It wasn't until after a decade in the fold, after his family pleaded with him, after the FBI raided his office, apartment and hotel room, Michael Cohen testified Tuesday, that he finally decided to turn on Donald Trump.That decision led to a 2018 guilty plea to federal charges involving a payment to the porn actor Stormy Daniels to bury her story of an alleged sexual encounter with Trump and to other, unrelated crimes. And it's that insider knowledge of shady deals that pushed Manhattan prosecutors to make Cohen the star witness in their case against Trump about that same payment, which they say was an illegal effort to influence the 2016 presidential election. Under questioning this week, Cohen has described the nuts-and-bolts of how the scheme worked.맥스카지노�To keep the loyalty and to do the things that he had asked me to do, I violated my moral compass, and I suffered the penalty, as has my family," Cohen said Tuesday.There맥스카지노�s been no witness-stand bombast or fireworks so far from Cohen, a man who was defined for years by his braggadocio as Trump맥스카지노�s problem-zapper. Instead, his testimony about purposefully mislabeled checks, false receipts and blind loyalty, however dry it was, placed Trump at the center of the scheme and underscored the foundational argument of the case 맥스카지노� that it맥스카지노�s not about the spectacle of what Trump was paying for, but rather his effort to illegally cover up those payments.A shocking moment did come, but it was courtesy of House Speaker Mike Johnson, who appeared at the courthouse with Trump and who used his powerful bully pulpit to turn his political party against the rule of law by declaring the Manhattan criminal trial illegitimate. He and other GOP lawmakers are serving as surrogates while Trump himself remains barred by a gag order in the case following an appeals court ruling Tuesday.Video below: Speaker Mike Johnson lends support to Trump outside hush money trial맥스카지노�I do have a lot of surrogates, and they맥스카지노�re speaking very beautifully,맥스카지노� Trump said before court as the group gathered in the background. 맥스카지노�And they come ... from all over Washington. And they맥스카지노�re highly respected, and they think this is the greatest scam they맥스카지노�ve ever seen.맥스카지노�The Republican presidential nominee has pleaded not guilty and denies that any of the encounters took place.Cohen has testified in detail about how the former president was linked to all aspects of the hush money scheme, and prosecutors believe Cohen맥스카지노�s insider knowledge is critical to their case. But their reliance on a witness with such a checkered past 맥스카지노� he was disbarred, went to prison and separately pleaded guilty to lying about a Moscow real estate project on Trump맥스카지노�s behalf 맥스카지노� could backfire, especially as Trump맥스카지노�s attorneys cross-examine him.Defense lawyer Todd Blanche spent no time Tuesday asking about the allegations at the center of the trial. He instead worked to portray Cohen as a Trump-obsessed media hound, intimating that Cohen leaked self-serving information about himself.Amid rapid-fire objections from prosecutors, Blanche probed Cohen맥스카지노�s hyperfocus on Trump, quizzing him about various social media posts and comments he's made. Cohen was asked to listen through headphones to a snippet of his podcast, as was Trump while sitting at the defense table.Cohen was asked by Blanche if he recalled an October 2020 podcast episode in which he said Trump needs to wear handcuffs and that 맥스카지노�people will not be satisfied until this man is sitting inside a cell.맥스카지노� The line of questioning was designed to persuade jurors that Cohen was driven by personal animus to hold Trump accountable."I wouldn맥스카지노�t put it past me,맥스카지노� Cohen testified."Is it fair to say you맥스카지노�re motivated by fame?맥스카지노� Blanche asked.맥스카지노�No sir, I don맥스카지노�t think that맥스카지노�s fair to say,맥스카지노� Cohen said. 맥스카지노�I맥스카지노�m motivated by many things.맥스카지노�Cohen will be the prosecution's last witness. Trump's defense will begin after Cohen, though it's not clear whether his attorneys will call any witnesses or if Trump will testify in his own defense.Jurors have already heard how Trump and others in his orbit were reeling after the leak just a few weeks before the 2016 election of an 맥스카지노�Access Hollywood맥스카지노� tape in which he bragged about grabbing women by the genitals without their permission. The publication of the tape hastened the payments to Daniels, according to testimony.Cohen testified that Trump was constantly apprised of the behind-the-scenes efforts to bury stories feared to be harmful to the campaign. And after paying out $130,000 to Daniels in order to keep her quiet about an alleged sexual encounter, Trump promised to reimburse him.Jurors followed along as Hoffinger, in a methodical and clinical fashion, walked Cohen through that reimbursement process. It was an attempt to show what prosecutors say was a lengthy deception to mask the true purpose of the payments.As jurors were shown business records and other paperwork, Cohen explained their purpose and reiterated again and again that the payments were reimbursements for the hush money 맥스카지노� they weren맥스카지노�t for legal services he provided or for a retainer.It맥스카지노�s an important distinction, because prosecutors allege that the Trump records falsely described the purpose of the payments as legal expenses. These records form the basis of 34 felony counts charging Trump with falsifying business records. All told, Cohen was paid $420,000, with funds drawn from a Trump personal account.맥스카지노�Were the descriptions on this check stub false?맥스카지노� Hoffinger asked.맥스카지노�Yes,맥스카지노� Cohen said.맥스카지노�And again, there was no retainer agreement,맥스카지노� Hoffinger asked.맥스카지노�Correct,맥스카지노� Cohen replied.But prosecutors also spent time working to blunt the potential credibility issues, painting Cohen as a longtime Trump loyalist who committed crimes on behalf of the former president. On the witness stand, Cohen described in detail the April 2018 raid that marked the beginning of the end of his time being devoted to Trump.맥스카지노�How to describe your life being turned upside-down. Concerned. Despondent. Angry,맥스카지노� Cohen told the jury.맥스카지노�Were you frightened?맥스카지노� Hoffinger asked.맥스카지노�Yes, ma맥스카지노�am,맥스카지노� he said.But he was heartened by a phone call from Trump that he said gave him reassurance and convinced him to remain 맥스카지노�in the camp.맥스카지노�He said to me, 맥스카지노�Don맥스카지노�t worry. I맥스카지노�m the president of the United States. There맥스카지노�s nothing here. Everything맥스카지노�s going to be OK. Stay tough. You맥스카지노�re going to be OK,맥스카지노�맥스카지노� Cohen testified.Cohen told jurors that he 맥스카지노�felt reassured because I had the president of the United States protecting me ... And so I remained in the camp.맥스카지노�It was his wife and family who finally made him see how sticking by Trump was detrimental.맥스카지노�What are you doing? We맥스카지노�re supposed to be your first loyalty,맥스카지노� Cohen testified. 맥스카지노�It was about time to listen to them,맥스카지노� he said.The men were once so close that Cohen boasted that he would 맥스카지노�take a bullet맥스카지노� for Trump. But as their relationship soured, Cohen became one of Trump맥스카지노�s most vocal critics. The two have, over the years, traded vicious barbs. During their last courtroom faceoff in October during Trump's civil fraud trial, Trump walked out of the courtroom after his lawyer finished questioning Cohen.Throughout Cohen맥스카지노�s testimony Tuesday, Trump reclined in his chair with his eyes closed and his head tilted to the side. He shifted from time to time, occasionally leaning forward and opening his eyes, making a comment to his attorney before returning to his recline. Even some of the topics that have animated him the most as he campaigns didn맥스카지노�t stir his attention.맥스카지노�Mr. Cohen, do you have any regrets about your past work for Donald Trump?맥스카지노� Hoffinger asked.맥스카지노�I do,맥스카지노� Cohen said. 맥스카지노�I regret doing things for him that I should not have. Lying. Bullying people to effectuate a goal. I don맥스카지노�t regret working for the Trump Organization. As I expressed before, I had some very interesting, great times."___Long reported from Washington. Associated Press writers Jill Colvin in New York and Lisa Mascaro in Washington contributed to this report.