May 13 (UPI) -- Prosecutors are expected to put Donald Trump's former lawyer Michael Cohen on the stand when the former president's hush-money trial resumes in New York on Monday morning.
Cohen is a key witness for the prosecution at the center of the case having been the person alleged to have paid Stormy Daniels to cover up an alleged affair she had with Trump, who stands charged with falsifying business records to facilitate the payments to Cohen.
The jury has already been shown Trump's signatures on the checks that make up the heart of the case but some witnesses have thrown doubt on whether Trump had knowledge of their alleged illegal purposes, putting prosecutors under pressure to make Cohen's evidence stick.
The court appearance of Trump's trusted former adviser and personal "fixer" who once described himself as Trump's "spokesman, thug, pit bull and lawless lawyer" is being portrayed as the climax of a years-long grudge match between the two New Yorkers.
Cohen, who is expected to testify Trump instructed him to make a $130,000 hush money payment to Daniels, has written that he was so in awe of his boss that he copied his methods including bullying, lying and mocking the rule of law -- even swearing that he would take a bullet for Trump.
