Michael Cohen, a former attorney, claims he gave Trump hush money

Star witness testimony in the Manhattan trial of Donald Trump has consistently linked the former president to a 2016 hush-money deal.

Michael Cohen testified on behalf of the government that he communicated with Mr. Trump right after following the payment of $130,000 (£104,000) to adult film actress Stormy Daniels.

He said that it was just one of many occasions he worked "at the direction of and for the benefit" of Mr. Trump.

In response to criminal allegations against him, the former president entered a not guilty plea.

As a result of his alleged reimbursement of Cohen for the payment via transactions disguised as legal bills, Mr. Trump is accused with 34 counts of commercial fraud.

Ms. Daniels had promised to remain silent about her claimed sex encounters with Mr. Trump during his marriage in return for the money. He has denied ever seeing Ms. Daniels for sex.

Cohen said the court on Monday that Mr. Trump had "approved" the repayment arrangement as the former president listened quietly in his chair with his eyes closed.

Cohen said that during the meeting between the inauguration and presidential election, Mr. Trump and his chief financial officer, Allen Weisselberg, conducted most of the conversation when the then-personal fixer met with them.

In front of their supervisor, Weisselberg informed Cohen that he would get $35,000 back in 12 installments, which would be recorded as a retainer for legal services. Before calling him in for a meeting, Cohen said he had the impression the two had previously discussed the plan.

Cohen stated that Mr. Trump "approved it" and added, "This is going to be one heck of a ride in Washington, DC."

He said that since Cohen would be taxed on the payments, the amount would be substantially more than what he had initially paid.

The trial has been plagued by the specter of Cohen's testimony for many weeks, with the prosecution bringing up his name often to lead jurors through a maze of emails, bank records, text messages, witness evidence, and recordings of key exchanges.

He eventually took the witness stand sixteen days into the trial, marking the most momentous day of evidence in the history of the first-ever criminal prosecution of a former US president.

His remarks on incidents and exchanges from eight years ago may come back to harm Mr. Trump in his quest for reelection to the White House.

Cohen is among the few witnesses who may support the prosecution's case that Mr. Trump was aware of the purported reimbursement plan. Cohen was incarcerated for offenses relating to the payment. He might also provide testimony on the purported grounds for Mr. Trump's fraud. According to the prosecution, it was done to tamper with the 2016 election.

Cohen also said in his testimony on Monday that, after the announcement of his 2016 presidential candidacy, Mr. Trump advised him to "be prepared" for bad press.

He reportedly said, "There will be a lot of women coming forward."

He said that Mr. Trump gave him instructions to "handle" a number of hush-money payments and to work with tabloid media to stifle news that would be detrimental to his political objectives.

He remembered that Mr. Trump had been "really angry" at what he saw as his inability to prevent Ms. Daniels from selling her tale to the press.

Claiming that the report may be disastrous for his presidential campaign, he said that Mr. Trump instructed him to "just take care of it".

He warned Cohen, "Women will hate me," according to the evidence on Monday.

In his testimony, Cohen also said that he had collaborated with the tabloid National Enquirer to purchase and suppress a report on a purported romance between Mr. Trump and Playboy model Karen McDougal.

Cohen claimed to have heard Mr. Trump question publisher David Pecker of the National Enquirer on a payment to Ms. McDougal during a phone call.

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"Pecker said 'we have this under control, we'll take care of this,'" Mr. Cohen gave a statement.

Assisting the House of Representatives in 2019, Norm Eisen, an attorney, had an interview with Mr. Cohen and told the BBC that the prosecution's case had been strengthened by Cohen's evidence so far.

"Given disparaging references others have made to Cohen, that I am sure the jury will be surprised by the sober, well-spoken, candid people they are meeting," he said.

"Of course, final judgment must wait until shortly after cross-examination and a verdict, but I think he is doing well so far," he said.

2018 saw Mr. Cohen enter a guilty plea to eight felony charges, including those pertaining to fraud, tax offenses, and breaches of campaign finance laws, the latter of which was related to the same payment that was at issue during Mr. Trump's trial.

In addition, he admitted to lying to Congress.

Attorneys for Mr. Trump have made an effort to dissociate themselves from the payment.

They questioned Hope Hicks, Mr. Trump's former communications assistant, in a previous appearance whether Cohen ever went "rogue."