Cohen accuses Trump of asking him to increase value of assets
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Donald Trump was accused of “arbitrarily” inflating the value of his assets to secure favourable insurance premiums as Michael Cohen testified in his former boss’s civil fraud case.
During his much-anticipated court appearance, Mr Trump’s former lawyer and fixer said he was instructed to “reverse engineer” the value of the Trump Organisation’s holdings to reach “whatever number Mr Trump told us”.
Mr Cohen, 57, who cut ties with the former president five years ago, is a key witness in the $250 million case that alleges Mr Trump inflated the value of his family companies’ properties by up to $2.2 billion.
Once one of Mr Trump’s most loyal allies, Mr Cohen has become a thorn in the Republican frontrunner’s side as he began cooperating with prosecutors.
Tuesday’s hearing at New York State Supreme Court was the first time the two friends-turned-foes had seen each other in five years.
Speaking to reporters outside the court, Mr Cohen said it had been “a heck of a reunion”.
Ahead of the session, the two men chided one another as they arrived at the court, with Mr Cohen saying the trial was “about accountability” rather than “about Donald Trump versus Michael Cohen or Michael Cohen versus Donald Trump.”
The former president, 77, branded Mr Cohen a “proven liar” and a “felon”, adding: “We did nothing wrong and that’s the truth.”
During the hearing, Cohen said Mr Trump instructed him and former Trump Organisation CFO Allen Weisselberg to “reverse-engineer” the values of many of his company’s holdings so financial statements would show the assets “had extremely high values with low liabilities in order to secure better insurance premiums.”
The value of the company’s holdings would reflect “whatever number Mr Trump told us,” Cohen said.
He said when the two men would present Mr Trump with his financial statements, “he would look at the total assets and say ‘I’m actually not worth $4.5 billion. I am really worth more like $6 billion.”
“He would ask Allen and I to go back to the office and return with the desired goal,” Cohen said.
Cohen said he and Mr Weisselberg would mark up line items in Mr Trump’s financial statements by hand using red ink after he told them the numbers were too low.
Mr Weisselberg previously testified at the trial, claiming he does not remember having any meetings with Cohen and Mr Trump to discuss Mr Trump’s net worth or financial statements.
On Tuesday Cohen also pointed the finger at Mr Trump, saying he himself committed a crime at the behest of his former boss.
Recounting his criminal convictions, Cohen said he pleaded guilty to a campaign finance violation and lying to Congress during a separate probe of Mr Trump’s business dealings with Russia.
“I did that at the direction of, in concert with and for the benefit of Donald Trump,” Cohen said.
Mr Trump’s lawyer Alina Habba and Cohen had a terse exchange during the cross-examination.
Grilling Cohen on his past misdemeanours, Ms Habba asked whether he had ever told his wife he was committing tax evasion, provoking an outburst from Cohen.
Chris Kise, another lawyer for Mr Trump, called Cohen “a serial liar” and told the judge: “This witness is completely out of control.”
Mr Trump told reporters he would return to court on Wednesday.
The former president leaned back in his chair with his arms folded and intently watched Cohen on the stand, occasionally whispering to his lawyers.
He later told journalists he was “not worried at all” about Cohen’s testimony.
During a break Mr Trump shared excerpts of interviews Cohen had previously given about his former boss in which he described him as a “patriarch, mentor” and claimed he was “fiercely loyal to him and committed to protecting him at all costs.”
Cohen, who once said he would “take a bullet” for Trump, began a three-year prison sentence in 2019 but was released to home confinement the following year during the coronavirus pandemic.
Cohen’s testimony during a 2019 Congressional probe of Trump’s finances was the impetus for Letitia James’ lawsuit.
Mr Trump has denied wrongdoing and defended the valuations of his properties, saying the case is a “fraud” and a political witch hunt.
Last week Justice Arthur Engoron, the judge overseeing the case, fined Mr Trump $5,000 and threatened him with prison for violating a gag order.
In September Mr Engoron found Mr Trump had fraudulently inflated his net worth and ordered the dissolution of companies that control crown jewels of his real estate portfolio, including Trump Tower in Manhattan. That ruling is on hold while Trump appeals.
Ms James is seeking $250 million in fines, a permanent ban against Mr Trump and his sons Donald Jr and Eric from running businesses in New York and a five-year commercial real estate ban against Mr Trump and the Trump Organisation.
09:20 PM BST
We conclude our coverage
The prosecution has wrapped up examination of Michael Cohen. Mr Trump’s lawyer, Alina Habba, is about to start her questioning.
It is at this stage where we will conclude our live coverage - thank you for following.
08:38 PM BST
'Gang of four' gave insurance firms inflated statements
Cohen talked about a “gang of four” Trump employees who were tasked with dealing with insurance and risk projection.
The four consisted of Cohen and Trump Organisation executives Matt Calamari, Ron Lieberman and Allen Weisselber.
The group would give insurance companies inflated financial statements, Cohen said.
08:36 PM BST
Court sketch: Cohen looks at Trump as he takes the stand
08:26 PM BST
Cohen gives examples of sharing inflated assets
Cohen told the court that when Trump wanted to buy NFL team the Buffalo Bills, they used a financial statement with inflated assets to show his ability to purchase the team.
Trump’s bid for the Bills was unsuccessful.
Cohen also said he showed a journalist writing a feature on Trump’s net worth for New York real estate magazine The Real Deal in 2013 a statement with an inflated net worth.
07:48 PM BST
'I’m really worth more like $6bn'
After resuming his testimony, Cohen said Trump directed him and Allen Weisselberg, the former chief financial officer of the Trump Organization, to greatly inflate his assets.
Cohen said when they showed Trump his financial statements, the former president would “look at the total assets and say ‘I’m actually not worth 4.5 billion. I am really worth more like $6 billion’.”
“He would ask Allen and I to go back to the office and return with the desired goal,” Cohen said.
07:23 PM BST
Court back in session
The court is back in session - Donald Trump has returned to the defence table.
Prosecution questioning of Michael Cohen will resume in due course.
07:22 PM BST
Pictured: Michael Cohen arriving in court earlier
06:39 PM BST
Trump claims court failed to mention covid outbreak
06:07 PM BST
Trump: Cohen is 'not a credible witness'
After the court broke for lunch, Trump told reporters outside the courtroom Cohen’s record is “horrible” and is “not a credible witness”.
He said he was not concerned about his former colleague’s testimony and said it would not “end up very good for him”.
Judge Engoron told Cohen not to speak to reporters in the hallway.
05:57 PM BST
Trump shares Cohen's praise for his former boss
Ahead of Cohen taking to the stand, Trump posted snippets of praise his former friend had said about him on Truth Social.
05:44 PM BST
Cohen starts blaming Trump within minutes
Trump is folding his arms as he stares down his former close ally and confidant in court.
Cohen was asked about the various crimes he pleaded guilty to in federal court in 2018.
He said one of the charges - lying about Trump’s efforts to land a property in Russia - was “at the direction and benefit of Mr. Trump.”
Asked if he ever made public comments about his conviction, the outspoken Cohen replied, “More than once.”
05:25 PM BST
Cohen called to the witness stand
Cohen made no eye contact with Trump, who’s sitting with his arms crossed, as he approached the stand.
The last time the two men saw each other was five years ago, when Mr Trump was US president and Cohen was his fixer.
05:16 PM BST
All the charges Donald Trump faces
Struggling to keep up with all the charges Trump is facing?
Since leaving office, Mr Trump has been embroiled in a number of cases, both criminal and civil. Several of them will reach the courts next year as he campaigns to return to the White House in 2024.
In addition to claims that he tried to alter the election result, he faces criminal charges for allegedly paying hush money to a porn star, and mishandling White House documents.
Here are the key cases, what’s going on, and where this could all finish
04:40 PM BST
Fourth co-defendant pleads guilty in Georgia case
In another blow to Trump, another of his co-defendants agreed a plea deal in the 2020 election interference case.
Jenna Ellis, pleaded guilty on Tuesday to helping the former US president’s efforts to overturn his 2020 election defeat in the state of Georgia and agreed to testify against Trump if called upon.
Ms Ellis, 38, is the third member of Trump’s legal team to reach a plea deal since Thursday, following Sidney Powell and Kenneth Chesebro, and the fourth of the 19 people charged in the sweeping racketeering indictment brought by Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis to agree to testify.
Ms Ellis, her voice cracking at times, told an Atlanta court that she “failed to do my due diligence” in vetting claims about voter fraud from other Trump attorneys.
“What I did not do and should have done, your honor, was to make sure that the facts the other lawyers alleged to be true were in fact true,” Ms Ellis told Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee. “I look back on this whole experience with deep remorse.”
04:21 PM BST
How Trump’s former ‘fixer’ turned from archdefender to archnemesis
For a decade, Michael Cohen served as Mr Trump’s lawyer and backroom fixer, working, in his own words, to cover up his ex-boss’s “dirty deeds”.
But since becoming mired in legal trouble of his own, Mr Trump’s one-time henchman has transformed from archdefender to archnemesis.
It was Cohen who facilitated, and was later jailed for, the hush money payment that led to Mr Trump becoming the first former US president to be indicted.
Since then, Mr Trump’s legal woes have snowballed, and Cohen is set to turn on the former president once again by testifying against him in his $250 million fraud trial brought by New York Attorney General Letitia James.
Read the full story here
04:12 PM BST
Maskless Trump lawyer asks for a fresh mic over covid fears
Trump’s lawyer Alina Habba asked to use a different microphone rather than the “contaminated” one in the court room.
An outbreak of covid reportedly spread to four court staff.
Louis Solomon, who’s wearing a mask, said the microphone was provided by the AG’s office. She said Trump’s team, who are not wearing masks, are free to bring their own.
Court staff are currently changing out the microphone at the podium used to examine witnesses.
04:06 PM BST
First witness takes the stand
The first witness up on Tuesday was Bill Kelly, the general counsel of Mazars, Trump’s accounting firm.
Mr Kelly said receiving a subpoena is not a cause in itself for stopping working with a client.
In May 2021 he determined the firm had to end its relationship with Trump Org after the District Attorney subpoenaed Mazars for information about CFO Allen Weisselberg.
“If we can no longer rely on him as CFO we can no longer perform those services,” Mr Kelly said.
03:52 PM BST
Pictured: Trump attends civil court hearing
03:34 PM BST
Trump lawyer: it is 'beyond irresponsible' to expose Trump to covid
Trump’s lawyer Chris Kise has said proceedings should not have gone ahead today as four members of the attorney-general’s legal team apparently tested positive for covid.
He said it was “beyond irresponsible” to have convened the court.
“We have the leading candidate for the president of the United States” in court and are “exposing him to risk,” Mr Kise added.
Proceedings were postponed on Monday because of the outbreak.
03:13 PM BST
Trump calls Cohen a 'proven liar' outside court
The former president criticised his former ally before entering the New York courtroom.
He said Cohen was a “proven liar, as you know, a felon, served a lot of time for lying and we’re going to just go in and see that and I think you’ll see that for yourself.”
He added: “So he’s a liar and trying to get a better deal for himself but it’s not going to work this case by any other judge, this case would have been over a long time ago. We did nothing wrong and that’s the truth.”
03:02 PM BST
Cohen tells reporters trial is 'about accountability'
Michael Cohen has arrived at the Manhattan court for the much-anticipated showdown.
Addressing reporters outside the court, he said: “Let me just turn around and say that this is not about Donald Trump versus Michael Cohen or Michael Cohen versus Donald Trump.”
“This is about accountability, plain and simple. And we leave it up to Judge Engoron in order to make all the determinations on that. So I thank you all for coming.”
03:00 PM BST
Trump fined $5,000 and threatened with jail
The New York judge overseeing the fraud trial last week fined the former president $5,000 for violating a gag order with false claims that a court clerk was Chuck Schumer’s “girlfriend”.
Judge Arthur Engoron had threatened to jail Mr Trump before hitting him with the fine for breaching a partial gag order brought in earlier this month after Mr Trump shared a picture of clerk Allison Greenfield posing with the Senate Majority leader, alongside allegations the pair were in a relationship.
In the Truth Social post, the Republican frontrunner, 77, also shared a link to Ms Greenfield’s personal Instagram account.
While Mr Trump deleted the post from his social media page, it remained on his campaign website for a further 17 days. It was removed on Thursday night after the court emailed him.
02:53 PM BST
Welcome to our live coverage
Hello and welcome to The Telegraphs’ live coverage of Donald Trump’s New York civil lawsuit.
We’ll be bringing you all the latest developments as his former fixer Michael Cohen is set to testify.
