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.

39/ Wait. Trump can read?

McB:

Q: Did Mr Trump use a computer?
A: Not to my knowledge.
Q: Did Mr Trump have an email account?
A: Not to my knowledge.

She says Trump liked hard-copy documents, and liked to read, in fact his job in 2017 required quite a lot of it.

Westerhout says Trump wanted to keep the Resolute Desk "pristine," and only for meetings, so he would do a lot of his reading and other work in the "dining room," just off the Oval Office.

40/ McB:

Was he organized?

To my understanding, the president knew where things were, 👉🏼but he had a lot of papers he would take with him.

👉🏼Did he have attention to detail? Yes.

Signing practices? By hand—he liked to use Sharpies or a Pentel felt tip pen, says Westerhout.

41/ HEADS UP: I have to leave very soon, but I'll catch you up when we get back. They break early today.

Bower:

Trump used soc media, mainly Twitter, in 2017. He posted tweets himself using that handle.

Did anyone else have access to that account? Scavino. But other than that, Westerhout doesn't have knowledge of anyone else having access.

McB:

With the exception of the nervous laugh earlier, Westerhout is composed, clear, answering graciously and thoroughly, but never with excess detail.

43/ I'm back. It was a long showing, apparently a pretty good one, so who knows.🤞🏼

Catching up, via Phang:

MANGOLD: Signature practices, did he use an automated signature or sign by himself? WESTERHOUT: he signed by himself
MANGOLD: particular type of pen? WESTERHOUT: sharpies or pentel felt tip
MANGOLD: Did he typically read things before signing them? WESTERHOUT: “Um, y-yes”

44/ Phang:

MANGOLD: Did mr. trump use social media while he was in the white house? WESTERHOUT: He did yes. Primarily Twitter, now called X
MANGOLD: Did mr. trump post tweets himself using that twitter handle? WESTERHOUT: He did yes.
MANGOLD: Did he post things himself? WESTERHOUT: Yes

45/ Phang:

MANGOLD: Did anyone else have access to ealdonaldtrump in 2017? WESTERHOUT: My understanding is that Dan Scavino had access. MANGOLD: Did you ever see Mr. Scavino post a tweet without mr. trump’s approval? WESTERHOUT: I didn’t see the president or dan post every single tweet.

46/ Phang:

WESTERHOUT: If Dan [Scavino] wasn't available or around, the president would call me in and dictate a tweet to me, and then I would go back to my computer and type it up and print it out, and give it back to him so he could go over it.
“[Trump] liked to use exclamation points”
MANGOLD: Did he have particular preferences to his posts? WESTERHOUT: Certain words he liked to capitalize including "Country", he liked to use dots for a comma

47/ Phang:

Q: How frequently were you in touch with Trump Org A: Rhona and I spoke at least weekly sometimes daily at beginning of 2017. But that drifted off as I got into role. I was an intermediary when Trump had questions for Trump Org employees and vice versa. Rhona and i coordinated on his travel schedule, golf schedule, personal mail, the first family’s schedule, his calendar, his contacts.

48/ Phang:

Westerhout confirms Trump's contacts list, including Allen Weisselberg, David Pecker, and Michael Cohen, and...Jeanine Pirro.👈🏼

Westerhout testifies about a 2/5/17 email to Michael Cohen confirming a meeting between Cohen and Trump and asking for the kind of details necessary for admitting a guest to the White House. Westerhout does not specifically recall seeing Cohen when he came, but she agrees the meeting happened.

49/ Phang:

PEOPLE’S EXHIBIT 319 TEXT MESSAGE BETWEEN HOPE HICKS AND WESTERHOUT WESTERHOUT TEXT TO HICKS: “Hey the president wants to know if you called David pecker again?”

50/ Phang:

MANGOLD: What is your understanding of how Mr. trump’s personal expenses were handled in 2017? WESTERHOUT: it is my understanding they were handled by checks that were sent from the trump organization to Keith Schiller, and then sent to me for the president to sign.

51/ Phang:

MANGOLD: what did you do when you recived the checks? WESTERHOUT: The checks came in a fed ex envelope, so i opened the envelope and inside is a manilla folder with a stack of checks, and i brought the folder in for him to sign.
MANGOLD: Anything other than checks? WESTERHOUT: I didn’t really dig around in the folder, but there were invoices attached to the check sometimes

52/ Phang:

MANGOLD: Did you ever see trump sign check WESTERHOUT: Yes sometimes
MANGOLD: Did mr. Trump sign checks by hand? WESTERHOUT: Yes
MANGOLD: What happened after mr. trump signed the checks WESTERHOUT: He would give it back to me and i would put it in a prelabeled return envelope and send it back to trump org.

👉🏼Westerhout talks about how Trump would approve things as minor as a golf membership while he was in the Oval Office.

53/ All caught up.

Phang:

MANGOLD: trump’s reaction to stormy daniels story? WESTERHOUT: “I remember he was very upset by it.”
MANGOLD: Do you recall if mr. trump spoke to michael cohen around the time the story came out WESTERHOUT: I believe they spoke around that time yes
MANGOLD: Did you interact with mrs trump WESTERHOUT: I did, yes. WESTERHOUT: “He was my boss but she was definitely the one in charge”

54/ A LOT more detail from McB:

How would you describe Trump and Melania's relationship?

It was one of mutual respect, he cared about her opinion, 👉🏼and there was no one else who could put him in his place. 👉🏼He was my boss, but she was in charge. Their relationship was really special, they laughed a lot.

55/ Sorry, now catching up to McB. A lot.

Q: Did Trump's relationship with Melania change when the Stormy Daniels story came out?

A: Not to my knowledge, no.

Westerhout begins to break down and cry as she recounts the circumstances of her departure from the White House.

She learned a lot from her "indiscretions," she says.

56/ McB:

She had said some things she wasn't supposed to during what she believed to be an off-the-record dinner with a reporter, she says.

She wipes her tears. She seems genuinely regretful about the whole episode.

She wrote a book about it, she says, her voice shakey and faultering, and we see the cover now displayed:
Off the Record: My Dream Job at the White House, How I Lost It, and What I Learned

57/ McB:

She thought it was important to share with the American people that the man that I got to know. I don't think he was treated fairly, and I wanted to tell that story she says, through more tears.

Since publication, Westerhout says she spoke to Trump at a fundraiser in Orange County, but says that she did not discuss this case.

No further questions from Mangold.

58/ McB:

Before she walks up to the lectern, Necheles asks whether Westerhout would like a break.

No, Merchan says, but we're going to stop at 4 o'clock.

Q: You were very young, and you made a mistake?
A: Yes.
Q: You thought he was great to work for, and a great president?
A: Yes, she says, more tears.

🤦🏻‍♀️

59/ McB:

Back to the 2016 nomination, the transition, and the Access Hollywood tape.
Q: You testifed that it rattled the RNC leadership, and there were a couple days of consternation, but that happened all the time?
A: Yes.
Q: When Trump was running, there was always some event when—Necheles claps her hands and wipes them clean—there was total consternation.

She is familiar, friendly with Westerhout. Much friendlier than she was with Daniels, (of course).