They met on the 26th floor of Trump Tower, Mr. Cohen says, and struck a $420,000 deal.
Seven years later, Mr. Trump’s criminal trial in Manhattan hinges on that fleeting encounter, which is both critically important and completely in dispute.
Mr. Cohen says he paid off a porn star at his boss’s behest, and in that meeting, he and Mr. Trump settled on a plan to repay him and conceal the reimbursement as legal expenses.
But prosecutors say there was a third man in the room that day: Allen H. Weisselberg, Mr. Trump’s moneyman, the keeper of the balance sheet.
Prosecutors never called Mr. Weisselberg to testify, because, although he knows the truth, he has not always told it.
Persons:
Donald J, Trump, Michael D, Cohen, Allen H, Weisselberg, Trump’s moneyman
Organizations:
Prosecutors
Locations:
Washington, New York, Trump, Manhattan