The trial of former President Donald Trump in New York for “hush money” payments continued on Monday with testimony from former Trump Organization controller Jeffrey McConney. McConney confirmed that the payments to former attorney Michael Cohen were legal expenses and not directed by President Trump personally.
During his testimony, McConney stated that he had minimal contact with Cohen and that the payments were categorized as legal expenses in the Trump Organization’s internal payment system. He also mentioned that the 1099 tax forms sent to Cohen for the payments in 2017 were disclosed to the IRS.
Trump’s defense attorneys argued that the payments were legitimate legal expenses, while prosecutors claimed they were meant to cover up payments to adult film actress Stormy Daniels during the election. McConney confirmed that he did not know if Cohen did legal work for Trump in 2017 and that he was not personally asked by Trump to carry out any tasks.
McConney also revealed that President Trump and Allen Weisselberg never instructed him to log the payments to Cohen as legal expenses. Weisselberg, who is serving a five-month sentence for perjury, is not expected to testify in the trial.
Earlier on Monday, Justice Juan Merchan found Trump in contempt of court for violating a gag order and fined him. The justice warned that Trump could face jail time if he continued to violate the order, which prohibits him from commenting on certain individuals involved in the case.
President Trump, in response to the ruling, criticized the case and claimed his constitutional rights were being violated. He expressed frustration at not being able to respond to questions from reporters about the trial.
The trial is ongoing, with more witnesses expected to testify in the coming days.
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