Michael Cohen could make or break Trump hush-money trial

The prosecution’s star witness in Donald Trump’s Manhattan criminal trial may also be its biggest liability.

Michael Cohen, Mr Trump’s former personal lawyer, took the stand in the ex-presidents trail and testified against the man he once reverently referred to as “The Boss.”

Cohen made the hush-money payment at the centre of the case, a sum the prosecution alleges was fraudulently reimbursed by Mr Trump. His claims, which he made during four days of testimony, are at the centre of prosecutors’ case.

Not only did he allege that Mr Trump fraudulently repaid him for the hush-money sum, but he claimed that he kept his former boss updated on every step of the effort to conceal the alleged tryst with an adult-film star.

But outside the courtroom, on podcasts, television and social media, Cohen has not exactly helped their case – something Mr Trump’s legal team made note of in court.

Cohen has mocked Mr Trump on X, calling him “sleepy Donald” and has used a profane nickname to refer to the former president and his lawyers. Cohen also has posted memes that appear to show Mr Trump in prison-uniform orange – which were shown in court – and joked on TikTok about Mr Trump being incarcerated.

“Trump 2024?” he said during one TikTok stream, reported by ABC News. “More like Trump 20-24 years.”

Cohen’s actions went too far for Justice Juan Merchan, who had to warn prosecutors to tell Cohen to stop commenting on the case.

One of his lawyers, Jeffrey K Levine, told the BBC, “I have no doubt that Michael will cooperate with whatever the court’s asking him to do. Or not to do.”

The district attorney’s office did not return a request for comment about their star witness.