Michael Cohen to testify before NY grand jury in Trump case: report

Donald Trump’s former lawyer Michael Cohen is reportedly expected to testify before a grand jury next week in the Stormy Daniels hush money case — in another sign that New York prosecutors are likely to soon indict the former president for his role in the matter.

Cohen, Trump’s former fixer, is believed to be the last witness that Manhattan district attorney Alvin Bragg will question in the probe, the New York Times reported Friday. 

At least seven other witnesses have already come before the grand jury, the outlet reports, and Cohen’s scheduled appearance in a Manhattan courtroom next week is the second strong indication that an indictment against Trump is near, and could come this month. 

Lanny Davis, an attorney for Cohen, told the New York Times Friday that “we’re cooperating with the investigation.”

“We appreciate the professionalism of Mr. Bragg’s team,” he added.

Trump, 76, has reportedly also been offered the chance to sit in front of the grand jury next week and defend himself before the indictment comes down. 

The former commander-in-chief is likely to decline the offer — which is usually only presented to potential defendants when criminal charges are close to being filed the Times reported Thursday. 

If indicted, Trump would be the first former president in US history to face criminal charges. 

The case Bragg’s office has been investigating for the past five years centers on a $130,000 payment made to Daniels during Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign.

Daniels and Cohen allege that the payment was made to keep her quiet about a 2005 affair she claims to have had with Trump. 

Cohen says he paid Daniels the hush money and Trump later reimbursed him in monthly installments. 

Trump’s fixer pleaded guilty in 2018 to federal charges related to the hush money scandal and was sentenced to serve three years in prison.

Cohen was furloughed to home confinement in 2020, where he served out the remainder of his sentence. 

It is believed that Bragg could accuse the former president of falsifying business records in the hush money case and then elevate that charge to a felony by arguing that it was attached to a second crime. 

The second crime, in this case, would be that the $130,000 payment to Daniels amounted to an improper donation to Trump’s campaign because it kept the affair under wraps and benefited his candidacy.

The Times also reports that if convicted on these charges, Trump would face a maximum of four years in prison — but a prison sentence would not be mandatory. 

On Friday, Trump posted on Truth Social that former Manhattan DA, the late Robert Morgenthau, would be “spinning in his grave if he were told that his Office was even thinking about bringing charges against the 45th President of the United States & leading Republican contender for the 2024 Nomination, based on a Scam concerning Stormy ‘Horseface’ Daniels & her now incarcerated lawyer, Michael ‘SleazeBag’ Avenatti, working with convicted liar & felon Michael Cohen.” 

Trump on Thursday responded to the initial report of an imminent indictment by arguing that he did “nothing wrong” and calling the case a “Witch-Hunt.” 

“I did absolutely nothing wrong,” Trump wrote in a Truth Social post.

“I never had an affair with Stormy Daniels, nor would I have wanted to have an affair with Stormy Daniels,” he added.