Tiffany Trump named in an apparent ‘extortion’ case during Donald Trump’s hush money trial. Here’s what happened
There was another unexpected comment on former US president Donald Trump’s hush money trial on Monday concerning his daughter, Tiffany Trump, regarding apparent blackmail just weeks before Election Day in 2016.
Donald Trump Jr., Eric Trump, Republican US presidential nominee Donald Trump, Melania Trump, Tiffany Trump and Ivanka Trump attend an official ribbon cutting ceremony at the new Trump International Hotel in Washington. (REUTERS)
At the time, Tiffany was a relatively low-key member of the Trump family.
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Like her half-siblings, Donald Trump, Jr., Eric Trump, and Ivanka Trump, she came from a background of wealth and public exposure but did not join the same role as her siblings had at the 2016 Republican National Convention.
Michael Cohen claimed someone blackmailing Tiffany
During cross-examination on Monday, Trump’s lead lawyer, Todd Blanche, pressed witness Michael Cohen about the apparent “extortion” attempt involving the former president’s daughter.
The purpose was to establish that Cohen had multiple reasons to be in communication with Trump during a critical period, beyond the Stormy Daniels matter he testified about.
“You agree with me, right, that you had a lot going on both in your personal life and with President Trump in those first two weeks of October?” Blanche asked. Cohen nodded and agreed.
Blanche continued, “You recall on October 25th, you recall her communicating with you concerns about somebody trying to blackmail her?”
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“Yes sir,” Cohen responded. He testified that he handled it immediately, speaking to David Pecker, Tiffany, and others.
This revelation came the day after Cohen testified that he spoke about the payoff to the porn star using the phone of Keith Schiller, Trump’s longtime security chief.
However, Blanche earlier pointed out that the date of the call coincided with prank phone calls Cohen was receiving from a 14-year-old, based on Cohen’s texts with Schiller.
Tiffany was named for the first time in the trial
Blanche called it a “potential extortion attempt” involving photos during the Monday trial, where Cohen also admitted to stealing $60,000 from Trump.
Blanche noted that Trump was preparing for the opening ceremony of his new D.C. hotel on October 26th, suggesting he had multiple subjects to discuss with Trump during a phone call where Blanche accused Cohen of “lying” about the topics covered.
“So was fixing Tiffany Trump’s situation important to you?” Blanche asked.
Cohen replied, “It was important I take care of things but it was not personally important to me.”
Blanche went on asking, “Wouldn’t that be something you updated her father about when you spoke the next morning?”
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Cohen’s response was, “No sir.”
This mention of Tiffany Trump was the only one in the month-long trial. Eric Trump and Don Jr. have each appeared with their father inside Manhattan criminal court, as did Eric’s wife, Lara, a co-chair of the Republican National Committee.
Tiffany Trump has maintained a low profile since graduating from Georgetown University Law School in 2020. She met her now-husband Michael Boulos in 2018 at Lindsay Lohan’s beach club in Greece. He proposed to her in the White House Rose Garden in 2021, and they married at Mar-a-Lago the following year.
