Michael Cohen details what life was like as Trump's lawyer

Testifying just a few feet away from his former boss of a decade, Michael Cohen walked a Manhattan courtroom through the highs and lows of working behind-the-scenes for Donald Trump, a man for whom he once pledged to take a bullet.

"The only thing that was on my mind was to accomplish the task, to make him [Trump] happy," Cohen told the court on Monday.

Mr Trump has pleaded not guilty to charges of falsifying business records, relating to a hush-money payment Cohen, his former lawyer and fixer, claims he made to an adult-film star on the former president's behalf.

Leading up to Cohen's testimony, Mr Trump and his ex-attorney traded fiery insults on social media.

But on Monday, the former friends didn't even glance at each other as Cohen - calm and collected - told the court about their tumultuous past.