During the trial on Monday, former Trump Organization controller Jeffrey McConney provided detailed testimony regarding $420,000 in payments made to Michael Cohen. The prosecution questioned McConney about his involvement with Trump, shedding light on the 12 payments of $35,000 each made to Cohen by the Trump Organization's accounts payable department. These payments are linked to several charges against Trump for falsifying business records.
McConney explained that the payments to Cohen were categorized as 'legal expenses' in the vouchers, with descriptions suggesting they were part of a retainer agreement. However, it was revealed in previous testimony that there was no actual retainer agreement with Cohen. Prosecutors allege that these payments were, in fact, reimbursements for Cohen's payment to Stormy Daniels. The general ledger entries for these payments are connected to charges of falsifying business records.
Under cross-examination, defense attorneys probed McConney about his knowledge of Trump's involvement in these transactions. When asked if President Trump had instructed him to make these payments, McConney stated that Trump had not given him any such directives.
McConney clarified that he had been directed by former Trump Organization CFO Allen Weisselberg to carry out these tasks. He also admitted that he was unaware of whether Cohen had provided legal services to Trump in 2017. McConney's testimony lasted approximately three hours in total.
