The Trump jury needed to hear from Michael Cohen — and so far he's delivered

Michael Cohen’s first day on the witness stand in Donald Trump’s Manhattan trial gave us scores of incriminating details — many with spice about things not so nice. 

The underlying purpose for prosecutors was methodical — to rebut the defenses that Trump’s lawyers would raise and to fill any gaps in prosecutors’ evidence. Throughout Monday, Cohen’s testimony went to the heart of the case. He told jurors that Trump participated in a meeting in Trump Tower in mid-January 2017, when he approved a plan to reimburse Cohen for the hush money that the latter had paid to Stormy Daniels just before the 2016 election.

There were a few other blockbuster moments. One came when Cohen testified about speaking to Trump right after he learned about the infamous “Access Hollywood” tape. Cohen colorfully recounted that the tape was catastrophic for the campaign and that Trump feared a disaster for the campaign if Daniels’ story came out. “Women are going to hate me,” Cohen reported Trump saying. “Guys may think it’s cool, but this is going to be a disaster for the campaign.”