Donald Trump’s former lawyer and fixer Michael Cohen took the witness stand on Tuesday to testify against the former president in a civil fraud case in New York City that threatens to break up the former President’s business empire.
Cohen has become one of Trump’s fiercest critics since cutting ties with him five years ago.
He is now a key witness in a lawsuit brought by Democratic New York Attorney General Letitia James, alleging Trump inflated the value of his properties by billions of dollars in statements to banks to secure better loan terms, according to CBC News.
Colleen Faherty, a lawyer for the attorney general’s office, began her questioning by reviewing Cohen’s criminal history.
Cohen in 2018 pleaded guilty to a campaign finance violation and lying to Congress. Cohen has said he committed those crimes on Trump’s behalf.
Earlier on Tuesday, Trump and Cohen traded barbs in comments to reporters upon arriving at the New York State Supreme Courthouse.
“This is not about Donald Trump vs. Michael Cohen or Michael Cohen vs. Donald Trump,” Cohen said as he arrived at the courthouse in Manhattan. “This is about accountability, plain and simple.”
Trump, the frontrunner for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination, called Cohen a “liar” minutes later.
“He’s a proven liar, as you know, a felon,” Trump told reporters before entering the courtroom, referring to Cohen. “We did nothing wrong and that’s the truth.”
Cohen began a three-year prison sentence in 2019 but was released to home confinement the following year. He told Reuters on Monday that Trump calling him a liar amounted to “the pot calling the kettle black.”
Cohen’s testimony during a 2019 congressional probe of Trump’s finances was the impetus for James’s lawsuit.
Trump has denied wrongdoing and defended the valuations of his properties, saying the case is a “fraud” and a political witch-hunt.
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