In his first-ever criminal trial set to start next month, President Trump's attorneys demanded on Monday that a New York judge prevent Michael Cohen and Stormy Daniels from testifying.
The 47-page motion makes numerous accusations against the witnesses ‘credibility, calling Cohen a “liar” and speculating that Daniels would provide “false” or “salacious” testimony.
The hush money payments have been characterized as a “catch-and-kill” scheme, to discredit Trump in advance of the 2016 presidential election, according to Trump's attorneys, which they also took aim at.
The infamous 2005 Access Hollywood tape, as well as testimony from close confidants at the time of his alleged crime, including Rudy Giuliani and former Trump Organization financial officer Allen Weisselberg, were also requested to be blocked by Trump's attorneys.
Prosecutors quickly filed a motion on Monday to prevent Trump from introducing specific testimony at trial, including allegations that Cohen is being prosecuted unfairly and Justice Department documents that would cast doubt on Cohen's credibility.
Cohen should be barred from the upcoming trial after his testimony in Trump's civil fraud trial, which ended last month, according to his defense attorney. In the fraud trial, Cohen testified that he and Weisselberg “reverse-engineered “Trump's assets to reach a level the president liked, but later changed their minds.
Trump's attorneys claimed that Michael Cohen is a liar.
Trump’s attorneys explained that Cohen intends to repeat himself at this criminal trial, if his public statements are any indication. In order to preserve this Court's integrity and the fairness of the justice system, the Court should disqualify Cohen from testifying.
The first criminal trial Trump will face—and the first any president has ever faced—will start on March 25 in New York.
