Former Trump attorney and “fixer” Michael Cohen in damning courtroom testimony told Judge Arthur Engoron, presiding over New York Attorney General Letitia James’ civil fraud case, that his former boss directed him to “reverse-engineer” the value of his assets to meet a number Trump “arbitrarily” created. Trump reportedly was in the courtroom during Cohen’s testimony.
“I was tasked by Mr. Trump to increase the total assets based upon a number that he arbitrarily elected,” Cohen said Tuesday, as The Messenger reported. “And my responsibility, along with Allen Weisselberg, predominantly, was the reverse-engineer the various asset classes — increase those assets to achieve the number that Mr. Trump asked us.”
When asked what that number was, Cohen replied, “Whatever Mr. Trump told us to.”
Weisselberg is Trump’s now-former CFO, who served at the Trump Organization for decades. He is now a convicted felon after pleading guilty to 15 criminal charges.
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Cohen in court also said “that he pleaded guilty to federal campaign violations and misleading congressional testimony ‘at the direction of, in concert with, and for the benefit of, Mr. Trump.'”
“The ex-fixer said he lied to protect Trump, but he added that others were involved in creating the statement, including Ivanka Trump, Jared Kushner, Alan Garten, and attorney Abbe Lowell.”
Cohen’s 2019 testimony before the House Oversight Committee sparked James’ investigation into Trump’s alleged fraudulent actions related to how he valued his properties, and the current civil suit.
Judge Engoron has already ruled Trump is liable for fraud in James’ suit. Trump is appealing and Engoron’s order to strip Trump of his New York business licenses and dismantle his asset portfolio is on hold.
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On his way into the courthouse Cohen told reporters “this is about accountability.”
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