During the recent court proceedings, Trump attorney Todd Blanche questioned Michael Cohen about his communication habits, specifically inquiring if Cohen had a practice of asking individuals to delete their communications with him periodically. Cohen acknowledged that this was indeed his practice with certain people, including former National Enquirer publisher David Pecker.
Blanche's line of questioning aimed to shed light on Cohen's discussions with his wife regarding a Home Equity Line of Credit (HELOC) that Cohen used to make a payment to Stormy Daniels's attorney. Blanche referenced a statement made by Michael Avenatti on March 9, 2018, which suggested that the funds for the payment had originated from Cohen's HELOC.
However, the prosecution objected to this line of questioning, leading to a sidebar discussion. Blanche then pressed Cohen about the deletion of text messages around the same time, specifically asking if Cohen had deleted all text messages with his wife on March 11, two days after the alleged transaction. Cohen responded by stating that he was not aware of such deletions.