Former President Donald Trump’s “hush money” trial continues in New York on May 16.
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Summations Scheduled for Tuesday
Mr. Blanche said any rebuttal witnesses they seek to call will be short testimonies. He said the decision to call President Trump to the witness stand was one “we need to think through.”
Prosecutors have said Mr. Cohen is their last witness, and his testimony will finish up on Monday.
Justice Merchan told the parties to prepare to begin summations on Tuesday.
Attorneys Discuss Witnesses for Next Week, Interpretation of Law
Attorneys met with the judge to discuss expert testimony by defense witnesses.
“We would touch on basic statutory definitions, and then there are some phrases within those definitions that we think it’s important the jury get some guidance on,” said defense attorney Emil Bove.
“‘For the purpose of influencing any election for federal office’—that’s a statutory phrase,” Mr. Bove said. “The term ‘expenditure,’ and the term ‘coordinating expenditure’ are what we think would be the focus.”
The expert witness would describe a set of facts to give the jury an objective test for what “for the purpose of influencing an election” means, and “give the jury a sense of situations where the FEC has applied those terms,” Mr. Bove explained.
Another term the defense wanted an expert to define was “irrespective of a candidate’s campaign.”
“No hypotheticals, but to give the jury a sense of the applications” by providing other sets of facts where the FEC has used this term, Mr. Bove said.
He said the last thing they wanted to cover was “the press exemption.”
Justice Merchan asked, “so you believe the biggest impetus for this is that we have two competing sets of instructions, not that the facts of the case have changed?”
Mr. Bove said he wanted to clarify that he didn’t want the expert witness’s testimony to seem at conflict with the judge’s instructions.
Prosecutors disagreed, and prosecuting attorney Matthew Colangelo said what Mr. Bove “just described flies in the face of your honor’s very clear instructions.”
Mr. Colangelo argued that the expert “would testify that the way the defense is interpreting these issues is inconsistent with how the agency is applying them.”
“Then you would have three people telling the jury what the law it,” Mr. Colangelo said. “The very fact is that this is a contested legal issue is even more reason why this should be resolved through argument, your honor, in a pre-charge conference, not in testimony.”
Prosecutors argued the defense was now broadening the scope of their witness’s testimony.
Justice Merchan referred to his previous ruling limiting the expert witness’s testimony as to the general application of campaign finance laws, and not to offer opinions on whether this case constituted a FICA violation. He had allowed for explanation of general definitions and terms. The judge said he would read through the new submissions but his ruling has not changed.
Cohen Testifies About Denial Statement
Common Cause had filed a complaint with federal agencies arguing that Mr. Cohen’s payment to Ms. Clifford violated campaign finance law.
Mr. Cohen confirmed he shared the complaint with attorneys before it was public.
“You were very angry that the complaint had been filed?” Mr. Blanche asked. “And at that point you were sick of having to defend yourself from these frivolous allegations.”
“Yes,” Mr. Cohen said.
Mr. Cohen then issued a statement where he said “just because something is untrue doesn’t mean it can’t cause you harm or damage,” to explain why he had entered into an agreement for a story President Trump maintained was false.
“I wanted them to believe it was true,” Mr. Cohen said of his statement. “I called and told them [reporters] it was true.”
“But your testimony is that you were lying when you told them that,” Mr. Blanche asked.
“Yes sir,” Mr. Cohen said. He had recorded some of those calls he made to reporters, but said he did not recall why he did so. He said he would characterize his statement as “deceptive.”
Mr. Cohen stepped down from the witness stand.
Cohen Never Had Retainer Agreement
Mr. Cohen confirmed he had done work for the Trump family, but was officially an employee of The Trump Organization.
“And you never had a retainer agreement with those individuals, did you?” Mr. Blanche asked.
“No sir.” Mr. Cohen said.
“You didn’t need one because you worked for The Trump Organization, and you knew you were going to get paid,” Mr. Blanche said.
“Correct,” Mr. Cohen said.
“You testified multiple times on Tuesday that when you were President Trump’s personal attorney in 2017, you had no retainer,” Mr. Blanche said. “But the whole truth is the entire time you worked for The Trump Organization, you never had a retainer agreement?”
“No sir,” Mr. Cohen said. “I was an employee of The Trump Organization. Nothing unethical.”
Cohen Says ABC Wanted to Buy Stormy Daniels Story
After a short break, Mr. Blanche asked Mr. Cohen about the Stormy Daniels nondisclosure agreement.
Mr. Cohen said he had learned from Mr. Davidson that ABC and the Daily Beast were interested in buying it.
Mr. Cohen said he spoke to John Santucci of ABC News.
“He contacted me and asked me whether or not I was responsible, or we were responsible, for them not paying for the story. John Santucci used to come to the office quite a bit,” Mr. Cohen said.
“First I was a little shocked that John Santucci actually did it. Meaning, he had spent quite a bit of time following the Trump campaign, and then of course he denied that they were involved,” Mr. Cohen said.
“Do you recall Mr. Santucci asking whether you were able to kill that story, because Ms. Daniels had ‘gone dark?’” Mr. Blanche asked.
“Yes, that’s what I was saying before,” Mr. Cohen said.
“Do you recall saying that you believed Ms. Daniels was engaging in extortion?” Mr. Blanche asked. The judge allowed it over the prosecution’s objection.
“Yes, I recall saying that she was extorting Mr. Trump,” Mr. Cohen said.
He confirmed he put off paying the agreement for several weeks.
Mr. Blanche said Mr. Cohen testified that it was “payoff” when questioned by prosecutors.
“This was a completely legal contract, correct?” Mr. Blanche asked.
“Yes sir,” Mr. Cohen said.
“What I mean by that is, an NDA, a settlement between two parties, happens all the time, right?” Mr. Blanche asked.
“Yes,” Mr. Cohen said.
Defense Scrutinizes Secret Recording of Trump
Mr. Blanche asked about the secret recording Mr. Cohen made in Mr. Trump’s office. Mr. Cohen confirmed he picked up a call from Capital One Bank in the middle of the conversation, and the phone call was picked up on the recording.
Mr. Cohen also confirmed he used encrypted apps to keep conversations confidential, but sent NDAs through email/[/epoch_component]
Cohen Questioned About Motives Behind 2 NDAs
Mr. Blanche questioned Mr. Cohen about the story former Trump building doorman Dino Sajudin shopped around alleging Mr. Trump fathered a child out of wedlock. The story was purchased and Mr. Sajudin signed a nondisclosure agreement and the story was later confirmed false.
“You previously told law enforcement that he [President Trump] told you that he was concerned about the story because it involved people that still worked for him, and work for him, correct?” Mr. Blanche asked.
“Yes, sir,” Mr. Cohen said.
“And so it was important for him to keep from getting out,” Mr. Blanche said. “Yes, sir,” Mr. Cohen responded.
Mr. Blanche asked about the Karen McDougal story, saying Mr. Cohen “testified that you believed the story would have a significant impact on the campaign.”
“And my simple question to you is, President Trump didn’t initially think it would hurt him?” Mr. Blanche asked.
“Initially,” Mr. Cohen said.
Mr. Blanche also asked about specific phone calls had in 2016, asking whether Mr. Cohen recalled specific calls out of the some 14,000 calls that Mr. Cohen estimates he received or was on that year. Mr. Cohen said he could recall them based on reviewing related evidence that jogged his memory.
Cohen Made Nearly 100 Secret Recordings
“There were 95 secret recordings on your iPhone,” Mr. Blanche said, referring to conversations Mr. Cohen recorded without the other party’s knowledge.
“Correct,” Mr. Cohen said.
“Who else were you recording?” Mr. Blanche asked.
“I recorded, off the top of my head I can’t tell you, Jeff Silver on one event, Mr. Trump at another event, and a series of other reporters,” Mr. Cohen said.
“You understand that it’s not ethical for a lawyer to record a conversation with their client, correct?” Mr. Blanche asked.
“That’s correct,” Mr. Cohen said, affirming that he was a member of the New York bar when he secretly recorded Mr. Trump.
“Just so I understand, you surreptitiously recorded your client, so that you could play a recording between your client to a third party?” Mr. Blanche asked.
“That’s correct,” Mr. Cohen said.
Cohen Testifies About New York Times Reporter
Mr. Cohen said he met New York Times reporter Maggie Haberman more than 20 years ago.
“You asked her to write positive stories about you?” Mr. Blanche asked.
“That’s correct,” Mr. Cohen said.
“You asked her to write a story saying how good it was that you had that role from President Trump?” Mr. Blanche asked.
“Yes sir,” Mr. Cohen said.
“And in exchange for that, you would give tips to Ms. Haberman,” Mr. Blanche said.
“Not in exchange. I would give tips to Ms. Haberman if I believed it was something the New York Times would run, and if not I would go to a different publication,” Mr. Cohen said.
“You recorded a lot of conversations you had with reporters, right?” Mr. Blanche asked.
“No, sir, I would not characterize it as ‘a lot,’” Mr. Cohen said.
“How many?” Mr. Blanche asked.
“Forty,” Mr. Cohen said.
Mr. Cohen said he recorded conversations “as a form of note taking.” He said he would go back and listen to the conversations to figure out the best response to give when he was on a televised interview.
He said he later stopped this practice, after the presidential election in 2016.
Mr. Cohen affirmed that in February 2018, he shared a recording he made with Ms. Haberman for a story.
Mr. Cohen confirmed he texted reporters via encrypted apps as well.
Cohen Recounts Publicity Work for Trump
Mr. Cohen confirmed that he created the website ShouldTrumpRun.com and worked with the National Enquirer to get the story out.
“How do you go about getting a reporter or a newspaper or an interviewer to say positive things about you or about the Trump Organization?” Mr. Blanche asked.
“So I know many of the reporters and journalists at the various newspapers, and I have a longstanding relationship with many of them,” Mr. Cohen said. “I would reach out to them and I would ask them if they would be interested in doing an article about a specific topic, and I would give them the exclusive on it.”
Mr. Blanche asked about the opposite. “If you knew a newspaper was going to run something negative about you or President Trump or the Trump Organization, what steps would you take?”
“A journalist would call me and say, we’re writing a story about whatever the topic may be and we would like you to comment on the topic,” Mr. Cohen said. “I would go to to Mr. Trump’s office and discuss the topic with him, and reached back out to the reporter.”
“You never reached back out to a reporter, ever, without first checking with President Trump?” Mr. Blanche asked.
“It was my routine, always, to discuss it with Mr. Trump,” Mr. Cohen said. “Because if our response out was not the way he wanted it to be, he would one, blow up, and two, it would probably be the end of my job.”
“Generally what would happen is, after one newspaper puts out a story, somebody else tends to follow it. So we just mimic the response to the next newspaper or the next magazine,” Mr. Cohen said. “I would always get a comment or something in line with the conversation that we had on that specific topic. Again, if I did that, and he didn’t like the response, it would probably cost me my job.”
“So your testimony is that the frustration didn’t come from President Trump, it came from the campaign staffers,” Mr. Blanche said.
“Correct,” Mr. Cohen said.
Mr. Cohen confirmed he had also used the possibility of litigation to get stories taken down.
Attorneys Argue Over Perceived Impropriety
Mr. Blanche prepared documents for Justice Merchan, letting him know how he was planning to ask again questions about Mr. Cohen being informed of the indictment.
Prosecuting attorney Joshua Steinglass argued it would be better for the judge to “clarify the record and remove any suggestion that there was some sort of impropriety. I think the questions were entirely proper.”
“The detective said they told the New York Times before they told you, ‘nevertheless it’s done,’” Mr. Blanche said. “So I wasn’t doing anything other than trying to elicit the fact, which is entirely probative, that a detective saw fit to tell the witness that it’s ‘done.’”
Justice Merchan said that there was nothing improper about the question, but it left the jury with an “improper impression.”
Mr. Cohen affirmed that he did not have any evidence that the district attorney’s office improperly leaked information about the indictment.
Texts exchanged between Mr. Cohen and the caller harassing him were also entered into evidence.
Defense Disputes Cohen–Schiller Call Was Conversation With Trump
Mr. Blanche questioned Mr. Cohen about conversations in 2016. Mr. Cohen confirmed he had called bodyguard Keith Schiller because he wanted to speak to President Trump on Oct. 24, 2016, but did not recall if he told prosecutors this date.
Mr. Blanche referred to notes from that meeting and prosecutors objected.
Mr. Blanche referred to an incident where Mr. Cohen got a series of harassing calls, and Mr. Cohen texted the number back. The caller tried to apologize and Mr. Cohen wrote, “you’re going to have to explain that to the Secret Service,” to which the anonymous caller texted back “I didn’t do it. I’m 14. Please don’t do this.”
Mr. Cohen confirmed he called Mr. Schiller after the incident, and texted him the number of the anonymous caller. Timestamps put these exchanges just minutes after 8 p.m.
On Tuesday, Mr. Cohen had testified that this phone call to Mr. Schiller was a way to speak with Mr. Trump to update him about Stormy Daniels.
“That was a lie, you did not talk to President Trump on that night, you talked to Keith Schiller,” Mr. Blanche said.
“Based upon the records that I was able to review, in light of everything that was going on, I believe I also spoke to President Trump about the Stormy Daniels matter and thought it was going to be resolved,” Mr. Cohen said.
“We are not asking for your belief. The jury doesn’t want to hear what you think happened-,” Mr. Blanche said, before prosecutors objected to Mr. Blanche getting too aggressive.
Mr. Cohen confirmed prosecutors had not shown him the texts between him and Mr. Schiiler.
“So you were not basing the testimony on Tuesday on your memory, you were basing it on documents that the people showed you in prep?” Mr. Blanche asked. “Mr. Cohen, you just said that you don’t recall a phone call back in 2016. That is not what you testified Tuesday.”
The judge sustained the prosecution’s objection.
The court took a break for lunch.
Cohen Used AI to Make Up Legal Cases in Arguing for Early Release
Mr. Cohen admitted he had used AI to make up cases to argue his case for early release.
“Do you recall that there were fake cases, meaning fake legal cases, included in the letter for that application?” Mr. Blanche asked.
“I used an AI tool … created a whole bunch of phantom results,” Mr. Cohen said. “And then I provided to my counsel these three cases that were directly on point, for why supervised release for me, in the circumstances, was just and proper. And I provided it to him, and he included it in the document, and those cases were inaccurate.”
“When you say inaccurate, you mean those three cases didn’t exist?” Mr. Blanche asked.
“That’s correct,” Mr. Cohen said.
Blanche Questions Cohen on Contradictory Statements on White House Role
Mr. Blanche asked Mr. Cohen about his desire to work at the White House. Mr. Cohen had told prosecutors in earlier testimony he had conversations with a lot of people about working for President Trump in the White House, and would have liked to been considered for the chief of staff position.
“I would have liked to be considered for ego purposes,” Mr. Cohen said.
“Do you remember telling Congress that it was a lie, that you did not want to go to the White House?” Mr. Blanche asked.
“I remember telling Congress I did not want to work in the White House,” Mr. Cohen said.
“And that you were offered jobs in the White House, right?” Mr. Blanche asked.
“I was offered a role, yes,” Mr. Cohen said.
“But the truth is, Mr. Cohen, you really wanted to work in the White House, correct?” Mr. Blanche asked.
“No sir,” he said.
Mr. Cohen confirmed that the day after the election, he had told Mitt Romney’s fundraiser that he was going to go to the White House to be assistant chief of staff. There were other communications exchanged with his daughter and a friend where he discussed being chief of staff.
He said he was disappointed that he wasn’t considered for chief of staff when it was announced that the role went to Reince Priebus. His daughter was also “disappointed,” he said, referring to texts exchanged.
“You told people that you would like to be attorney general, correct?” Mr. Blanche said.
“I don’t recall,” Mr. Cohen said.
Me. Blanche referenced conversations where Mr. Cohen wanted the title of special counsel to the president and was refused, and Mr. Cohen maintained he wanted a job that put him in contact with President Trump but did not make him a White House employee.
“Your daughter said President Trump and his people were walking all over you, correct?” Mr. Blanche asked.
“Yes,” Mr. Cohen said.
“And you agreed with your daughter,” Mr. Blanche said.
“At the time,” Mr. Cohen responded.
“But you were disappointed that after all the work you had done for President Trump for nine and a half years, nobody, including President Trump, offered you a position in the White House,” Mr. Blanche said.
“That is not accurate,” Mr. Cohen said.
Mr. Cohen maintained he wanted to be President Trump’s personal attorney, because he could monetize that.
Mr. Cohen said he did not remember having conversations with Pastor Darrell Scott, a Trump adviser, about being disappointed about not being part of the administration.
“It would have been nice if I had been invited, consider other people who were part of the National Diversity Coalition were there and I wasn’t.” he added.
Cohen Tried Multiple Times to Reduce Sentence
Mr. Blanche continued to question Mr. Cohen about his efforts to reduce sentencing. Mr. Cohen confirmed he had met with various prosecution teams and the meetings did not result in a cooperation agreement.
“Since you’ve been released from prison, technically, you have made several attempts to be released from your supervised release early, correct?” Mr. Blanche asked.
“Correct,” Mr. Cohen said. He confirmed he has made multiple motions in court since his case was reassigned to a new judge.
Mr. Cohen said he had also refused a 501(k) letter of cooperation with the federal government, which was offered to his attorney.
“I said, I’m not interested so let’s not even talk about it,” Mr. Cohen said.
No Trial Next Wednesday
Attorneys conferred with the judge regarding Mr. Blanche’s line of questioning on the date of the unsealing of the indictment. Prosecutors argued it had left an impression on the jury there was something improper, and the judge allowed Mr. Blanche to elicit testimony about the date it was unsealed.
“Why don’t we see if you are able to address it properly,” Justice Merchan told Mr. Blanche.
Jurors have said they cannot work next Wednesday, so court with not be in session May 22.
Cohen Evasive on Whether He Asked for Pardon
Mr. Cohen had previously stated “I have never asked for, nor would I accept a pardon from President Trump.”
He confirmed in court he never asked for one, before affirming he asked his attorneys to explore the possibility.
“I never asked for it,” he said.
“I spoke to my attorney about it, because we had seen on TV President Trump talking about potentially pre-pardoning everybody, so I reached out to my attorney to ask whether this was legitimate,” Mr. Cohen said.
He confirmed he spoke with Mr. Costello about a pardon as well.
“So you did direct your lawyers to explore the possibility,” Mr. Blanche said.
“I did,” Mr. Cohen said.
“So when you said you would never accept a pardon from President Trump, that’s not a true statement?” Mr. Blanche asked.
“I wanted the nightmare to end,” Mr. Cohen said.
“You testified that you were 100 percent open to accepting it,” Mr. Blanche said.
“Yes sir,” he said.
“Your lawyer issued a public statement that admitted you had actually directed your attorneys at the time to explore the possibility of a pardon?” Mr. Blanche asked.
“I stated that, yes,” Mr. Cohen said.
“This wasn’t a confusing conversation. This was a pre-written statement by you that you read into the record,” Mr. Blanche said. “You read it into the record after being sworn in under oath.”
“Correct,” Mr. Cohen said.
Mr. Blanche began asking Mr. Cohen about his communications with Mr. Costello, and the court then took a break.
Blanche Questions Cohen’s Sincerity
Mr. Blanche questioned Mr. Cohen’s intention to take “responsibility” with his guilty plea, pointing to his ongoing efforts to reduce his sentences.
“You agree with me that neither you nor your lawyer told Judge Pauley that you had lied to him?” Mr. Blanche said.
“That’s correct,” Mr. Cohen said.
“You have blamed a lot of people over the years. You blamed your accountant, you blamed the judge, you blamed President Trump,” Mr. Blanche said.
“Correct,” Mr. Cohen said.
He confirmed that he and his lawyers had not told the judge they had felt pressured to make a quick decision about his guilty plea.
Mr. Cohen confirmed that some of the taxi medallions, related to the tax evasion charge were in his wife’s name, but his wife was uninvolved in the HELOC charge. He confirmed he had not told his wife he moved $131,000 from their home equity line of credit (HELOC).
Mr. Cohen also affirmed that he encouraged people he communicated with via encrypted apps to delete their communications with him.
Cohen Recounts Guilty Plea
Mr. Blanche questioned Mr. Cohen about his pleading guilty to tax evasion and submitting false statements to a bank.
“Now, no one put pressure on you to make false statements or lie under oath, correct?” Mr. Blanche asked.
Mr. Cohen repeated his explanations that he only had 48 hours to take a guilty plea before an indictment would be brought, and his wife would have been charged. He said he didn’t believe he should have been criminal charges. During direct examination, prosecutors had given Mr. Cohen the opportunity to explain an incident last fall when he testified he lied during his guilty plea, and Mr. Cohen said he did not dispute the underlying facts but did not believe he should have been charged.
“Did prosecutors from the Southern District ever say, if you don’t plead guilty, we’re indicting your wife?” Mr. Blanche asked.
“No, they spoke to my lawyer,” Mr. Cohen said.
He confirmed he told the sentencing judge that no one had threatened or induced him to plead guilty, and that he continued to blame others for the charges and did not believe he should have been criminally charged.
“In your book, you said the charges were 100 percent inaccurate,” Mr. Blanche said.
“I said that, yes,” Mr. Cohen said.
“And you felt, and I believe you still do feel, that you did not engage in tax fraud but you had to plead guilty to protect your wife and family, correct?” Mr. Blanche asked.
“Correct,” Mr. Cohen said.
Mr. Blanche sought to bring in remarks Mr. Cohen made in an interview seeming to disparage the federal prosecutors, and the government objected.
Mr. Cohen confirmed he had called the federal prosecutors derogatory names.
“I don’t believe that I should have been charged,” Mr. Cohen said, saying it should have been a civil case instead.
Mr. Cohen went into a lengthy explanation about his home equity line of credit (HELOC), arguing he should not have been charged.
“Sir, please don’t making a speech,” Mr. Blanche said. “When you testified to Judge Pauley that you knew at the time that the information provided to the bank was going to be used to make a decision about the HELOC, were you lying about those statements?”
“Yes,” Mr. Cohen said.
He had been asked about this in a civil trial against President Trump last fall.
“It wasn’t just President Trump’s lawyers that asked whether you lied in front of Judge Pauley, the assistant attorney general asked you as well?” Mr. Blanche said.
“Correct,” Mr. Cohen said.
“Do you remember being asked if that was a lie, and you said it was a lie?” Mr. Blanche said.
“Correct,” Mr. Cohen said.
“And you were asked last October whether you remembered having lied before Judge Pauley more than once,” Mr. Blanche said.
“Correct,” Mr. Cohen said.
“The reason you lied to a federal judge was because the stakes affected you personally, correct?” Mr. Blanche said.
“Yes,” Mr. Cohen said.
Defense Questions Cohen About Lying Under Oath
Mr. Blanche asked Mr. Cohen about the oath he swore every time he was deposed, and Mr. Cohen confirmed it was the same oath. He confirmed he is instructed during this process that he cannot make a false statement, and it would be a federal crime.
“You lied about the Moscow Project, correct?” Mr. Blanche said.
“Yes sir,” Mr. Cohen said.
“And there was a couple of different lies, correct?” Mr. Blanche said.
Mr. Cohen had downplayed how long the project went on.
“Now just to be clear, you knew at the time you made those statements that you were lying under oath, right?” Mr. Blanche asked.
“Yes sir,” Mr. Cohen said.
“And you said on Tuesday that your reason for lying was your loyalty to President Trump,” Mr. Blanche said.
“Yes,” Mr. Cohen said.
“And to be fair, you were truthful at sentencing about the fact that you had lied?” Mr. Blanche asked.
“Correct,” Mr. Cohen said.
Mr. Cohen’s perjury plea had been combined with his tax charges for sentencing.
He affirmed that when he pleaded guilty to the tax charges he knew his business partner had cooperated in the case against him.
Cohen Cheered Indictment on Podcast, Believed His Statements Helped Prosecution
Mr. Cohen confirmed he spoke about it on his podcast as well. “I want to thank the Manhattan DA’s office and their fearless leader Alvin Bragg … What an embarrassment it is to the office of the presidency!”
“That wasn’t the first time you said we wanted President Trump to get a taste of what you went through,” Mr. Blanche said.
“Correct,” Mr. Cohen said. He had said he hoped President Trump ended up in prison. “It won’t bring back the year that I lost, or the damage done to my family, but revenge is a dish best served cold.”
Clips were entered into evidence.
“You also said that you believed that the work that you did, through your media statements and your books and your podcasts, played a role in the prosecutor’s indictment of President Trump in this case?” Mr. Blanche asked.
“Yes I believe,” Mr. Cohen said.
He had said on TikTok he had “mental excitement” the day before opening statements in the trial.
“I knew at the time there was a paralegal monitoring my social media,” he confirmed.
Cohen Did Interview on Day of Indictment
Mr. Cohen did an interview with CNN the same day the indictment was unsealed, and said on TV that the case was like “David and Goliath.” He made the remarks before the indictment was unsealed after learning about it in a New York Times article.
“Now that was at the same time that the Manhattan DA’s office was telling you not to do TV, correct?” Mr. Blanche asked.
“Correct,” Mr. Cohen said.
Cohen Returns to Witness Stand
Defense attorney Todd Blanche continued questioning Mr. Cohen, asking about the process by which Mr. Cohen’s phones were given to the district attorney’s office.
Mr. Blanche sought to introduce texts sent to Mr. Cohen by detectives from the district attorney’s office who picked up his phones, and prosecutors objected.
Mr. Cohen confirmed the texts were sent around the time he testified before a grand jury in this case.
Attorneys Confer With Judge on Scheduling
Lawyers are in a long sidebar with Justice Merchan, discussing the schedule for the remainder of the trial.
There was wide anticipation among reporters gathered outside the courthouse this morning about how quickly Michael Cohen’s cross-examination and re-direct will wrap up, on the last day of prosecution testimony, and whom the defense might put on the stand in the trial’s remaining days.
“I apologize for all the whispering but I think we’re ready to get started,” Justice Merchan said.
This trial has not been in session Wednesdays, but the judge says they may continue on Wednesday next week.
Gaetz in Court With Trump
More allies are expected to show up in court to support President Trump on Thursday, with Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) spotted as President Trump gave morning remarks to the press corps.
He said his poll numbers were “through the roof” despite having campaigning limited by the trial, and blasted the prosecutors and judge for what he claimed was political motivations.
“A lead person from the DOJ is running this trial, so this is a Biden trial,” he said.
He did not respond to several shouted questions, including whether he would testify.
Trump Appeals Gag Order at Top Court
President Trump has appealed his gag order to the state’s top court, the New York Court of Appeals.
Earlier this week, the appellate division of the New York Supreme Court denied President Trump’s appeal of the gag order imposed by Justice Juan Merchan.
What to Know
Michael Cohen will return to the witness stand on May 16 for cross-examination as prosecutors say they plan to call no more witnesses.
Mr. Cohen is the prosecution’s most critical witness, as he is the only one that has testified about personal knowledge of former President Donald Trump’s knowledge and involvement of an alleged payment scheme to influence the 2016 elections.
President Trump was charged with 34 counts of falsifying business records for 11 checks cut to Mr. Cohen, which prosecutors allege were falsely categorized as legal expenses in order to hide payment to an adult film actress to prevent stories about an alleged affair from being published on the eve of the 2016 presidential elections.
Defense attorneys will next call expert witnesses in a bid to show nothing illegal occurred.
From The Epoch Times