Former President Trump on Tuesday ripped his former fixer, Michael Cohen, as a “proven liar” as Cohen was set to testify in a New York fraud trial involving Trump’s business empire.
“Well he’s a proven liar, as you know. He’s a felon who served a lot of time for lying, and we’re gonna just go in and see him,” Trump said as he entered the courthouse in Manhattan.
“He’s a liar trying to get a better deal for himself, but it’s not going to work,” Trump added. “This case, by any other judge, this case would have been over a long time ago. We did nothing wrong.”
Cohen was set to testify on Tuesday, putting him face-to-face with Trump, who Cohen once said he would take a bullet for, but has since flipped against.
Previously the Trump Organization’s longtime executive vice president and general counsel, Cohen is a star witness in New York Attorney General Letitia James’s (D) case.
James has said Cohen’s 2019 testimony before Congress, where he claimed the former president significantly overstated his wealth before taking office, spurred her sprawling investigation into Trump and his business empire.
Cohen first flipped on his former boss amid investigations into a hush money deal made ahead of the 2016 election. He paid a combined $280,000 to porn star Stormy Daniels and ex-Playboy model Karen McDougal on Trump’s behalf to cover up allegations of an affair.
That payment is central to Trump’s criminal indictment in New York, which is separate from the civil fraud trial. Cohen pleaded guilty and was sentenced to three years in prison for his role in the deal, though he earned early release due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Trump and his allies have seized on Cohen’s criminal record to argue he is not a credible witness.