Cohen says he acted at Trump's direction
Michael Cohen testified that he understood Trump would eventually pay for the rights to Karen's McDougal's story, which AMI had purchased for $150,000.
"What I was doing, I was doing at the direction of, for the benefit of Mr. Trump," Cohen said.
But Cohen and AMI's David Pecker, in their testimony, offered slightly different accounts of why Trump ultimately did not reimburse AMI for the McDougal payment.
According to Cohen, Pecker said that McDougal's cover on Men's Health magazine prompted massive sales, making the McDougal agreement an "excellent business deal" for AMI.
"It was no longer necessary," Cohen said.
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"He told me to rip it up, forget it," Cohen said about the deal.
According to Cohen, Trump responded to the news by saying, "Wow, that's great."
According to Pecker, when he told Cohen that the deal was off, Cohen was furious -- and said Trump would be as well.
"He was very, very, angry, very upset, screaming basically, at me. And I said, 'I am not going forward with this agreement -- rip it up,'" Pecker testified earlier in the trial. "Michael Cohen said, 'The boss is going to be very angry at you.'