Michael Cohen testifies before grand jury in Trump hush money investigation
Michael Cohen and Donald Trump
Former fixer of Donald Trump Michael Cohen on Monday testified in front of a grand jury in New York, as prosecutors came closer to deciding whether the former president must be charged for paying hush money to a porn star.
If an indictment is filed by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg against Trump, it would be the first time that the former US president is charged with committing a crime.
The decision would shockwaves across the United States and Trump's bid for the Republican nomination to fray in the 2024 presidential election will be upended.
"My goal is to tell the truth," Cohen said to the reporters as he reached a courthouse for his testimony, further stating that Trump "needs to pay for his dirty deeds”.
Cohen's lawyers confirmed that his client was going through a questioning session.
The investigation of Bragg is centred on a $130,000 payment which was made to an adult film actress known as Stormy Daniels, two weeks before the presidential election of 2016 was held.
The huge sum was allegedly transferred to Daniels, whose actual name is Stephanie Clifford, to stop her from disclosing to the media and the public about the affair she had with Trump years earlier.
The amount was transferred by Cohen, who was then the former lawyer of Trump, who said that he later received a reimbursement.
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The appearance of Cohen comes after the New York Times and Washington Post last week reported that an opportunity to testify was offered to Trump by Bragg's team.
In 2018, Cohen was sentenced to three years imprisonment on federal charges in relation to the hush payment. Cohen had pleaded guilty but claimed that he was carrying out orders given by Trump.
Trump continues to deny the affair and last week called the New York investigation "a political Witch-Hunt, trying to take down the leading candidate, by far, in the Republican Party."
(With inputs from agencies)
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