(NationalUSNews.com) — Former President Donald Trump’s criminal trial recently heard testimony from Gary Farro, Michael Cohen’s former banker, who gave insight into his involvement in the alleged hush-money scheme between Trump and Cohen. Farro admitted to his involvement in facilitating the payments in the hush-money scheme and explained to the Manhattan jury how he colluded with Cohen to avoid detection by law enforcement. According to Farro, he helped Cohen set up a shell corporation that Cohen then used to make payments to adult film actress Stormy Daniels.
Farro also discussed his involvement in a separate hush-money scheme that involved the National Enquirer, which saw the media organization sell a story surrounding Trump’s alleged affair with Karen McDougal, a model for adult magazines. According to Farro, he helped file the paperwork for a shell corporation owned by Cohen, which the former attorney then used to make discrete payments to the National Enquirer. Farro clarified that each hush-money payment used shell corporations to avoid detection, and Cohen purposely avoided using personal bank accounts while facilitating the payment scheme.
While Farro helped Cohen set up multiple corporations to facilitate the hush money payments, the former banker did not discuss whether he oversaw any illicit payments to Daniels or the National Enquirer. Farro’s testimony comes just days after one of National Enquirer’s former publishers, David Pecker, took the stand and shared information about his publication’s involvement in the hush money scheme. Pecker admitted to a “catch-and-kill” plan between his publication and Cohen, which saw the National Enquirer buy the rights to stories about Trump’s various affairs to prevent them from reaching the national spotlight.
Pecker’s testimony provided insight into the months surrounding the hush money payments to Stormy Daniels and his attempt to help Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign. Pecker claims that he wanted to suppress stories about Trump’s various controversies to support the former president’s ongoing political efforts and admitted to providing more attention to stories that portrayed Trump’s political adversaries in a negative light. While Pecker did engage in the hush money scheme that prosecutors claim Trump oversaw, he won’t face criminal charges as federal authorities granted Pecker immunity for his testimony in the hush money trial.
Despite the damning testimonies from Pecker and Farro, Trump maintains his innocence in the hush money scheme. Trump regularly posts about his ongoing criminal trial on social media, much to the dismay of his trial’s judge, Juan Merchan, who instituted a gag order against the former president.
Trump’s trial is scheduled to continue for the next few weeks, with multiple witnesses, including Stormy Daniels, planning to testify about the former president.
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