Cohen said he learned Daniels planned to take his story to the Daily Mail, a British tabloid. He said the time had come when Trump realized he had no choice but to make a deal.
“[Trump] He told me he talked to some friends, some people, very smart people, and it’s $130,000 and you’re a billionaire, just pay it. There’s no reason this case can’t stay here, just do it,” Cohen testified. “So he said, ‘Just do it. Go meet Allen Weisselberg and find out.”
Weiselberg was the Trump Organization’s longtime chief financial officer. Cohen said the payment was needed “immediately” and suggested Weiselberg make the payment himself.
“I suggested to Allen, ‘You’re a CFO, you’re making seven figures, why don’t you go do it?'” Cohen recalled. Weiselberg declined, saying he had four grandchildren in prep school and summer camp and couldn’t make the money. According to Cohen.
“Because of the urgency and because they were going to the Daily Mail, I finally said, ‘OK, I’ll pay for it,'” Cohen said, adding that Weiselberg assured him that Trump would pay him. He said the three of them spoke and Cohen told him he would take the money.
“He told me, ‘Don’t worry, I’ll give you your money back,'” Cohen testified.
Asked if he would ever make a payment without expecting to be reimbursed, Cohen said, “No ma’am. Well, it’s $130,000. I did everything I could and more to protect my boss, which I did it for. It’s been a long time, but I couldn’t spend $130,000 for an NDA that was needed by someone else”.
He opened a home equity line of credit because he knew his wife would raise questions about such a large transaction if he used money from their bank account. “As soon as I receive the money from Mr. Trump, I will deposit it and nobody will be the wiser,” he said.