Trump and Michael Cohen will be in court next week, Cohen to testify against the boss: reports

Donald Trump and his former "fixer" Michael Cohen haven't seen each other in five years. But next week, they are expected to meet in a unique setting, as Cohen will testify against his former boss in a civil trial that could result in a ban on Trump conducting business in New York, the loss of Trump Tower, and a forced payment of $250 million in fines. So, you could say this isn't exactly a typical situation like, "Hey buddy, long time no see, like family?"

The Messenger reports that Trump will resume his court appearances next week on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday following a 2024 rally in Iowa earlier in the week. "He wants to be there. This is his personal business, family business. So it hits closer to home for him," a source familiar with the situation told the publication. "He wants to be there to take a stand and show people that he is not backing down." Cohen is expected to testify on Tuesday. "We haven't seen each other in five years. Assuming I get to testify next week, I'm looking forward to the meeting.

Although it is still unclear what Cohen will say next week if he testifies, the previous statements of Trump's former lawyer offer some significant hints. In 2019, while speaking before members of Congress, Cohen stated: "I was aware that Mr. Trump inflated his assets when it served his purposes," and "deflated his assets to reduce real estate taxes." In response to a question from Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez: "Did the [then] president provide inflated assets to the insurance company?" Cohen answered "Yes."

The New York Attorney General is trying to prove just that and is accusing Trump of inflating the value of his assets, sometimes by billions of dollars a year, in order to secure better loan terms. The Attorney General's office claims that Trump overstated the value of Mar-a-Lago by hundreds of millions of dollars in statements made to banks and insurers. In other instances, Trump claimed that his three-story Manhattan apartment was three times larger than its actual size. (Court documents submitted last week indicate that he knew his property Trump Tower is not 30,000 square feet, but about 10,000).

The civil process in New York is certainly not the only legal issue Trump is facing. He will also have to go through a court case with the Manhattan District Attorney regarding hush money payments before the 2016 election; with the Fulton County District Attorney over his attempts to overturn the 2020 election results in Georgia; with the federal government regarding the handling of classified documents; and again with the federal government over his attempts to remain in power after losing to Joe Biden. (Trump denies all the allegations against him).