Michael Cohen made $3.4 million from books about Donald Trump: Former president's lawyers tell jurors star witness in hush money trial was motivated by revenge and money

Michael Cohen made astir $3.4 cardinal from income of 2 books helium wrote astir Donald Trump, the erstwhile president's hush wealth proceedings heard connected Tuesday.

It came arsenic lawyers for the president sought to represent Cohen, the prima witnesser successful the trial, arsenic motivated by wealth and revenge.

Jurors besides heard that Cohen had flung insults astatine Trump connected societal media - including calling him a 'dictator douchebag' and 'Cheeto-dusted cartoon villain'.

Cohen, who was for years Trump's 'lawyer and 'fixer', earned astir $400,000 from his 2nd book, 'Revenge: How Donald Trump Weaponized the US Department of Justice Against His Critics'

His archetypal publication was 'Disloyal: The True Story of the Former Personal Attorney to President Donald J. Trump' and earned him adjacent more.

The revelations came arsenic Trump's lawyers grilled Cohen and sought to undermine his grounds that the erstwhile president authorized a hush wealth outgo to porn prima Stormy Daniels.

In sometimes assertive questioning Trump lawyer Todd Blanche confronted Cohen astir his schoolyard taunts connected societal media, which besides included calling him a 'boorish cartoon misogynist'.

Cohen, who spent much than a decennary moving for Trump, had already answered prosecutors' questions for astir 9 hours connected the witnesser basal connected Monday and Tuesday

In detail, helium testified that Trump ordered him to wage Daniels successful 2016 to enactment quiescent astir an alleged 2006 intersexual brushwood truthful it did not ruin his statesmanlike campaign.

But Cohen's checkered past was a premier people for Trump's lawyers, who questioned him connected Tuesday afternoon.

Cohen served clip successful national situation for assorted crimes including the hush wealth payment, and has admittedly lied nether oath.

In immoderate 2 hours of cross-examination, Blanche has yet to inquire Cohen astir the $130,000 outgo astatine the bosom of the case.

Instead, helium went methodically done Cohen's extended nationalist comments astir Trump implicit the years to underscore his translation from Trump loyalist to enemy, and his signifier of deception.

Blanche besides suggested Cohen was motivated by money, revenge and notoriety alternatively than justice.

He asked Cohen astir the millions of dollars helium earned from his 2 tell-all memoirs and the millions of subscribers to his often anti-Trump podcast.

The defence besides showed jurors pictures of Trump-themed merchandise for merchantability connected Cohen's website, including mugs reading, 'Send him to the large house, not the White House'.

Cohen is the prosecution's cardinal witnesser astatine Trump's historical trial, which started connected April 15 and is nearing the last stretch.

His cross-examination volition resume connected Thursday, aft a scheduled time disconnected for the proceedings connected Wednesday.

Prosecutors accidental Trump paid Cohen backmost aft the predetermination by creating mendacious records indicating they were for ineligible fees.

Those disguised reimbursements supply the ground for the 34 counts of falsifying concern records that Trump faces.

Trump, 77, the 2024 Republican statesmanlike candidate, has pleaded not blameworthy and denies immoderate intersexual brushwood with Daniels.

He has characterized the lawsuit arsenic a partisan effort to interfere with his run to instrumentality backmost the White House helium mislaid successful 2020 to Democratic President Joe Biden.

Earlier connected Tuesday, Cohen described an Oval Office gathering successful February 2017 wherever Trump told him that Cohen would soon person the archetypal monthly installments of a bonus package, which Cohen said included reimbursements for the Daniels payment.

Prosecutor Susan Hoffinger walked Cohen done a bid of invoices and checks - immoderate signed by Trump himself - that Cohen said were falsely marked arsenic paying to clasp him for ineligible services.

'There was nary retainer agreement, was there?' Hoffinger asked.

'No, ma'am,' Cohen replied.

Cohen, 57, said helium lied aggregate times to Congress during an probe into Trump's Russia ties, yet pleading blameworthy to perjury.

He besides told jurors helium lied repeatedly astir the outgo to Daniels, telling journalists Trump had nary involvement.

In 2018, aft the Justice Department began investigating the Daniels payment, FBI agents raided Cohen's home. He said helium called Trump successful a panic.

'He said to me, "Don't worry, I'm the president of the United States, you're going to beryllium OK,"' Cohen said.

That was the past clip they spoke directly, Cohen added.

Instead, Cohen testified, a lawyer named Robert Costello who was adjacent to Trump advisor Rudy Giuliani offered a 'back channel' to Trump.

In emails shown to jurors, Costello passed on Giuliani's assurances that helium had 'friends successful precocious places.'

Meanwhile, Trump was defending Cohen connected societal media and decrying the thought that helium mightiness 'flip' and cooperate with prosecutors.

It each added up to a 'pressure campaign' to support Cohen successful line, helium said.

But helium yet decided to cooperate aft speaking with his family.

Cohen pleaded blameworthy to national crimes successful 2018, including offenses related to the Daniels payment, and said helium was acting astatine the behest of Trump, who was not charged.

'I regret doing things for him that I should not have,' Cohen said connected Tuesday erstwhile asked to bespeak connected his galore years moving for Trump.

'To support the loyalty and to bash the things that helium asked maine to do, I violated my motivation compass. And I suffered the punishment - arsenic has my family.'