Trump was ‘frugal’ and a ‘penny pincher’ who paid Michael Cohen DOUBLE to cover up his ‘affairs’ prosecution tells court

Prosecutors in Donald Trump’s hush money trial have brought an interesting case against the former president, saying the billionaire is actually a “penny pincher” who paid his lawyer Michael Cohen double the amount to cover up his “affairs.”

The counterintuitive argument emerged Monday morning during opening statements by District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s team in the case.

Prosecutor Matthew Colangelo told a jury that Trump was a “very frugal businessman” who ran the Trump Organization with “complete control.”

“He believed in minting pennies, in watching every dollar, in negotiating every bill.”

At the center of the case is a $130,000 payment to porn star Stormy Daniels to keep her quiet about an alleged affair with Trump just before the 2016 election.

So when Cohen received more than double the amount, for a total of $420,000, it was to “disguise” it as income – not as a payout.

Trump had a “relentless” focus on the bottom line, but “when it came time to pay Michael Cohen back, he didn’t negotiate the price, he doubled it so they could disguise it as income,” Colangelo said.

Former President Donald Trump’s attorney rejected prosecutors’ claims in his criminal hush-money case that payments were made to porn star Stormy Daniels to help him win the 2015 election

Trump’s defense rejected prosecutors’ claims in his criminal hush-money case that payments were made to porn star Stormy Daniels to help him win the 2016 election

President Donald Trump has valued his home in Mar-a-Lago, Florida, at nearly $1 billion, but a Manhattan judge said it is worth a fraction of that, at $18 million.

Prosecutors say Trump inflated the value of his Manhattan penthouse in Trump Tower by about $200 million when he valued it at $327 million.

In 2012, the property was appraised by the Trump Organization at more than double the value given by third-party appraisers.

Such a deal “may be the only time this has ever happened,” Colangelo told the jury.

The compensation showed “how important it was to conceal the true nature of Michale Cohen’s illegal payment to Miss Daniels and the election conspiracy they launched in August 2015,” Colangelo said.

Donald Trump has long promoted his vast real estate empire, and his estimated net worth is well over $4 billion.

But the future of the embattled former president’s properties remains unclear after the former president was ordered to pay more than $350 million in the successful civil fraud trial and banned from doing business in New York for three years.

Trump Tower, located on Fifth Avenue, is perhaps the most recognizable building bearing the former president’s name and is the headquarters of the Trump Organization.

Prosecutors said Trump inflated the value of his Manhattan penthouse in Trump Tower by about $200 million when he tripled the square footage estimate from 11,000 square feet to 30,000 square feet.

Trump had valued the apartment at $327 million, which Attorney General Letitia James called “absurd.”

President Donald Trump has valued his home in Mar-a-Lago, Florida, at nearly $1 billion, but a judge in Manhattan said it is worth a fraction of that: $18 million — still a significant sum.

He has other huge properties worth millions of dollars to complement his real estate portfolio.

Trump’s defense rejected prosecutors’ claims in his criminal hush-money case that payments were made to porn star Stormy Daniels to help him win the 2016 election.

Trump’s attorney Todd Blanche also argued that Trump, as a “frugal” penny pincher, would never have overpaid his “obsessed” personal attorney Michael Cohen, and tried to discredit Daniels by saying she had fabricated their affair.

Trump attorney Todd Blanche claimed that the $35,000 paid to Cohen each month was because he worked as his personal attorney during his time in office.

Blanche tried to turn the prosecutor’s argument that Trump is stingy on its head.

He said: “President Trump has not reimbursed Mr. Cohen for $130,000. President Trump paid Michael Cohen $420,000.”

“In the same breath, people told you he was known as a frugal businessman.”

“Ask yourself: Would a frugal businessman, a man who pinches pennies, repay a $130,000 debt for $420,000?”

According to Blanche, Trump had “nothing to do” with the invoices that were processed, the checks that were generated or the ledger entries, all of which were made by Trump associates.

There was a “complete lack of knowledge or intent” on Trump’s part, Blanche said.

“There’s nothing wrong with trying to influence an election. It’s called democracy. They have given something sinister to this idea, as if it were a crime.

“It’s not that,” he continued.

“Michael Cohen paying Stormy Daniels $130,000 because she agreed not to publicly spread false claims about President Trump is not illegal.”

When her claims emerged to “embarrass President Trump and embarrass his family,” he “fought back to protect his family, his reputation and his brand, which is not a crime,” Blanche said.

As for Cohen, Blanche said he tried to “blame President Trump for virtually all of his problems”

Cohen is “obsessed with President Trump to this day,” Blanche said, noting that Cohen has written books and has two podcasts about Trump.

“Michael Cohen paying Stormy Daniels $130,000 because she agreed not to publicly spread false claims about President Trump is not illegal,” Trump’s lawyer said

Trump’s attorney Todd Blanche also argued that Trump, as a “frugal” penny pincher, would never have overpaid his “obsessed” personal attorney Michael Cohen and tried to discredit Daniels by saying she had fabricated their affair.

Cohen was imprisoned after pleading guilty to campaign finance crimes and lying to Congress

Last night, Cohen appeared online and said he wanted to see Trump in an “orange jumpsuit,” Blanche said.

Cohen “cannot be trusted” because “his entire financial livelihood depends on destroying President Trump,” he continued.