Jeffrey McConney, Trump Trial Witness, Helped Reimburse Michael Cohen – The New York Times
Trump Hush-Money Trial
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The reimbursement to Michael D. Cohen, the former Trump fixer who paid $130,000 in hush money to Stormy Daniels, is at the center of the criminal case against the former president.
Jeffrey S. McConney worked as the corporate controller at the Trump Organization and, prosecutors say, helped arrange the reimbursement for a $130,000 hush-money payment to Stormy Daniels, who has long claimed to have had an affair with Donald J. Trump.
That reimbursement is at the center of the criminal case against Mr. Trump. Prosecutors in the Manhattan district attorney’s office have accused Mr. Trump of falsifying business records by mislabeling the reimbursements in 2017 to Michael D. Cohen, his former personal lawyer and fixer, as “legal expenses.” Mr. Cohen made the payment to Ms. Daniels in the last days of the 2016 campaign.
Mr. McConney, who took the witness stand on Monday, testified that he had a close relationship with his boss, Allen H. Weisselberg, then the company’s chief financial officer, who told him in 2017 that Mr. Cohen was owed money. He was questioned on the stand for about three hours.
He said that Mr. Weisselberg instructed him to send the money to Mr. Cohen. The checks that Mr. Cohen received throughout 2017 exceeded that amount because he was also paid a bonus and money to cover the taxes on the income. Nine of the 11 checks originated from Mr. Trump’s personal account, Mr. McConney testified, and were sent to the White House for Mr. Trump to sign.
Mr. McConney testified that he told a colleague in the accounting department, Deborah Tarasoff, who is expected to take the stand soon, to record the payments as “legal expenses.”
Mr. McConney also spoke about Mr. Trump’s constant focus on the outflow of cash at the Trump Organization. Mr. McConney joined the company in 1987 and about a year later, Mr. Trump noticed that its cash balances had decreased from the week before. He met with Mr. McConney and said, “Jeff, you’re fired.”
The first criminal trial of former President Donald J. Trump is underway. Take a closer look at central figures related to the case.
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