Trump Organization Executive Vice President Donald Trump Jr., son of the former President, was subpoenaed Monday amid a demand for his testimony at an upcoming trial.
A jury in New York will be asked whether the Trump Organization owes former President Trump’s attorney and self-described “fixer” Michael Cohen up to $1.3 million in legal fees.
Cohen had originally sued in 2019. He wants the Trump Organization to pay for his defense of then-President Trump and himself in 2017 and 2018, along with some 20 meetings Cohen undertook with the office of Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg and a grand jury regarding Cohen’s role in role in paying “hush money” ahead of the 2016 Presidential election.
Cohen pleaded guilty in federal court in 2018 for arranging a nondisclosure agreement for which he paid adult film actress Stormy Daniels $130,000, a campaign contribution violation during the 2016 election cycle, since the payment was made in service of the Trump campaign and exceeded the federal limit.
In April Trump pleaded not guilty to 34 felony counts of falsifying business records and conspiracy for his role in the payments of hush money to Daniels and another woman during the 2016 campaign season.
Cohen’s attorney Hunter Winstead said in court Friday that during a deposition a company attorney said the Trump Corporation covered Trump Jr.’s legal fees in relation to some of the investigations related to Cohen.
“We would like to introduce testimony about what Mr. Trump Jr. paid his lawyers in the exact same matters,” Winstead said.
Winstead had initially intended to call the former President as a witness, but Judge Joel Cohen—no relation to Michael Cohen—said Friday that there was “no need for him” after Trump Organization lawyers agreed not to contest the fact that oral agreements were made.
Judge Cohen did say Trump Jr. could be called.
Trump attorney James Kiley called Michael Cohen’s witness list “borderline harassment.”
Former President Trump sued Cohen in April for more than $500 million, alleging his former fixer breached his “fiduciary duty” and attorney-client privileges to be “unjustly enriched.” Cohen denied the allegations and said Trump was trying to “intimidate” him.
That legal quarrel is ongoing.
Jury selection in Cohen’s lawsuit is scheduled to begin on July 17.
