In the fourth week of the civil fraud trial against the former US president, Michael Cohen, Donald Trump’s former trusted lawyer, has been summoned to appear in New York state court. Testifying as a “key witness” for the prosecutor’s office, Cohen stated that he would have adjusted the value of the mogul’s estate to include “arbitrary” amounts chosen by Trump himself.
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“Mr. Trump instructed me to increase the total assets, based on a number he chose arbitrarily,” said Cohen, who, when asked by the attorney general’s office which numbers he had changed, the former presidential lawyer said. He merely answered: “Whatever number Mr. Trump tells us.”
Additionally, Cohen stated that, on instructions from the current Republican presidential nominee, he would also have lied about the net worth of Trump’s assets. In this sense, he confirmed that the Pole declared: “My fortune amounts to $6,000 million.” In reference to his announcement of assets that actually amount to about $4.5 billion.
The statements of Trump’s former legal ally come in the context of the lawsuit filed by New York Attorney General Letitia James against the former president and the companies of his family and children, which, although prepared since 2018, was filed until September of this year. .
Cohen is a ‘proven liar’: Trump
Cohen, an attorney with a revoked license who has been serving a local prison sentence since 2019 for tax evasion, already has experience with the US Department of Justice when he admitted that he lied to Congress when he was questioned about the former president’s business dealings in Russia. . The lawyer announced at the time that he lied on Trump’s instructions.
Using his former lawyer’s troubled record, the former president dismissed Cohen’s claims. According to Trump, “She has been completely discredited.” In addition, he described him as a “disgraceful criminal.”
On the other hand, the former president confirmed that he would also appear in court on October 25, when his lawyers directly questioned the prosecutor’s witness.
Outside the court, the man who once declared that he would “stop a bullet for Trump” ruled out that it would be a personal or revenge trial, stressing that the matter was about achieving justice and “accountability.”
“This is not about Donald Trump versus Michael Cohen or Michael Cohen versus Donald Trump,” the former lawyer told the local press. “It’s about accountability, plain and simple.”
Amid multiple lawsuits against him, including two federal cases related to the attempt to overturn the 2020 presidential election and the extraction of secret documents from the White House, Trump is facing statements from his former political allies and rivals, heading towards his 2024 presidential nomination.
With Reuters and Associated Press
