#MichaelCohen just testified that the #Costello emails came in perfect synchrony w/ the #Trump tweets is support of Cohen.
The NYTimes wrote an article in 2019 about the awkward role Robert Costello served here. He had intended to be Cohen’s lawyer, & spent countless hours on the phone w/him, but was never formally retained.
#criminal #law #TrumpTrial
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/04/21/us/politics/michael-cohen-trump.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare&sgrp=c-cb
We still haven’t had anything directly tying #Trump to the structure of the false business records outside of #MichaelCohen’s testimony on the stand, which the defense will aggressively challenge. But the risk for the defense is that the jury holds Trump accountable for all of the various mucky conduct that is being described here, & has been described throughout the trial.
#criminal #law #TrumpTrial #CatchAndKill #conspiracy #ElectionInterference #HushMoney
#MichaelCohen did not say that #Trump personally falsified the records, or even that he explicitly instructed someone else to do so. He did, however, testify that Trump knew the records would disguise the reimbursement as ordinary #legal expenses.
Importantly though, under NY #law, the concept of #AccessorialLiability does a lot of heavy lifting for the prosecutors, they only have to show that Trump intentionally aided his employees to falsify the records.
Prosecutors can argue that if #Trump knew about the false records & did not stop them, as #MichaelCohen says, then he aided the #crime.
The synchronization of the Trump tweets & Robert #Costello's outreach to Cohen helps to reinforce the idea that Trump was no longer communicating w/ Cohen directly, but he was still trying to make sure that his embattled fixer was under his thumb.
#criminal #law #TrumpTrial #CatchAndKill #conspiracy #ElectionInterference #HushMoney
#Costello came to despise #MichaelCohen & testified before a grand jury last yr in hopes of undercutting Cohen’s credibility. The grand jury nonetheless indicted #Trump.
Cohen testifies, w/emails on the screen, that Costello continued a fierce pressure campaign to keep Cohen loyal. Cohen says he understood Costello to be telling him not to cooperate w/ #law enforcement after the FBI raid.
The message from the then president of the United States was “stay in the fold, don’t flip, don’t speak.”
#MichaelCohen was in the midst of testimony about weighing whether to retain loyalty to #Trump, painting it as a very difficult decision, as he considered whether he would be loyal to his family, his country or Trump.
As he spoke, #VivekRamaswamy & a several other politicians supporting Trump walked back into the courtroom.
Never seen a display like that in proceedings — several ofcls marching in during testimony — it was indisputably disruptive.
#MichaelCohen looks down and takes a beat before turning to the #jury & talking about his family. He says he discussed w/ his family what he should do & they said: “Why are you holding onto this loyalty? What are you doing? We’re supposed to be your first loyalty.”
Cohen looks like he’s struggling to hold it together here as he recalls talking to his family about whether to stay #loyal to #Trump or to cooperate w/ investigators.
#criminal #law #TrumpTrial #conspiracy #ElectionInterference
#Hoffinger, the prosecutor, asks #MichaelCohen why he paid the money to #StormyDaniels. Cohen says he did so to #influence the #election, & that he did so at #Trump’s direction. This is a summary of the key themes & may signal that direct examination is coming to an end soon.
Trump’s lawyers are on edge thru this part of Cohen’s testimony. #Blanche & #Bove pass notes.
Trump, however, appears to be dozing peacefully. #NodFarter
As #MichaelCohen repeats that he worked w/David #Pecker & others at his company to do so, he again repeats that he took action at #Trump’s direction. The prosecutors use that testimony to lead into Cohen’s #guilty pleas in the federal case against him in 2018. Some of the charges against him were related to the #HushMoney payment.
#criminal #law #TrumpTrial #CatchAndKill #conspiracy #ElectionInterference #MobTactics #StormyDaniels #KarenMcDougal
#MichaelCohen reads aloud the tweets #Trump put out when Cohen pleaded guilty, saying that he felt “very badly for #PaulManafort & his wonderful family” & praising #Manafort for refusing to “break“
“Such respect for a brave man.”
A sitting president was tweeting these things.
Also shown: Trump's tweets attacking Cohen saying if anyone wants a good lawyer, he doesn’t recommend Cohen. He contrasts Cohen & Manafort, a #loyal ally, & criticizes Cohen for “breaking.”
Prosecutor #Hoffinger asks #MichaelCohen about committing federal #crimes, she also emphasizes the key themes of the prosecution's case, having him testify that he committed them on Trump’s behalf.
Prosecutors had to have Cohen address his crimes — if defense brought them up first, it may have looked as if prosecutors were hiding them. Hoffinger managed to use that part of testimony to restate the DA’s case, reminding jurors why they’re here: To assess #Trump’s guilt, not Cohen’s.
#MichaelCohen testifies about his 2019 testimony before the #House of Representatives, one hearing of which was televised. During that hearing, he sealed his split w/ #Trump, calling him a #racist & a #ConMan who was #unfit for office.
Cohen recaps his apology to the public during that testimony. Cohen is one of the only Trump allies or advisers who actually served time in #prison.
#criminal #law #TrumpTrial #CatchAndKill #conspiracy #ElectionInterference #HushMoney #MobTactics
#MichaelCohen’s testimony at the Congressional hearing is certain to come up during cross-examination, including his assertion that he didn’t want a job in the WH.
Cohen is now discussing his meetings w/ Robert #Mueller, the special counsel investigating the #Trump campaign's ties to #Russia.
#criminal #law #TrumpTrial #CatchAndKill #conspiracy #ElectionInterference #HushMoney #MobTactics
#MichaelCohen is asked, over an objection by the defense, about how he was sent home on furlough from federal #prison in 2020, during the height of the COVID pandemic.
He was ultimately returned to prison bc he was planning to publish a book later that year & refused to sign a letter from #Trump AG Bill Barr saying he wouldn’t publish. A judge later called the move “retaliatory” by the federal govt, & he was freed.
#criminal #law #TrumpTrial #CatchAndKill #conspiracy #ElectionInterference
#MichaelCohen, for only the second time this trial, is getting angry as he remembers what he clearly sees as an #injustice. He testifies that not only was he sent back to #prison, he was put in #solitary confinement.
#criminal #law #Trump #TrumpTrial #CatchAndKill #conspiracy #ElectionInterference #HushMoney #MobTactics
#MichaelCohen testifies about meeting w/various #law enforcement agencies, including the Manhattan DA’s office. His story is coming full circle as he talks about cooperating w/the prosecutors in this case.
#Hoffinger, the prosecutor, takes him all the way to March 2023, when Cohen testified in the grand jury. #Trump was indicted later that month.
#criminal #law #TrumpTrial #CatchAndKill #conspiracy #ElectionInterference #HushMoney #MobTactics
#Hoffinger asks if #MichaelCohen has sought a reduction for his sentence, & if he asked the DA’s office for help.
The answer to both questions is yes. Hoffinger makes clear that the Manhattan DA’s office was willing to provide a letter to help him in 2021, if federal prosecutors at the SDNY would accept it as a reason to reduce his sentence. But the federal prosecutors — who deeply dislike Cohen — wouldn’t accept it & no letter was provided.
#Hoffinger makes clear that #MichaelCohen chose to testify & help the case despite not getting what he wanted.
Hoffinger, preparing for the defense's cross-examination, asks Cohen about the cell phones from which #evidence was pulled. The defense has tried to raise questions about when those phones were obtained & whether the evidence on them may have been manipulated.
Hoffinger asks if Cohen altered or modified the recording he made of #Trump.
He responds: “No, ma’am.”
In 2023, during #MichaelCohen’s testimony at #Trump’s #civil #fraud trial, the defense was able to trip him up while asking him about one of his federal guilty pleas. There, he seemed to suggest that he wasn’t actually #guilty of one of the #crimes he had pleaded guilty to. Ever since, Trump’s lawyers have accused him of perjury.
Hoffinger asks Cohen about that now.
#criminal #law #TrumpTrial #CatchAndKill #conspiracy #ElectionInterference #HushMoney #MobTactics #StormyDaniels #KarenMcDougal
#Hoffinger asks #MichaelCohen about that now. He says now he did not dispute the underlying facts of the case, but BELIEVED — & still does — that he should not have been criminally prosecuted for that specific offense, #tax evasion. He says that he felt pressured & felt that he was charged w/that particular #crime, which was not related to the #HushMoney payment, unjustly.
#duress #criminal #law #Trump #TrumpTrial #CatchAndKill #conspiracy #ElectionInterference #HushMoney #MobTactics
#Hoffinger is going through a lengthy list of all that #MichaelCohen has lost financially. This is similar to something #StormyDaniels said, when pushed on cross-examination about whether she had money to gain by telling her story about #Trump. She said that she had also lost a lot.
Cohen also acknowledges that he has been #disbarred.
.
#criminal #law #TrumpTrial #CatchAndKill #conspiracy #ElectionInterference #MobTactics
#Hoffinger asks #MichaelCohen to explain why he lied to this person or that person. She’s doing it to prepare the jury for what will likely be a brutal cross-examination. Thing is, that’s what #Trump paid him to do & the jury heard how happy Trump was w/Cohen at various points & how he couldn’t have been unaware of what Cohen was doing.
Cohen says he now works in media & entertainment & started a podcast while on home confinement. He says he discusses news as well as Trump.
Under prosecutor #Hoffinger’s questioning, #MichaelCohen decribes how he has made money from his story of #Trump’s betrayal.
He says that he wrote a memoir in #prison, called “Disloyal,” about his life & experiences working for the #TrumpOrganization. He says his next book, “Revenge,” was a “forensic dissection” of the corrupt prosecution against him.
Cohen addresses the fact that he had #StormyDaniels on his podcast. He says it was time to apologize to her.
#Hoffinger, the prosecutor, is now detailing a lawsuit that #Trump filed against #MichaelCohen in Florida, well after the presidency. Ultimately Trump decided not to be deposed [wonder why¿] & the case was dismissed. That suit was widely seen as #WitnessIntimidation.
Cohen reflects on his time w/Trump:
“I don’t regret working at the Trump Organization.” But in order to stay in Trump’s good graces & obey his orders, “I violated my moral compass, & I suffer the penalty.”
During a sidebar prosecution informed Justice #Merchan that #MichaelCohen is their last witness.
#Trump atty Todd #Blanche also said they couldn’t commit to saying they would be calling any witnesses at all.
Also the appeals court rejected Trump’s bid to overturn his GagOrder.
#criminal #law #TrumpTrial #CatchAndKill #conspiracy #ElectionInterference #HushMoney #MobTactics
Trump is back in court after lunch, carrying a stack of papers. His entourage of elected ofcls appears to have mostly left, though #VivekRamaswamy, remains.
#Trump is seated at the defense table reading through his stack of papers, which are usually positive news articles about him or negative ones about President #Biden. [pacifiers]
#MichaelCohen has been called back to the stand.
#criminal #law #TrumpTrial #CatchAndKill #conspiracy #ElectionInterference #MobTactics
Todd #Blanche, a #Trump defense lawyer, is on cross-examination of #MichaelCohen. He begins by asking Cohen whether or not they have spoken before. Blanche says Cohen went on TikTok & called him a “crying little shit.”
[petty mf]
Cohen says that it sounds like something he would say, but the prosecutors object and the judge sustains it.
#criminal #law #Trump #TrumpTrial #CatchAndKill #conspiracy #ElectionInterference #HushMoney #MobTactics #NodFarter #GagOrder #StormyDaniels #KarenMcDougal
There are two objections, quickly sustained, and Justice #Merchan has already asked the lawyers to approach.
Merchan, whispering to Todd Blanche at his desk during a fast sidebar, is shaking his head & speaking to #Blanche, looking him dead in the eyes.
Blanche, frowning, returns to the lectern.
#MichaelCohen
#criminal #law #Trump #TrumpTrial #CatchAndKill #conspiracy #ElectionInterference #HushMoney #MobTactics #NodFarter #GagOrder #StormyDaniels #KarenMcDougal
#Blanche asks #MichaelCohen if he’s been following the trial. Cohen says yes, to some extent. Blanche asks if he knows details about the jury selection process.
Objection from prosecution, & it's sustained.
Blanche asks Cohen if he recalls saying on TikTok, while David #Pecker, the fmr publisher of The #NationalEnquirer, was on the stand, that Pecker was corroborating everything he'd been saying for 6 yrs.
#criminal #law #Trump #TrumpTrial #CatchAndKill #conspiracy #ElectionInterference
#MichaelCohen has so far remained calm, sitting w/his hands clasped in his lap.
He's taking a beat before answering his questions & appears to be choosing his words carefully. #Trump is sitting w/his eyes closed at the defense table.
#Blanche is almost certainly trying to get under Cohen's skin.
#criminal #law #TrumpTrial #CatchAndKill #conspiracy #ElectionInterference #MobTactics #NodFarter
Blanche's opening line of questioning is all based on #MichaelCohen's public statements on outlets like TikTok.
Blanche questions Cohen about his relentless public commentary about matters related to the trial.
This is totally irrelevant to the case.
#Blanche asks Cohen if the reason he is following the trial is because it's important to him. Cohen acknowledges that it is.
#criminal #law #Trump #TrumpTrial #CatchAndKill #conspiracy #ElectionInterference #HushMoney #MobTactics
#Blanche asks #MichaelCohen about another damning quote, in which Cohen said that #Trump belonged in a cage, “like an animal,” using an expletive that makes the sentiment even more forceful. “I recall saying that,” Cohen says.
Blanche questions Cohen about how he & his fmr lawyer Lanny Davis interacted w/the media, suggesting that Cohen clashed w/Manhattan prosecutors by repeatedly commenting to the press about their investigation.
#criminal #law #TrumpTrial #conspiracy #ElectionInterference
#MichaelCohen is asked if he has continued to talk to reporters about the case. Cohen offers a partial answer, saying that that "sounds correct."
#Blanche, #Trump's lawyer, frustrated pushes Cohen to confirm that it "is" correct.
Cohen acknowledges that it is.
Blanche is trying to drive a wedge between Cohen & the Manhattan DA’s office. He’s also trying to illustrate to the jury that Cohen is a rogue agent, whom prosecutors cannot control.
#Blanche gets to his point: that #MichaelCohen says he doesn't "recall" having had multiple conversations w/the DA's office about not going on TV, but he can recall w/pristine detail conversations he said he had w/ #Trump in 2016.
"I remember all the phone conversations w/Mr. Trump at the time, yes," Cohen says.
FYI, Cohen is under no obligation to “recall” anything. He is not on trial.
#criminal #law #TrumpTrial #CatchAndKill #conspiracy #ElectionInterference #HushMoney #MobTactics
#MichaelCohen continues to testify about the times prosecutors have warned him not to talk about the trial.
#Trump smiles at one of his lawyers, Susan #Necheles, who smiles back.
#Blanche is now making it clear that Cohen defied prosecutors’ wishes by talking to reporters. The idea, again, is to show Cohen is capable of going off on his own & doing what he wants, which the defense will likely say he did while working w/Trump.
#criminal #law #TrumpTrial #CatchAndKill #ElectionInterference
#Blanche asks #MichaelCohen if he has gone on TV several dozen times. “I have gone on television,” Cohen says. Blanche asks him if it’s >20 times. “It could be,” Cohen concedes. Blanche asks him if he has any doubt that he has gone on television >20 times, & Cohen allows, that no, he has no doubt he has gone on television >20 times.
FFS. irrelevant.
#criminal #law #Trump #TrumpTrial #CatchAndKill #conspiracy #ElectionInterference #HushMoney
After testifying about these appearances & his podcast, #Blanche asks #MichaelCohen if it’s fair to say he talks about #Trump in every single appearance & episode. Cohen says yes.
Blanche goes into Cohen’s podcast schedule, tallying up 4 podcasts a week for many months, suggesting he’s done hundreds in which Trump has been a steady refrain.
Cohen says he’s been making TikToks for about 6 weeks, about 6 days a week.
#criminal #law #TrumpTrial #CatchAndKill #conspiracy #ElectionInterference
#Blanche seems to be seeking to show the jury several things about #MichaelCohen thru this line of questioning: That he can’t stop talking to the media, that he defies orders from prosecutors not to speak, that he remains obsessed w/ #Trump, that he hates Trump, that he still makes money off of Trump, & that he can perfectly recall conversations from years ago that are harmful to Trump but has trouble recalling more recent conversations that may be harmful to himself.
#Blanche is continuing w/the same kind of approach that #Trump atty #Necheles used on #StormyDaniels, to smear the witness.
“Do you want President Trump to get convicted in this case?” Blanche asks.
“Sure,” Cohen responds.
Some of Cohen’s blunt responses, including this one, have elicited laughter in the overflow room.
#criminal #law #TrumpTrial #CatchAndKill #conspiracy #ElectionInterference #HushMoney #MobTactics
#MichaelCohen is still calm, but focused, & turning around #Blanche’s questions wherever possible. He’s not being defiant, as he was during his shaky cross-examination in #Trump's #civil #fraud trial. Some of his answers, perhaps unintentionally, are funny, which could be taking the sting out of some of Blanche’s insinuations. The jurors look amused. One is smiling.
#criminal #law #TrumpTrial #CatchAndKill #conspiracy #ElectionInterference #HushMoney #MobTactics
The #jury is shown a picture of a t-shirt that #MichaelCohen is selling on his website. [think I’ll go buy one now] It’s an image of #Trump behind bars & wearing an orange jumpsuit.
#Blanche is suggesting Cohen is in it for the money, showing a shirt he sells that says “Convict 45” — during #StormyDaniels’s cross-examination Necheles attacked her for “shilling” mechandise online. Daniels responded it was very much like Trump's own tendency toward self-promotion.
As #MichaelCohen testifies, #Trump has dropped his head repeatedly & appears to be struggling to stay awake. #NodFarter
Blanche asks Cohen questions about the properties he has owned in Trump buildings. Prosecutors told a story about Cohen loving Trump until he felt he was betrayed in 2018. Blanche emphasizes that indeed there was a time when Cohen was devoted to Trump.
#criminal #law #TrumpTrial #CatchAndKill #conspiracy #ElectionInterference #HushMoney #MobTactics
#Blanche & #Trump atty Emil #Bove are both fmr federal prosecutors, & both have struggled at times to make arguments. Because prosecutors are the ones looking to prove #criminal charges, they often have a built-in advantage when making arguments. But defense lawyers have to explain the point they are making as they ask their questions. Blanche, who is speaking quickly as he seeks to corner #MichaelCohen on various points, is not consistently landing his points.
#Blanche is trying to portray #MichaelCohen as obsessed w/ #Trump. It was already shown that when he was w/the #TrumpOrganization Cohen sought approval from Trump, & then Trump went out of his way to humiliate Cohen, so Cohen wanting Trump to face justice seems like a reasonable reaction.
Blanche asks if Cohen was lying when he said Trump cared deeply about this country, & he's a man who tells it straight.
Cohen: “I was knee deep into the cult of Donald Trump."
#Blanche tries trapping #MichaelCohen by repeatedly asking if he lied. Cohen repeats over & over “I wasn’t lying. I believed it at the time”
Blanche emphasizes a counternarrative about Cohen, asking him how he felt when he was cut off from the Trump family. The defense appears to want to make him look like he has an ax to grind against #Trump.
#criminal #law #TrumpTrial #CatchAndKill #conspiracy #ElectionInterference #HushMoney #MobTactics
#Blanche turns to Aug 2018, when #MichaelCohen decided to cooperate w/the special counsel who was investigating the Trump campaign's possible ties to #Russia.
Cohen is asked about the infamous #SteeleDossier, a compendium of opposition research put together by various people looking to stop Trump in 2016, filled w/salacious allegations. At the time, Cohen was enraged about allegations about him that were in there, which he said were false.
#Blanche questions #MichaelCohen about his testimony to federal prosecutors in 2017 concerning his discussions w/ #Trump about a possible Trump Tower in #Russia.
Blanche gets Cohen to admit that he lied to federal prosecutors about Trump’s Moscow project. But doesn’t make it clear what exactly the lie was, so not sure what Blanche gained in the exchange.
#criminal #law #TrumpTrial #CatchAndKill #conspiracy #ElectionInterference
#Blanche tries, for a 2nd time, to contrast #MichaelCohen’s inability to recall his conversations w/prosecutors to his very clear recollection of the important conversations w/ #Trump.
Blanche reviews Cohen’s #criminal history & his 2 separate pleas to federal #crimes, the 1st in Aug 2018 & the 2nd in Nov. In the 2nd, he pleaded guilty to lying to Congress.
[#NodFarter is sleeping again]
#criminal #law #TrumpTrial #CatchAndKill #conspiracy #ElectionInterference #HushMoney #MobTactics
After the break, #Blanche continues the a line of questioning meant to portray #MichaelCohen as self-serving. Blanche displays notes in which Cohen wrote that he wanted to know how he would “benefit” by helping the DA’s office. Defense can try to use this to suggest Cohen is not simply looking to right wrongs.
Blanche asks Cohen about his curiosity of the investigation into #Trump, suggesting Cohen’s cooperation w/prosecutors is driven by self-interest, & therefore tainted.
#Blanche jumps around as he describes different investigations into #Trump involving #MichaelCohen. This gets confusing in a hurry.
Cohen has thus far kept it together on the stand. As a lawyer-albeit disbarred, he is familiar w/legal methods & courtrooms, & it shows. He’s giving short, basic answers. He's also leaning on one response in particular - "Sounds like something I would say," a phrase that leaves wiggle room.
#criminal #law #TrumpTrial #CatchAndKill #conspiracy #ElectionInterference
#MichaelCohen uses the phrase to defang #Blanche when the defense lawyer asks him about the colorful insults he has lobbed at #Trump. Blanche asked Cohen if he had called Trump a "boorish cartoon misogynist" & "Cheeto-dusted cartoon villain." Cohen responded to both questions w/a version of "sounds like something I would say."
After running through some of the insults Cohen has called Trump on his podcasts, Blanche again emphasizes that Cohen makes money from those podcasts.
#Blanche quoted the list of desires #MichaelCohen included in one of his books,
"Disloyal." He said he wants, in order:
"power, the good life, public acclaim, big deals, fast cars, private planes, the excess & glamor & zest for life."
"Is that what motivates you?" Blanche asks.
Cohen acknowledges that they are his words.
#Blanche next questions #MichaelCohen about the specifics of his #prison sentence & Cohen looks puzzled - not relaxed, but composed.
Jurors seem to be having a hard time keeping up. One yawned, others are looking around the room.
Cohen's testifies about his initial supervised release from prison.
#criminal #law #Trump #TrumpTrial #CatchAndKill #conspiracy #ElectionInterference #HushMoney
#MichaelCohen testified that he has never met the Manhattan DA, #AlvinBragg. Pretty surprising considering Cohen is the star witness in the biggest case of Bragg’s career & all signs indicate that Bragg has supervised this investigation closely.
Court is done w/the first day of Cohen's cross-examination.
Blanche indicated to Justice #Merchan that he may finish cross-examination end of day on Thurs. Cohen is the prosecution's final witness.
#Blanche, #Trump's lawyer, began his cross-examination of #MichaelCohen today, by asking Cohen if he’d called him a “crying little shit” on TikTok. After an objection, there was a sidebar, out of earshot of jurors & attendees.
According to a transcript, Justice #Merchan asked Blanche: “Why are you making this about yourself?”
Blanche protested, but the judge stood firm. “Just don’t make it about yourself,” he said to conclude the conference.
Ridiculous.
Have been reading abt Blanche for weeks now but after seeing this post with those particular quotes I got a whole different image of Blanche in my mind that may be hard to get rid of.
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