2/ McB:

Two minutes later, the prosecution enters through the side door.

Once and future witness Longstreet had arrived a bit earlier with another paralegal to set up a few documents.

Merchan enters and retakes the bench.

"Witness entering," a court officer announces, as he holds the door open for Rebecca Manochio.

She retakes her seat on the stand, and Justice Merchan calls in the jury.

3/ McB:

The jurors are back, Merchan gives scheduling update: We're going to break today around 4pm, a bit earlier.

Necheles begins cross. Manochio's aunt works at the Trump Org as well, says it's a nice place to work.

Q Was Trump the only person who could sign his personal checks?
A Correct
Q All the checks for all his personal expenses were the ones being FedExed? No business expenses?
A Correct
Necheles wants to make a point that Trump was uninvolved in running the business once president.

4/ McB:

Q: You testified that you got return envelopes after a few days?
A: Yes
Q: These were bills that needed to be paid promptly, so getting them back promptly was important to you?
A: Yes
Q: Was it the practice for legal expenses to be booked in his personal account ledger?
A: Idk.

5/ Wow! As quick as Trump's attempted sexual acts/ assaults, apparently.

McB:

It was a very quick cross — Manochio is already off the stand.

"The People call Tracy"—but I didn't catch the last name. She'll be up momentarily and will spell it out once on the stand.

6/ Pagliery:

Necheles tries to establish Trump Org would *always* send personal bills & checks to the Trumps while DJT & Ivanka were at the White House. Weisselberg and he weren't really in touch. All was normal.
"Yes."
"Yes."
Takes right hand, moves a lock of hair out of her face.
"Yes."
Necheles: "President Trump was verrrry busy and out of the office, correct?"
Manochio: "Correct."

The junior bookkeeper is off the witness stand now.

7/ McB:

Mangold is back at the lectern, so I assume it's another records custodian witness.

The side door cracks open, then shuts, then opens...then shuts.

"Witness entering," we hear, and a woman in black jacket and pants walks up to the stand and takes the oath.

Her name is Tracy Menzies, from Monmouth Co. NJ.

8/ McB:

Menzies works at HarperCollins book publishing, as SVP of Production and Creative Operations. First time ever testifying in a legal proceeding. She's a custodian of records for HarperCollins, which was compelled to testify pursuant to a subpoena.

9/ McB:

Q: How involved are authors in the publication of their books?
A: At HC, authors have a partner who works with them to approve cover designs, etc.
Q: There are multiple points authors have input in their books, including content and cover design?
A: Yes, they are very involved.

10/ Pagliery:

Keep in mind, many of the main characters in this saga have written books about this.

In his case, it's Trump's "Think Big, Make It Happen In Business and in Life."

McB:

Q: What about when there's more than one author, do all authors have to sign off on the content?
A: Yes

Mangold asks her about the book, "Think Big, Make It Happen in Business and In Life."

11/ McB:

We see People's 415: it's the cover of "Think Big" with TRUMP emblazoned across the top, and Trump pointing straight at the viewer with his mouth open as if mid-sentence.

He wrote it with a man named Bill Zanker (not pictured on the cover).

12/ McB:

We see the title page, and 👉🏼Trump's name is just as big, if not bigger, than the title itself.

Think Big was originally published in 2007, but the version we're looking at is from 2021.

13/ Recap from Weissmann:

Trump Org junior bookkeeper testifies that the checks that Trump signed (that the state alleges were the reimbursement for Cohen for the hush money payment) were mailed to Keith Schiller to his home address in DC, per instructions from Rhona Graff, as opposed to sending to Trump at the White House. Schiller is the bodyguard who Daniels testified was outside the suite in which trump and she had sex.

14/ McB:

In Think Big, Zanker and Trump have distinct voices, distinguished by different fonts (serif for Trump, non-serif for Zanker) and dedicated sections.

👉🏼From Trump's section, a sub-hed: DO NOT TRUST ANYONE "hire the best people and don't trust them" Trump advises.

15/ Klasfeld:

Context: Prosecutors want to show that Trump was a micromanager, boasted about being a micromanager and wrote many books extolling the virtue of micromanagement.

McB:

👉🏼Pg 160: "I value loyalty above everything else—more than brains, more than drive, more than energy."
Two pages later: "the reason we have so many loyal people is that 👉🏼we reward loyalty...It has become part of the corporate culture of The Trump Org...people like Weisselberg"

16/OOF!

McB:

Another excerpt now, along the same theme: loyalty.

👉🏼"This woman was very disloyal, and now I go out of my way to make her life miserable."

Another: "When somebody screws you, screw them back in spades."👈🏼

17/ Klasfeld:

"My motto is: Always get even. When somebody screws you, screw them back in spades." [...]

"Getting even is not always a personal thing. It's just a part of doing business."

Cross-ex by Todd Blanche:

Q: Were you part of the publishing of this particular book?
A: No, I was not.

18/ McB:

Q: Is it fair to say that covers of book are designed in part for sales, to help sell the book?
A: Yes, but they're done very closely with the author.

Blanche points out that she was shown only 6 redacted pages out of over 300, chosen by the prosecution.

19/ Weissmann:

Witness from publisher Harper Collins is reading excerpts of a Trump book talking about how loyal Weisselberg is and how Trump Org prides itself on loyalty. This will undercut the defense that Weisselberg issued the reimbursement checks without telling Trump what he was doing.

Smart move.

20/ Pagliery:

"Get the best people, and dont trust them. Do not trust them, because if you dont know what you are doing, they are going to rob you blind."

Presumably, this is so prosecutors can later show that he wouldn't let Cohen milk him for money. This $420k was reimbursement.

21/ McB:

No further questions, no redirect, and the witness steps down.

"The People call Madeleine Westerhout."

Recall, Westerhout was Trump’s executive assistant at the beginning of his presidential term, and when Trump met with Cohen at the White House.

22/ McB:

She is dressed in all white, and looks eerily similar to Rebecca Manochio.

Mangold begins her direct examination. Westerhout is the chief of staff to the chairman of a geopolitical consulting firm.

23/ McB:

Q: Do you know former Pres Trump?
A: I do.

She was compelled to appear by subpoena, and this is her first time ever inside a courtroom.

Q: Are you nervous to testify today?
A: I am now yes, (she says as she laughs, well, nervously.)

24/ Weissmann:

witness Madeleine Westerhaut- expect more info about how the checks used to repay Cohen were sent to DC/signed by Trump/sent back to Trump Org.

McB:

Westerhout says her counsel "graciously agreed" to take her case on pro bono.

She began her career in DC at the Republican National Committee, working for the finance director.

25/ Klasfeld:

Questioning turns to the "Access Hollywood" tape:

"At the time, I recall it rattling RNC leadership," Westerhout says, confirming that there were conversations about how to replace him as a candidate "if it came to that."

26/ McB:

After the election, Westerhout says she worked out of Trump Tower, helping the "president-elect" coordinate cabinet interviews and other matters, even though she lived full-time in DC still.

27/ Klasfeld:

Westerhout recalls helping Trump interview candidates for certain positions.

"A majority of the working days from November through about January."

Since she kept scheduling high level meetings, she recalls, she earned the nickname 'The Greeter Girl.'

28/ Pagliery's take:

Interesting turn. Prosecutors are using her—under oath—to describe how the GOP responded to the Access Hollywood leak.

Again, this is brand new ground.

"...there were conversations about how to... how it would be possible to replace him as the candidate if it came to that."

29/ McB:

Westerhout says she got a nickname in the media—"the greeter girl"—for her role scheduling high level meetings.

Mangold asks about Rhona Graff, with whom Westerhout worked between the election and inauguration.

"We worked seamlessly together," says Westerhout.

Q: Do you know someone by the name of Michael Cohen?
A: Yes, he was the president's former lawyer.
Q: How do you know him?
A: He was around...in Trump Tower.

30/ McB:

At some point, my boss came to me and said do you have any interest in sitting outside of the Oval Office, Westerhout says, and she thought it would be a cool experience.

Titles were not discussed yet, but she said yes.

"Yes, I do!" she recalls responding, with a chipper laugh. "That seems like a really cool job."

31/ Pagliery:

She's been really cool this whole time, turning to the jury to answer each question, even if it's only a few words.

But when describing the Republican Party thinking about knocking down Trump's 2016 campaign, she starts stumbling.

She must know he's right there, to her right.

32/ McB:

Westerhout says Trump moved from Trump Tower to the White House on 1/20/17—Inauguration Day.

She recounts that day, in the West Wing right outside of the Oval Office. She "technically" started her job right then that very day, she says.

Mangold displays a floor plan of the West Wing.

Q: Where is the Oval Office?
A: Um, it's the Oval Office, labeled 'Oval Office,' at the bottom.

(All the other rooms are square- or rectangle-shaped.)

33/ Klasfeld:

Press pool report:

"Trump entered the hall at 2:14. He raised his fist and walked into the courtroom without answering 'why is Rick Scott here and not your wife' and 'why don't you want Karen McDougal to testify'"

34/ McB:

Westerhout says she sat in the "outer Oval Office," and points out on the floor plan where her desk was—it's just about as close as you could get to the Oval Office w/o being in Oval Office.

Also in the outer Oval: Hope Hicks, John McEntee, and Keith Schiller.

Dan Scavino was "one of the president's very trusted advisors," he did a lot of Trump's communications and to "get tweets out," says Westerhout.

[Me: FUN FACT: Scavino blocked me on Twitter early on. I'd never engaged w/ him]

35/ McB:

Q: As Trump's special assistant and executive assistant, was the president your only focus?
A: I tried to have it be my only focus. (she laughs nervously)
Q: Did you have job training or orientation?
A: Not formally, no, she says she observed Hicks, Scavino, and others to learn

36/ McB:

We progress in time through Westerhout's CV: eventually she became director of oval office operations, and her desk changed with her title.

Q: Did you develop an understnading of Trump's work habits and preferences?
A: I hope so
Q: His relationships and contacts?
A: Yes

37/ McB:

His social media presence? The way he interacted with his family? Yes and yes.

Back to his work habits. Westerhout says he preferred speaking with people in person, or on the phone. He took "a lot" of phone calls in the day, starting as early as 6am and late into the night.

38/ McB:

There's a "rather complicated process," to call the president, says Westerhout.

One way is to call Westerhout's desk, and she would patch them through.

But John Smith on the street calling 1-800-WHITEHOUSE wouldn't just be patched right through.