A brief meeting between former president Donald Trump and his former attorney could prove to be a pivotal turning point for the ongoing business fraud trial of Trump. The meeting was short, which took place in the Oval Office just a few weeks after Trump was sworn in as president back in 2017. The disclosure of the meeting was revealed during Cohen’s recent testimony where Cohen testified that Trump directed Cohen to “deal” with Allen Weisselberg, who was Trump’s Chief Financial Officer at the time. Cohen was directed to speak with Weisselberg in regards to the allegations of Trump paying former adult film actress Daniels hush money over an alleged affair between her and the former president back in 2006.
During Cohen’s testimony in the Manhattan courtroom, Cohen stated that Trump had asked his then-lawyer if he was “okay”, and if he needed funds, to which Cohen replied that he was okay. Cohen then stated that Trump directed him to speak with the Trump Organization’s CFO Allen Weisselberg. Cohen further testified that Trump had promised him a check. According to Manhattan prosecutors, Cohen made payments to Stormy Daniels in which he received monthly reimbursement checks of $35,000 labeled as “services rendered”. If what Cohen testified is true, prosecutors believe this could be a turning point in the case as Trump has denied all allegations of paying Daniels hush money to silence her scandalous claims, which his prosecution team has labeled as election interference and business fraud.
However, these crucial statements from Cohen all depend on the standing jury, which is aware of Cohen’s current imprisonment, his history of lying to Congress, which is a part of the hush money, which are all significant factors that the jury will have to weigh in to decide the ultimatum of the case. During Cohen’s cross-examination, Trump’s legal team did not touch on hush money allegations, but instead worked to dismantle Cohen’s credibility.
