
A. No. Very poorly. I am sorry.
Q. It's all right. I couldn't hear.
A. He was polling very poorly with women, and this, coupled with the previous Access Hollywood tape, he just stated: This is a disaster, and get control over it.
Q. Did you have any conversation with him about strategy in dealing with the story?
A. I am sorry?
Q. Did you have any conversation, additional conversation with Mr. Trump about a particular strategy about how to get control of it and how to deal with it?
A. He told me to work with David and get control over this, purchase the life rights, we need to stop this from getting out.
Q. Was there any conversation about pushing it to a period of time?
A. Yes.
Q. What was that?
A. So, during the negotiation to purchase and acquire the life rights, what he had said to me is: What I want you to do is just push it out as long as you can. Just get past the election, because if I win, it has no relevance, I will be President. If I lose, I don't even care.
Q. Did you bring up at the time the topic of his wife, Melania, in one of those conversations with Mr. Trump?
A. I did.
Q. What did you say, in substance, to him?
A. I said to him: And how's things going to go with upstairs?
Q. Were you concerned about that?
A. I was.
Q. And what, if anything, did he say to you about that?
A. Don't worry, he goes. He goes: How long do you think I will be on the market for? Not long.
Q. What did you understand that to mean?
A. He wasn't thinking about Melania. This was all about the campaign.
Q. Now, those conversations that you had with Mr. Trump, were they in person, on the phone, or both?
A. Both.
3. Cohen testifies he reached agreement to pay $130,000 for life rights of Stormy Daniels…Trump urges him to try to delay signing to get past Election Day. (Transcript, pp. 3393-3395).
Q. By October 11 of 2016, had you and Keith Davidson already agreed in principal to the terms of this Agreement?
A. Yes.
Q. And you had some discussions about how much would need to be paid to Stormy Daniels for this Agreement by that date; had you arranged a number?
A. Yes, ma'am.
Q. And tell us, just in general, the terms of that Agreement on this date?
A. For the sum of $130,000, that Ms. Daniels would execute a Non-disclosure Agreement, that the life rights story would never come out, that she wouldn't speak of it. And –
Q. Was there a breach provision, an amount, a liquid amount?
A. Yes. There was a very large 1-million-dollar per violation liquid punitive damages. It was a clause that we put in where she would owe at that point in time the LLC that was going to do it, she would owe them 1-million-dollars per violation.
Q. Whose idea was it to have that million-dollar, as you say, punitive damage provision in the contract?
A. It was mine.
Q. What was the point of that?
A. To ensure that she didn't speak. Not only that, there was also a provision in there that she disclose who she had told the story to, and they were included in the Agreement.
Q. There was a list of names that were included in the Agreement?
A. Yes, ma'am.
Q. Now, the email mentions a Side Letter Agreement. That is also one of the attachments here. What was the purpose of the Side Letter Agreement that is referenced here?
A. The Side Letter Agreement would be a one-page document that indicates pseudonym names that we were going to use in the Non-Disclosure Agreement. And the purpose of that is if somehow the Non-Disclosure Agreement got out, having the names Peggy Peterson or David Dennison would have no meaning to anyone.
Q. And so, would the Side Letter Agreement be a key to who those names are really related to?
A. Yes. I was the only one that would have that one page.
Q. And explain why you were the only one that was going to hold onto that Side Letter Agreement which indicated the true names of the people involved in the Agreement?
A. In that way, I was the only one, there is no way for it to be released, and the information would never get out.
Q. Now, you said that, I think by this date, neither you, obviously, or Mr. Trump, had signed this agreement by that date?
A. No, ma'am.
Q. Why hadn't you signed it at that point?
A. Because during my conversations with Mr. Trump, it was again about delaying the deal and trying to push it past the election which was upcoming.
Q. Now, in the email, Mr. Davidson says that Ms. Daniels had expressed some dissatisfaction with your schedule delay of ten days for funding. What was he referring to about your schedule of delay of ten days for funding?
A. Well, he wanted an immediate wire transfer, and I expressed to him I would need ten days in order to fund the transaction. I would have waited to the tenth day and do it again, which is what I was instructed to do, push it past the election date.
4. Cohen testifies Trump told him to pay the $130,000 for the rights and meet with his CFO Allen Weisselberg….Weisselberg tells Cohen to make the payment himself through his LLC and that he will be paid back somehow…Trump tells Cohen not to worry, he will be paid back. (Transcript, pp. 3417-3420).
Q. Did there come a time after that, again, still in October of 2016, that Mr. Trump, in substance, expressed to you that he understood he could no longer delay this transaction?
A. Yes.
Q. And describe that conversation that you had with him?
A. He stated to me that he had spoken to some friends, some individuals, very smart people, and that: It's $130,000. You're like a billionaire. Just pay it. There is no reason to keep this thing out there. So do it. And he expressed to me: Just do it. Go meet up with Allen Weisselberg and figure this whole thing out.
Q. Following that conversation with Mr. Trump, did you, in fact, have some discussions with Allen Weisselberg about trying to figure out how the payment would be made?
A. Yes.
Q. And what, in substance, did you discuss with Weisselberg and the different options?
A. Well, that I had the opening of the company all set up. Now it just needed to be funded. To which Weisselberg turned and said: Can we get AMI to pay it? I said: No. They've already expressed to me they're not paying it. They said we need to come up with a way how to fund it. I said: We need to do it immediately.
Q. What options did Mr. Weisselberg discuss with you?
A. One option was to see whether I knew anybody who wanted to purchase a golf membership at one of the various golf courses or possibly somebody who was having a family affair, like a wedding or Bar Mitzvah, that would be interested in paying the money there and taking it as credit off of their invoice, or maybe even just running it through one of the golf courses.
Q. Was he suggesting it would be a vehicle to use that money to pay this?
A. Yes.
Q. And what, if anything, did you discuss about those options?
A. Obviously, that wasn't a possibility because each of those entities has a Trump name attached to it, and the whole purpose was to ensure that Trump name in no way was disclosed in this Non-Disclosure Agreement.
Q. Did you suggest to Mr. Weisselberg about him funding it?
A. I did.
MR. BLANCHE: Objection.
THE COURT: Overruled.
A. I stated to Allen: You're the CFO. You're making seven figures. Why don't you pay it. You'll get paid back. You don't have to worry about that one.
Q. What did he say?
A. He said to me he wasn't financially in a position to do it. He stated: Michael, as you know, I have my four grandkids at prep school, and that I have summer camps for them that I am paying for, I just can't do it.
Q. What did you resolve between the two of you, yourself and Weisselberg, ultimately?
A. Well, because of the urgency that was happening and the fact she was heading -- or at least they expressed to me they were heading to the Daily Mail, I ultimately said: Okay, I'll pay it.
Q. Was there any discussion at that time with Mr. Weisselberg about you getting paid back eventually?
A. Yes.
Q. What was discussed?
A. Don't worry about it, I will make sure you get paid back.
Q. At some point, did you have a conversation with Mr. Trump about the fact that you were willing to pay for it, at least initially?
A. Yes. Allen and I spoke to Mr. Trump. We expressed to him that I was going to front the money for it. To which he was appreciative and: Good, good.
Q. Did you have a sense from Mr. Trump that you would end up being out the money or you would get paid back?
A. He stated about it: Don't worry about it. You will get the money back.
Q. Would you have ever paid for the NDA for Stormy Daniels on your own without an understanding that you would get paid back?
A. No.
Q. Why not?
A. It's $130,000. I was doing everything that I could and more in order to protect my boss, which was something I had done for a long time. But I would not lay out $130,000 for an NDA needed by somebody else.