Key witness Michael Cohen testified in the secret money trial that he had to arrange the payments on behalf of Donald Trump

Who is Michael Cohen?

The 57-year-old Cohen, the son of Jewish parents who fled Nazism from Poland to the United States, briefly ran a taxi company, studied law and began working for the Trump Organization in 2006 at the suggestion of Trump’s eldest son.

For ten years, he was Trump’s personal lawyer and confidant, “fixer” and “pitbull,” as his nickname was. He has been extensively involved in his political campaign. “I would take a bullet for him (Trump),” Cohen said in 2017.

There is nothing left of that unlimited loyalty. On the contrary, the loyal lieutenant has become Trump’s worst enemy in recent years.

The shift began in 2018, when the FBI opened an investigation into Cohen over payments he made to Stormy Daniels, which Trump reimbursed as “legal fees.” To protect Trump, Cohen lied to the FBI at the time.

But this did not last. Because Cohen felt that he was the only one in the former president’s entourage who paid the price for his fraudulent affairs, he cooperated with the Public Prosecution in various investigations in exchange for a reduced sentence.

Cohen was sentenced to 3 years in prison at the end of 2018 on charges of making false statements, financial manipulation, and illegal campaign financing. He served most of his sentence in prison. In retaliation, he stated that Trump knew about the payments Stormy Daniels had received. Thanks to his testimony and (audio) documents, the former president is now before the judge.