- Michael Cohen is set to testify next week at the Trump “hush money” grand jury in Manhattan.
- This could be the last step before a vote to indict Trump for falsifying business records.
- If indicted, Trump would be the first former president to face criminal charges.
Donald Trump’s fixer-turned-nemesis Michael Cohen will be the last witness to testify next week before a Manhattan grand jury considers possible felony charges of falsifying business records against former president, insider says learned.
Cohen Testimony Timing Details The New York Times first reported.
Cohen will provide a detailed chronology of the “hush money” Trump paid adult film actress Stormy Daniels in 2016, an account corroborated by documents, phone records and email communications. said Cohen.
Trump advisers Hope Hicks and Kellyanne Conway also recently showed up at the district attorney’s office.
— Laura Italiano (@Italiano_Laura) March 11, 2023
Next week’s testimony, according to the two, will help the 2016 election by secretly pouring $130,000 into Daniels and ensuring she remains silent about alleging an affair with Trump a decade ago. The alleged plot to influence Trump could be the last step before he is charged with felony charges against Trump.
Bragg must empower prosecutors to demand a grand jury vote before an indictment can be voted on. Whether or when that will happen is unknown.
Trump could be accused of misdesignating “reserves” to Cohen when they were in fact undeclared election expenses, a person familiar with the matter told an insider.
Cohen met all day Friday with Manhattan prosecutors working on a hush-money investigation into District Attorney Alvin Bragg, presumably in preparation for his testimony.
He appeared fine on his way to the attorney’s office in the morning and called Trump a “liar.” Although he never testified before a grand jury, he looked gloomy and tired on his way home six hours later. After nearly two months of very public visits to the attorney’s office, Cohen and his lawyers said Friday afternoon after statements were released praising Bragg and criticizing Trump. I was getting cautious.
“We have been very impressed with the professionalism of this group of prosecutors, and we thank Mr. Bragg and the entire team,” said Lanny Davis, an attorney who accompanied Cohen to the DA roundtable. Told.
“Other than that, I’m not going to comment on anything from this point on,” he told reporters waiting outside the DA’s office. ”
Asked by an insider if he was tired after a long day, Cohen replied, “Yeah, it’s been a long day. I’m looking forward to spending the weekend with my family.”
He added, “I’m really going to take some time now to shut up and allow the DA to build their case and do what they have to do.”
Cohen has refused to say when, or even if, he will return to the DA office, but in recent weeks he has publicly said: He believes an indictment is coming “soon.”
A lawyer for Trump declined to comment on a grand jury or possible indictment. Bragg’s office remains silent about the grand jury process and ongoing investigations.
