Donald Trump’s erstwhile lawyer Michael Cohen has confronted a tricky cross-examination, as he delivered a second day of testimony within the former United States president’s hush-money trial in New York.
Cohen is the prosecution’s star witness — and his testimony marks the top of Manhattan District Lawyer Alvin Bragg’s case towards the previous president.
On Tuesday, prosecutors additionally introduced that Cohen would be the last witness they plan to name, as the primary felony trial towards a US president nears its seeming conclusion.
As he returned to the witness stand on Tuesday, Cohen sought to make the case that Trump, his former boss, orchestrated a hush-money fee to grownup movie star Stormy Daniels — after which coated it up by submitting the costs as “authorized bills”.
The previous Republican president, who’s seeking re-election in November, faces 34 felony counts of falsifying enterprise data within the case.
Cohen described a gathering with Trump on the White Home in 2017 throughout which the pair allegedly mentioned a compensation plan to reimburse Cohen for the hush-money fee.
The previous lawyer has maintained he made the $130,000 fee on the behest of Trump to stop Daniels from going public with a sexual encounter she says she had with the previous president. Trump has denied that any such encounter passed off.
Trump has additionally slammed the case as a politically motivated “witch-hunt”, and his authorized group on Tuesday sought to painting Cohen as a liar who can’t be trusted.
However prosecutors imagine Trump tried to affect the end result of the 2016 vote by partaking in a “catch-and-kill” scheme to stifle media protection that would have negatively affected his marketing campaign for the White Home.
Listed below are the important thing takeaways from day 17 of the trial:
Cohen particulars Oval Workplace assembly
Early on Tuesday, Cohen recounted an Oval Workplace assembly with Trump in February 2017, whereby the newly inaugurated president allegedly mentioned Cohen would quickly be receiving the primary two installments of a bonus bundle.
That bundle, Cohen mentioned, included reimbursements for the Daniels fee.
“I used to be sitting with President Trump, and he requested me if I used to be OK,” Cohen instructed the jurors. “He requested me if I wanted cash, and I mentioned, ‘All good,’ as a result of I can get a cheque.”
Cohen testified that Trump then instructed him, “OK, be sure you cope with Allen,” a reference to Allen Weisselberg, the chief monetary officer of the Trump Group on the time.
Prosecutor Susan Hoffinger additionally walked Cohen via a collection of invoices and checks — some signed by Trump himself — that Cohen mentioned have been falsely marked as paying for retainer providers.
“There was no retainer settlement, was there?” Hoffinger requested.
“No, ma’am,” Cohen replied.
Within the courtroom, Trump was seen to react at varied factors in Cohen’s testimony, leaning over to talk together with his lawyer Emil Bove, seated to his left.
Cohen says he lied to guard Trump
The 57-year-old former lawyer additionally testified on Tuesday {that a} February 2018 assertion he launched concerning the hush money-payment was purposely “deceptive”.
The assertion declared, “Neither the Trump Group nor the Trump marketing campaign was a celebration to the transaction.”
Cohen defined that the assertion was “misleading”, as a result of it was neither the Trump Group nor the marketing campaign that was part of the transaction. “It was Mr Donald J Trump himself,” Cohen mentioned.
He added that he made the assertion “as a way to defend Mr Trump, to remain on message”.
Cohen additionally instructed the jurors that he helped craft a pair of statements purportedly from Daniels, the grownup movie star, denying her affair with Trump.
The primary got here after The Wall Avenue Journal reported in 2018 that he organized the $130,000 hush-money fee to Daniels. The second was written after Cohen mentioned he heard Daniels was planning to go on comic Jimmy Kimmel’s late-night TV present.
Cohen defined he contacted Keith Davidson, the lawyer who represented the grownup movie star within the hush cash deal, to place collectively the assertion, which Daniels issued on the day of her look. It reiterated that she had not been paid “hush cash” to disclaim the declare.
Cohen testified that he knew the statements have been false as a result of he had helped craft them — and that he knew the fee had been made as a result of he had paid it.
He additionally mentioned he regretted “mendacity, bullying folks” throughout his a few years working for Trump.
“To maintain the loyalty and to do the issues that he requested me to do, I violated my ethical compass. And I suffered the penalty, as has my household,” Cohen mentioned.
Defence presses Cohen on credibility
Trump’s defence group pressed Cohen throughout cross-examination on Tuesday afternoon, searching for to poke holes in his testimony and current him to the jury as a serial liar searching for revenge towards a former boss.
Cohen served time in federal jail for varied crimes, together with some associated the hush-money fee, and has admitted to mendacity underneath oath. He has additionally been vocal about his antipathy in direction of Trump, with whom he had a public falling-out.
Beneath aggressive questioning from Trump lawyer Todd Blanche, Cohen acknowledged calling the previous president a “dictator douchebag” on the social media platform TikTok.
The defence additionally confirmed jurors footage of Trump-themed merchandise on the market on Cohen’s web site, together with shirts with an illustration of the previous president behind bars. Blanche pointed to statements Cohen made on his podcast as properly, indicating the previous lawyer want to see Trump convicted.
In certainly one of a number of moments when Blanche requested Cohen if he needed to see Trump discovered responsible, the previous lawyer hedged: “I want to see accountability. It’s not for me. It’s for the jury and this courtroom.”
Blanche pressed him: “I’m simply asking you, sure or no: Do you wish to see President Trump get convicted on this case?”
“Positive,” Cohen replied.
Cohen’s shorter solutions underneath cross-examination marked a distinction together with his extra voluble testimony with prosecutors, and courtroom observers famous he fastidiously hedged in a number of of his responses, utilizing ambiguous language to skirt the defence group’s questions.
Republicans present assist; appeals courtroom upholds gag order
Mike Johnson, speaker of the US Home of Representatives, travelled to courtroom with Trump in his motorcade on Tuesday, in a distinguished present of assist.
They have been joined by different distinguished right-wing figures, together with North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum and Vivek Ramaswamy, each of whom ran towards Trump for this yr’s Republican presidential nomination.
The appearances come as Trump, the presumptive Republican nominee, retains a stable grip on the get together regardless of his authorized troubles.
Chatting with reporters outdoors the courtroom, Johnson weighed in on the case. “Trump is harmless of those expenses,” he mentioned.
The case, he added, “shouldn’t be about justice. It’s all about politics, and everyone can see that.”
The Home speaker additionally slammed the gag order towards Trump, which prevents him from publicly talking towards witnesses, jurors and members of the family of courtroom officers.
The previous president has been fined a number of instances and held in contempt of court for violating that order because the trial started final month.
Individually on Tuesday, a New York appeals courtroom rejected an try by Trump’s authorized group to have the gag order lifted.
Choose Juan Merchan, who issued the gag order, “correctly weighed” Trump’s free speech rights “towards the courtroom’s historic dedication to making sure the truthful administration of justice in felony circumstances, and the suitable of individuals associated or tangentially associated to the felony proceedings from being free from threats, intimidation, harassment, and hurt”, the appeals courtroom dominated.
