Experts Say Prosecutors' Solid Evidence Strengthens Michael Cohen's Testimony in Trump Case

NEW YORK, May 17 (Reuters) - At Donald Trump's criminal trial in New York, his lawyers have depicted Michael Cohen, his estranged former fixer, as a liar and Trump-hater who independently decided to pay off a porn star. However, legal experts assert that prosecutors have substantiated Cohen's testimony with corroborating accounts from other witnesses, phone logs, and other solid evidence.

Cohen, who once served as Trump's lawyer, testified for the prosecution this week. He claimed that Trump directed him to pay $130,000 to adult film actress Stormy Daniels to ensure her silence before the 2016 election regarding an alleged 2006 sexual encounter. Cohen also testified that Trump approved a plan to falsify records to conceal the deal.

A longtime New York businessman whose first entry into politics was a run for the White House, Trump wrote books, the jury was told, with such statements as: “Ask to see all of the invoices” and “If you don’t know every aspect of what you’re doing, down to the paper clips, you’re setting yourself up for some unwelcome surprises.” A former prosecutor with the Manhattan District Attorney’s office, Roiphe said: “Part of what the prosecution did well is to corroborate other pieces of Michael Cohen’s testimony so completely,” adding: “There’s a lot of circumstantial evidence connecting Trump to the payments.”