Cohen said National Enquirer parest AMI would send him advanced covers of upcoming editions of the National Enquirer, which frequently showed negative stories about Trump's political foes -- including Hillary Clinton.

Asked what he would do with those copies, Cohen said he "immediately showed it to Mr. Trump."

"Why?" prosecutor Susan Hoffinger asked.

"So he knew that David was loyal, on board ... doing everything he said he was going to do in that August meeting," Cohen said.
Cohen said Trump's reaction would typically be akin to: "Fantastic."

The jury saw an email exchange regarding Cohen personally editing a story about Trump that was going to be in the National Enquirer. It was billed as an exclusive: "The Trump that Nobody Knows."

"Is this an example of your working with AMI to get stories out that would benefit the Trump campaign?" Hoffinger asled.

"It is an example," Cohen replied.

Before Trump announced his bid for the presidency, Michael Cohen recalled Trump warning him about stories that might emerge about his past interactions with various women.

"You know that when this comes out, meaning the announcement, just be prepared there's going to be a lot of women coming forward," Cohen recalled Trump saying.

Cohen recounted the August 2015 Trump Tower meeting where then-National Enquirer publisher David Pecker, Trump and Cohen agreed to the basics of a catch-and-kill scheme.

"What was discussed is the power of the National Enquirer in terms of being located at the cash register of so many supermarkets and bodegas. That if we can place positive stories about Mr. Trump that would be beneficial, and if we could place negative stories about some of the other candidates, that would also be beneficial," Cohen said.

"What he said was that he could keep an eye out for anything negative about Mr. Trump and that he would be able to help us know in advance what was coming out and try to stop it from coming out," Cohen said of Pecker, echoing Pecker's testimony from three weeks ago.

In 2011, Cohen flagged a poll to Trump that suggested he would be a competitive presidential candidate

"I took that article and I brought to Mr. Trump, and I said what do you think?" Cohen said. "He said it's interesting, we should look into it."

Cohen said that he created a website to encourage the run called ""

"It was further proof that his name recognition, his popularity … was so strong," Cohen said.

Cohen said that Trump backed away from the idea of running in the 2012 race to focus on his other commitments, including his television show.

"You don't leave Hollywood. Hollywood leaves you," Cohen recounted Trump saying.

While Trump backed away in 2012, Cohen said Trump made a vow about 2016.

"He promised to me that he would do it in the next election cycle," Cohen said.

Cohen. on the stand, appears earnest and somewhat morose -- different from his bombastic, showy persona on his podcast or on social media. He appears calm and speaks slowly, referring to his former boss as "Mr. Trump."

"Do you know someone named David Pecker?" prosecutor Susan Hoffinger asked Michael Cohen.

"I knew David Pecker even before Mr. Trump," Cohen replied about the then-National Enquirer publisher. He said the two men would communicate by email or by Signal because "sometimes we thought encryption, not having the event traceable, would be beneficial."

Cohen said he "rarely" interacted with Pecker before 2015. He provided an example of trying to use Pecker to raise for Harlem for Hoops, a charity to which Trump donated.

Before 2015, Cohen testified that the National Enquirer did not purchase stories to kill on Trump's behalf.

He testified he was not aware of National Enquirer parent company AMI ever buying stories for Trump prior to the 2016 campaign -- feeding into prosecutors' narrative this was a campaign-related scheme.

"Prior to Mr. Trump announcing his run for the presidency, are you aware of AMI ever paying to suppress stories?" Hoffinger asked.
"No ma'am," Cohen said.

Michael Cohen, who for nearly a decade was Donald Trump's trusted adviser, personal attorney, and self-described "attack dog with a law license," is scheduled to take the stand this morning as the prosecution's star witness in Trump's criminal hush money trial.

According to prosecutors, Cohen was in the room in when Trump and former National Enquirer publisher David Pecker agreed to a catch-and-kill scheme to hide negative information about Trump from 2016 voters, and Cohen himself made a $130,000 payment to Stormy Daniels to buy her silence about an alleged 2006 sexual encounter with Trump. The former president, who has denied the encounter took place, is on trial for allegedly falsifying business records related to his company's reimbursement to Cohen in 2017.

But Cohen's value to the prosecution's case could be endangered by the disbarred lawyer's credibility issues. Cohen pleaded guilty in 2018 to tax evasion, campaign finance allegations, and lying to Congress in what Cohen says was an effort to protect Trump. The former president's lawyers have also argued that Cohen perjured himself again when he testified at Trump's civil fraud trial last year, and accuse Cohen of making his livelihood off books and podcasts that antagonize Trump.

Cohen is the final key witness in the prosecution's case, after which the defense will present its case.