NEW YORK — Michael Cohen, former President Donald Trump’s onetime fixer and lawyer, testified Tuesday his world “turned upside down” when the FBI raided his hotel room and his under-construction apartment in April 2018, triggering a breakup with his famous boss.
The raids unfolded as investigators looked into alleged hush payments to porn star Stormy Daniels and efforts to cover up the payment.
“Don’t worry, I’m the president of the United States. There’s nothing here,” Mr. Trump said in a phone call after the raids, according to Mr. Cohen’s testimony in Mr. Trump’s trial on 34 counts of falsifying business records.
It was the last time they spoke to each other.
Later that month, Mr. Trump issued tweets calling Mr. Cohen a fine person and signaling he didn’t think Mr. Cohen would “flip” for the government.
Mr. Cohen said he interpreted the tweets as a call to remain loyal.
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Mr. Cohen was contacted by Robert Costello, a lawyer close to former New York City Mayor Rudolph Giuliani, who, in turn, was close to Mr. Trump. The link was described as a “back channel” to Mr. Trump during the investigation, but Mr. Cohen wasn’t sure if he liked Mr. Costello.
Mr. Cohen testified he didn’t trust Mr. Costello so he didn’t tell him Mr. Trump’s alleged involvement in the payment to Ms. Daniels near the 2016 election.
Things hit the rocks when Mr. Cohen explored using a separate attorney. A series of emails from Mr. Costello seemed to warn Mr. Cohen that the media and prosecutors wanted him to “cave.”
“This is part of the pressure campaign,” Mr. Cohen said. “Stay in the fold. Don’t flip. Don’t speak. Don’t cooperate.”
Mr. Cohen had a heart-to-heart with his family and in August 2018 pleaded guilty to making an excessive campaign contribution, namely the Daniels payment.
He also pleaded guilty related to his role in negotiating a payment between a tabloid company and Playboy model Karen McDougal, who shopped a story about an alleged affair with Mr. Trump. He also pleaded guilty to other offenses unrelated to Mr. Trump, including making false statements to financial institutions.
“I would not lie for President Trump any longer,” Mr. Cohen said.
Mr. Trump has pleaded not guilty to the charges and says the trial is designed to thwart his presidential campaign.
• Tom Howell Jr. can be reached at thowell@washingtontimes.com.
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