For a long time, Michael Cohen lied, threatened and harassed. He sought Donald Trump's approval, carried out his dirty work. And it cost him time in prison. On this Monday, May 13, Cohen was his former boss's greatest enemy. His testimony – backed up by countless e-mails, contracts and messages – was the undeniable peak of the trial underway for four weeks against the Republican presidential candidate, indicted for "falsifying business records."
Born into a family of doctors and lawyers, Cohen first became involved in the real estate business. In the early 2000s, he met Trump. The businessman asked him to oversee the reorganization of one of his subsidiaries. Instead of paying for this consulting work, Trump hired him. Cohen became his special adviser. He placed himself at the exclusive service of his boss, who was notoriously close to his money. He was tasked with renegotiating certain invoices, such as those for Trump University, a project in great financial difficulty. Trump congratulated him. Cohen felt "on top of the world." When a Miss USA beauty pageant contestant criticized the organization, he took care of it. When, journalists started prying into the boss's personal matters, he threatened them with complaints and demanded corrections.
His relationship with the billionaire was close and informal. His office was located 15 meters from Trump's. There was no paper trail of written exchanges, no e-mails, which the businessman was wary of. He quoted Trump saying "too many people who have gone down" because of those. Cohen was Trump's fixer, his handyman and he said it was a fantastic experience for 10 years. Prosecutor Susan Hoffinger asked if he had lied for Trump. "Yes, it was the right thing [to do]." Even if it meant intimidation? Yes, answered the witness. "The only thing I had in mind was to accomplish the task and make him happy."
In 2015, when Trump entered the race for the Republican nomination, Cohen had no official role. Then came a key moment: a meeting in August 2015 at Trump Tower between then presidential candidate Trump and then head of American Media Inc (AMI) David Pecker, who was also the publisher of the tabloid The National Enquirer. Pecker offered to put himself at the candidate's service, promoting him in fluffy articles, tracking compromising scoops to nip them in the bud.
The first scare came when a Trump Tower doorman told an AMI reporter that Trump had possibly fathered a child out of wedlock with an ex-employee in the late 1980s. "Take care of it," Cohen said Trump told him, and he organized the purchase of exclusive rights with Pecker. The second alarm bells sounded in June 2016, when the Karen McDougal situation had to be dealt with. The Playboy magazine model had allegedly had a long romance with Trump in 2006, when he had just married his third wife, Melania. With five months to go before the election, this revelation would put the candidate in a difficult position. AMI negotiated with the young woman's lawyers.
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