Stealing from Trump was form of 'self-help', ex-fixer Cohen testifies

He claims he was upset about bonus being cut after Stormy Daniels deal

Donald Trump's former fixer Michael Cohen testified on May 20 that he stole money from Trump's company as a form of "self-help", an admission that could chip away at his credibility as a star witness at the former US president's hush money trial.

Questioned by Trump's lawyer Todd Blanche, Mr Cohen acknowledged stealing from the Trump Organisation by including a reimbursement to a technology company in his bonus package and pocketing most of the money.

"So you stole from the Trump Organisation, right?" Mr Blanche asked.

"Yes sir," Mr Cohen, 57, testified.

He said he paid roughly US$20,000 (S$27,000) of the US$50,000 that Trump's company owed to the tech company in cash, handing it off in a brown paper bag at his office. He said he kept the rest. He was reimbursed US$100,000 in total by the Trump Organisation for that payment.

Under questioning by prosecutors a bit later, he testified that he stole the money because he was upset about his annual bonus being cut after he fronted US$130,000 of his own money to buy the silence of porn star Stormy Daniels, who was threatening shortly before the 2016 election to go public with her account of an alleged sexual encounter with Trump.

"I just felt it was almost like selfhelp," he said.

Mr Cohen is the final and most important witness for New York prosecutors as they seek to convince a jury that Trump broke the law by covering up that payment to Ms Daniels.