


Donald Trump and his ex-attorney-turned-foe Michael Cohen will be "reunited" when he takes the stand on Tuesday and Wednesday this week in the civil fraud trial that threatens the future of the former president's business in New York City.
“It appears that I will be reunited with my old client @realDonaldTrump when I testify this Tuesday, October 24th at the @NewYorkStateAG civil fraud trial. See you there!” Cohen posted on the social media site Threads on Oct. 20. Cohen was the Trump Organization's executive vice president and general counsel but is now a key witness in New York Attorney General Letitia James's case against the former president's business empire.
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I will continue to speak truth to power…no matter Donald’s continued smear and harassment campaign against me. #TeamCohen pic.twitter.com/ojbaMA7d3S
— Michael Cohen (@MichaelCohen212) October 23, 2023
"I will continue to speak truth to power … no matter Donald’s continued smear and harassment campaign against me," Cohen posted to X, the site formerly known as Twitter, on Monday. Trump is expected to attend Cohen's testimony in person, marking another day spent at the Manhattan Supreme Court while campaigning for the 2024 election during his courtroom visitations.
Trump and Cohen's falling out began during investigations into hush money payments made to two women before the 2016 election. Cohen paid a combined $280,000 to porn star Stormy Daniels and former Playboy model Karen McDougal on Trump's behalf to quiet affair allegations.
The hush money payment is key to Trump's criminal indictment in New York, the first out of a series of four indictments against him that began in April this year, which is separate from the fraud trial.
During his December 2018 sentencing hearing, Cohen remembered at the time Trump had called him "weak."
Trump "was correct but for a much different reason than he was implying. It was because time and time again I felt it was my duty to cover up his dirty deeds," Cohen said ahead of his three-year prison sentence over his role in the deal, which was shortened due to the pandemic.
The pair's relationship only deteriorated further and became an even sharper thorn in Trump's side when James said Cohen's 2019 statement before Congress, in which he claimed Trump artificially inflated his asset value before taking office, prompted the investigation into the Trump's business.
Cohen was initially supposed to testify last week but rescheduled due to an illness.
Trump still attended part of his trial last week and on Tuesday claimed his ex-attorney "didn't have the guts" to face him in court. Cohen fired back in a statement to the New York Post, saying he would see his old boss "very soon."
"If I was afraid of Donald, I wouldn't have written two [New York Times] bestsellers, testified before the [former special counsel Robert] Mueller team, seven congressional committees, 23 appearances before the Manhattan DA, and provided information to the [New York attorney general] that is the basis of this trial," Cohen told the outlet. "Looking forward to seeing you in court very soon!"
Cohen has said he believes the trial from James, which seeks nearly $250 million in damages from Trump, would likely end the former president's New York business career and considered that it may push him into bankruptcy.
"The damages, in my estimation, with interest and penalty, will exceed $600 million," Cohen told CNN last month. "Will that put him into bankruptcy? He does not have the liquid cash in order to pay that off."
Cohen was once so close to Trump that he famously said he would take a bullet for him. Now, the pair will meet back in the Empire State, where they could find themselves trading barbs face to face.
Presiding Judge Arthur Engoron ruled late last month that Trump and his businesses committed fraud as he built up his real estate empire by constantly lying on financial statements to gain more favorable loan terms.
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Trump also faces a combined 91 charges across four criminal indictments, in addition to upcoming civil trials.
The former president's campaign activities have slowly but surely melded into courtroom activities as he attempts to maintain his innocence of any criminal wrongdoing and win the Republican nomination for the 2024 presidential election.