From Trump's 'attack dog' to star witness: Michael Cohen set to testify in hush money trial

But Monday morning, Cohen is set to serve as the star witness in Trump's New York criminal hush money trial, potentially delivering testimony that could cement the Manhattan district attorney's case and send Cohen's former boss to prison.

While prosecutors have already warned the jury that many witnesses have "baggage" and have asked jurors to "keep an open mind," Cohen's value to the prosecution's case could be endangered by the disbarred lawyer's credibility issues. Cohen in 2018 pleaded guilty to tax evasion, campaign finance violations, and lying to Congress in what Cohen says was an effort to protect Trump.

During his opening statement, Colangelo mentioned Cohen's name over 90 times, ultimately telling jurors that Cohen's role was "to take care of problems for the defendant." During Cohen's testimony, jurors will likely hear a secret recording of a conversation between Cohen and Trump in September 2016 where Cohen discussed repaying Pecker for an $150,000 payment that National Enquirer parent company AMI made for the exclusive rights to former Playboy playmate Karen McDougal's allegations of an affair with Trump, which he denies.

Prosecutors allege that Cohen discussed with Trump and Weisselberg his plan to pay Daniels out of his own pocket and later get reimbursed. Prosecutors also allege that Cohen and Weisselberg met with Trump in 2017 to confirm the plan to repay Cohen $420,000 for the Daniels payment and other expenses -- a payment that would result in the 34 allegedly falsified records that sit at the center of the case.Michael Cohen began working for Donald Trump in 2007 after he helped perform a series of legal favors for the then-reality television star.

By 2007, Trump offered Cohen a job at the Trump Organization. Cohen accepted the role of Executive Vice President and Special Counsel to Donald Trump and moved into an office formerly occupied by Ivanka Trump. "He said something to the effect of, 'Jesus Christ, can you f------ believe I'm not going to Washington? After everything I've done for that f------ guy, I can't believe I'm not going to Washington. I've saved that guy's ass so many times, you don't even know," Stormy Daniels' former lawyer Keith Davidson testified.

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