Michael Cohen, who became a top executive at Trump's real estate company and then his personal lawyer, testified twice before the Manhattan grand jury that voted on Thursday to indict Trump following an investigation into a hush payment to porn star Stormy Daniels before the 2016 U.S. presidential election.
After it was disclosed on Thursday that Trump was indicted, the former president said he was"completely innocent" and called the case"political persecution and election interference." The specific charges have not yet been made public. Cohen was hired as the Trump Organization's executive vice president and special counsel in 2007. Before that, the Long Island native and son of a Holocaust survivor worked as a malpractice lawyer and owned a fleet of yellow taxis.
In 2018, after the hush money payment to Daniels came to light, Cohen initially said he paid with his own money and that neither the Trump campaign nor the Trump Organization reimbursed him.