Closing summary
Robert Costello, a lawyer called by the defense team, will resume his testimony when court resumes tomorrow morning. Meanwhile, prosecutors rested their case after Michael Cohen, Donald Trump’s former fixer and the prosecution’s key witness, completed his testimony today.
Here’s a recap of the day’s developments:
Michael Cohen testified that he knew the $130,000 hush-money payment to the adult film star Stormy Daniels violated election law – even though he claimed otherwise in a 2018 letter. Cohen’s testimony implicated that Donald Trump, by extension, must also have believed that the money violated the Federal Election Campaign Act (which caps individual contributions to campaigns at $2,000 a year) since it was to influence the outcome of the 2016 election.
Cohen’s testimony marked an important moment as it was the closest the prosecution has come to tying Trump to the alleged falsification of business records with an intent to commit a second crime – in this case, violating federal campaign contributions law.
The prosecution also attempted to undercut the Trump defense team’s contention that Cohen had a track record of lying whenever it suited his needs, such as when he lied to a federal judge in 2018 that he was not pressured into pleading guilty to tax evasion – which he later disavowed.
The pushback from prosecutors came after Trump’s lead defense lawyer, Todd Blanche, suggested that Cohen and the former Trump Organization chief financial officer Allen Weisselberg between themselves devised a complicated scheme to repay Cohen of the Daniels hush money and other expenses that came from his own pocket – but not the former president himself.
The defense also suggested that Cohen concocted the idea to “gross up” the repayment, which prosecutors have said Trump approved and violated state tax law, in order to increase the amount of money he got from the Trump Organization in 2016, after his bonus was lower than in 2015. “So you stole from the Trump Organization?” Blanche asked, his voice reaching a crescendo. “Yes, sir,” Cohen conceded.
After Cohen left the witness stand, prosecutors rested their case and Trump’s lawyers began calling witnesses of their own: paralegal Daniel Sitko, and Robert Costello, a former federal prosecutor who has publicly blasted Cohen. Costello had offered to represent Cohen soon after his hotel room, office and home were raided.
Costello testified that Cohen told him “numerous times” that Trump “knew nothing” about the $130,000 hush money payment to Daniels.
Judge Juan Merchan briefly closed the courtroom and forcer reporters out after he admonished Costello for his behavior on the witness stand. Addressing Costello, the judge said: “If you don’t like my ruling, you don’t say ‘jeez’ ... You don’t give me side eye, and you don’t roll your eyes.”
Trump’s lawyers are separately considering whether to call a federal elections law witness, Bradley Smith, as they seek to make the case that campaign contribution rules are complex and that Trump did not have the necessary intent to violate the contribution limits when he allegedly falsified business records.
Trump will have to decide whether to testify in his own defense. Legal experts have widely suggested Trump testifying would almost certainly be a mistake, given his track record of making self-incriminating comments.
Merchan still needs to decide whether he will issue jury instructions, and what form they might take. As a result, even if Trump does not testify, closing arguments are not expected to come until Tuesday 28 May.
Judge Juan Merchan said he is reserving decision on the defense’s dismissal request.
Trump attorney Todd Blanche, asking for a dismissal of the charges, argues that court should enter a verdict in favor of the defendant.
If there’s some conspiracy to influence an election ... how is keeping a false story from the voters criminal? So it’s a false story, and there’s a decision made to pay off a person who’s spreading a false story. That means a false story isn’t being presented to people voting in New York City.
He adds:
There is no way that the court should let this case go to the jury relying on Mr Cohen’s testimony and I don’t think the people would disagree that without Mr Cohen, there is no case ... he not only lied repeatedly in the past, under oath, but he lied in this courtroom.
Judge Juan Merchan says: “So you’re asking me to find Michael Cohen not credible as a matter of law?” Blanche said yes.
“So you want me to take it out of the jury’s hands, and decide before it even gets to this jury ... that it shouldn’t even be considered by the jury?” Blanche responded in the affirmative. Merchan said:
You said his lies are irrefutable. You think that he’s going to fool 12 New Yorkers into believing this irrefutable lie?
Updated
Defense asks for dismissal of case
Trump attorney Todd Blanche is now making an argument for dismissal of the case.
This is normal in cases where, as cases are wrapping, the defendant can ask for the judge to end things in their favor before it gets to the jury. Blanche says:
[Michael Cohen] was paid, first by the trust, for three of the months, and then out of the personal records, the personal bank account, of President Trump. So again, the idea that there would be any sort of intent to defraud, by President Trump, when the invoice is going to the Trump organization, when a check is being generated for him to sign in the White House, there’s no evidence that there’s any idea or any intent by President Trump at that time [to defraud].
“We have none of that,” Blanche said of an intent to defraud.
The other crimes that are purportedly being covered up to call the false business filings – there are no other crimes.
“As the court knows, there has to be something illegal about this effort,” Blanche said of prosecutors’ claim of a conspiracy between Donald Trump, Cohen, and former National Enquirer publisher David Pecker.
There’s no evidence from any of the witnesses that testified of any criminal intent ... the underlying intent that the people are suggesting, FECA, New York state tax fraud, as a matter of law, they should not be allowed to use any of those predicates when at the end of the day, there’s absolutely no evidence that ... any of the other purported co-conspirators for this state-law crime had any criminal intent when they engaged in this conduct.
Updated
Court is adjourning for the day. Robert Costello is expected to return to the witness stand tomorrow.
Robert Costello, of the meeting with Michael Cohen at the hotel, was asked again about his demeanor. Costello said:
He was suicidal that day and acting very manic.
Costello told prosecutor Hoffinger, “talk into the microphone, please,” not long after Judge Merchan chastised his courtroom comportment. He said:
He was putting on quite a show – and he explained to us, he told us, that two nights before, he was on the roof of the Regency hotel and he was going to jump off and kill himself because he couldn’t handle the pressure of what he saw as an ongoing criminal case coming his way.
Hoffinger appears to be trying to show that Costello has animus against Cohen. “Did you tell the grand jury that you thought he was acting like a drama queen?” Hoffinger said. Costello said:
I couldn’t assess whether these actions from him were genuine or not.
“So, Mr Cohen ultimately chose a different lawyer?”
Updated
Eric Trump, who joined his father in the courtroom today, complained that judge Juan Merchan’s treatment of the defense’s witness, Costello, is “truly disgraceful”.
Posting to X, Eric Trump said Merchan “will not allow” Costello to tell his story “as he knows it will be devastating and end this sham trial”.
The judges treatment of Bob Costello is truly disgraceful - he will not allow him to tell his story - the same story he told Congress - as he knows it will be devastating and end this sham trial. This is not justice!
— Eric Trump (@EricTrump) May 20, 2024
Updated
Prosecutor Susan Hoffinger’s line of questioning is trying to cast Costello as wanting to get closer to Trump and gain him notoriety by representing Cohen.
“Would it be a big win for you and your firm” to retain Michael Cohen? Hoffinger said.
“I would say no,” Costello said, “I didn’t want him.”
But would it be announced on the firm’s website? Costello says: “I don’t know what the firm would do.”
Updated
Bove asked Costello: “Did you ever pressure Michael Cohen to do anything?” Costello said “No.”
“In your interactions with Mr Cohen, did you consider him to be a client?” “Of course.”
“Did you care about President Trump’s interests when you were dealing with Michael Cohen?” Costello replied: “My obligation was to Michael Cohen.”
Did he charge Michael Cohen? Yes. Did he pay? “No, he did not.”
Bove ended his questioning of Costello. Prosector Susan Hoffinger is now doing cross-examination.
Updated
Bove has resumed his questioning of Costello.
Bove is pointing to an email that Costello wrote to Cohen where he said “I will not pester you.”
Asked to explain, Costello said the email meant he would stop contacting Cohen if he didn’t want to deal with him.
Updated
The media have been allowed back inside after judge Juan Merchan ordered to clear the courtroom.
Court officers and Merchan would not let an attorney for the press make an application to argue for the right to stay in the courtroom. Under the law, a representative for the media or even a member of the media is allowed to petition in open court for the opportunity to stay.
Trump’s non lawyer entourage were allowed to stay.
Judge Merchan admonishes Costello: 'Are you staring me down?'
Judge Juan Merchan ordered the courtroom cleared of reporters after warning Costello about his responses to sustained objections.
“I want to discuss proper decorum in my courtroom,” Merchan said.
So when there’s a witness on the stand and you don’t like my ruling, you don’t say ‘Jeez,’ and you don’t say ‘Strike it.’ Because I’m the only one who can strike ... You don’t roll your eyes, do you understand that? Do you understand that? Are you staring me down right now?
“Clear the courtroom,” he then ordered.
Updated
Now, Bove is showing another email between Cohen and Costello, dated 21 April 2018. The subject line read “Giuliani.” The body stated:
Michael, I just spoke to Rudy Giuliani and told him I was on your team.
Costello said Cohen told him to do this.
Updated
Trump attorney Emil Bove is now showing an email from Michael Cohen to Robert Costello that says:
Robert, Great news for Rudy. I know I owe you a call. I have been working with lawyers all day and just now am coming up for air. I will try you tomorrow.
This email is dated 19 April 2018, after it was announced that Giuliani is joining Trump’s legal team.
The point of presenting this is so that the defense can undermine Cohen’s claim that he was worried about Costello and Rudy Giuliani. The email makes Cohen sound friendly and warm toward both of them, not concerned.
Costello testifies that Cohen said 'numerous times' that Trump did not know about Stormy Daniels payments
“I want to focus very narrowly,” Bove asked Robert Costello after the sidebar wrapped, “what did Michael Cohen say about that specific topic” of Donald Trump and Stormy Daniels. Costello said:
Michael Cohen said, numerous times, that President Trump knew nothing about those payments, that he did this on his own … He repeated that numerous times.
Was Rudy Giuliani mentioned at this meeting?
His name came up very briefly as I had been a [...] assistant of his in the early 70s. Other than that, we didn’t discuss him.
Updated
“I don’t understand why they’re trying to put me in jail over some effing NDAs,” Robert Costello recalled Michael Cohen saying.
Trump attorney Emil Bove asked, “did Mr Cohen say anything in connection with Mr Trump – ”
The prosecution objected. Bove asked to be heard on it. Merchan told him to continue.
When Bove tried to ask what Cohen said about Trump’s family, there was another objection and Merchan told all the lawyers to come to the bench.
Updated
Costello testifies that Cohen was 'absolutely manic' after FBI raids
“Do you know somebody named Michael Cohen?” “I do,” Robert Costello said. “I met him exactly on April 17, 2018.”
They met at the hotel in Manhattan where Cohen was staying. (Recall: Cohen had issues at his apartment so he was staying at a hotel; the Feds had raided his home days prior.)
He was absolutely manic at the beginning and throughout the two hours of that meeting, he kept on pacing back and forth, left and right ...
Cohen wanted to know about a possible “escape route”, Costello said.
“What instructions did you give Mr Cohen with respect to cooperation?”
I explained to Michael Cohen that this entire legal problem he was facing would be resolved by the end of the week if he had truthful information about Donald Trump and cooperated with the southern district of New York.
What did he say? Costello said Cohen said the same thing he’d said at multiple points that day.
I swear to god, Bob, I don’t have anything on Donald Trump.
Updated
“The defense calls Robert Costello.”
Costello is entering the courtroom. Donald Trump turned to look at the silver-haired attorney as he crossed from the gallery into the well.
Bove is beginning his direct examination of Costello. “Where do you work?” Costello responds, “I’m sorry.”
“Where do you work?” Costello says he’s a partner at Davidoff Citron.
Updated
Trump attorney Emil Bove, arguing for Robert Costello to be called to the witness stand, says the “whole purpose" of Michael’s Cohen’s earlier testimony about Costello “was to make President Trump sound threatening.”
Judge Juan Merchan said that they’re going to take five minutes and told everyone not to leave the courtroom.
Updated
Defense calls Robert Costello
The defense said they wanted to call Robert Costello.
Judge Juan Merchan asked the jurors to step outside. “Again, I do wish that we had discussed this earlier,” Merchan said. “Let me hear your objections again, your concerns.”
Prosecutors want Costello’s testimony – if permitted at all – be limited to two questions that Michael Cohen didn’t recall while on the witness stand – for example, whether Costello told him in their first meeting that he should cooperate from Donald Trump. The prosecution said:
I think there’s very little testimony that wold be admissible here, if at all.
Trump attorney Emil Bove responded the testimony would be offered to rebut the government’s argument about a supposed “pressure campaign” from Trump.
“There’s no mystery here,” Bove said, saying they’d notified prosecutors about an intent to call Costello days prior.
Updated
Paralegal Daniel Sitko was asked about calls between Michael Cohen and Robert Costello, seemingly in an attempt to suggest that Cohen was wrong about how much he had communicated with his lawyer, and undermine his credibility.
Sitko was then cross-examined by Rebecca Mangold.
Sitko is now off the stand.
Updated
Defense calls its first witness: Daniel Sitko
The defense is starting their case. The person taking the stand is named Daniel Sitko.
Trump attorney Todd Blanche is starting the questioning of Sitko. “Where do you work?” “I work for Blanche law.”
“You work for me?” He replies: “I do.”
Sitko is a paralegal at the firm. He is talking about how he was asked to make a summary of call logs.
Updated
Michael Cohen off the stand; prosecution rests
The defense has completed re-cross. The prosecution has no more questions.
Michael Cohen is leaving the witness stand.
“Your honor, the people rest,” the prosecution says.
Judge Juan Merchan is calling both sides to the bench.
Updated
Trump attorney Todd Blanche is trying to use Donald Trump’s notorious cheapness to undermine Michael Cohen’s claim that his money was grossed in the Stormy Daniels repayment and holiday bonus.
“Did he over-pay for things regularly?’ Blanche asked. “No, sir.” “
Did he happily write checks to lawyers?” Blanche pressed. “No, sir.”
“Of all the time, in the 11 years that you worked for Donald Trump … do you recall him ever just willingly over-paying for something?” Blanche said. No, Cohen said.
Updated
Now Trump attorney Todd Blanche is back for re-cross. He’s going right back to prosecutor Susan Hoffinger’s question.
“You said that you lost your law license?” Michael Cohen says: Correct.
“Is that President Trump’s fault?” In part, Cohen said.
“You pleaded guilty to tax crimes?” I did.
“Did President Trump have anything to do with that?” No sir.
“Is one of the reasons you have lost your license to practice law?” Not those, Cohen said, saying it was the “totality” of everything, such as lying to Congress and campaign finance issues.
“As a matter of fact, when you’re convicted of a felony in New York, no matter the felony, you [automatically] lose your law license in New York?” Cohen answered in the affirmative.
Donald Trump’s entourage of supporters addressed the media across from the Manhattan courthouse this morning.
South Carolina attorney general Alan Wilson said that “you’d have trouble finding a single person [Michael Cohen] has actually told the truth to,” AP reported.
Kash Patel, a top ally who also served in Trump’s administration, said today’s proceedings marked the first time in six weeks of trial that “we finally have a crime,” because Cohen admitted to stealing money from the Trump Organization, adding:
We also have a victim. That victim is Donald J. Trump.
Georgia congressman Andrew Clyde called for the government to withhold any federal money from being used in New York’s court system and Illinois congresswoman Mary Miller said “any normal judge would have dismissed this case by now.”
Trump was also accompanied by retired Harvard law professor Alan Dershowitz and Will Scharf, both of whom have served as the former president’s lawyers. Also present are:
Eric Trump: Trump’s son
Eric Burlison: Republican congressman of Missouri
Keith Self: Texas congressman
Bernie Kerik: the former New York police commissioner who worked for Rudy Giuliani around efforts to overturn Trump’s 2020 loss
Steve Witkoff: a real estate investor and longtime friend of Trump’s who testified in his civil fraud trial
Vernon Jones: Former Georgia state legislator
Jerry Kassar: chair of the New York state Conservative party
Chuck Zito: Actor and former president of the New York chapter of the Hells Angels
Cohen says his life was 'turned upside down' after 'telling the truth'
Prosecutor Susan Hoffinger asks: how has telling the truth about what happened impacted your life? Michael Cohen says:
My entire life has been turned upside down as a direct result, I lost my law license, my businesses, my financial security.
He sounded as if he was growing emotional. Hoffinger ended her questioning shortly thereafter.
The strategy of that last line of questioning was to undermine Trump attorney Todd Blanche’s contention that Cohen’s decision to come forward was for his own benefit.
Updated
Prosecutors just played a conversation between Michael Cohen and Keith Davidson, Stormy Daniels’ onetime lawyer.
“Nobody’s thinking about Michael,” Cohen said in the recording. Cohen explains that he did the payment “because I care about the guy ... and, I’m sitting there, thinking to myself, what about me? What about me?”
Updated
“Approximately how many conversations would you say that you had with Mr Trump about the Stormy Daniels matter just in October of 2016, if you can approximate?” Prosecutor Susan Hoffinger asked.
“More than 20,” Michael Cohen said.
“Do you have any doubt that you had a conversation with Mr Trump that you should work it out with Mr Weisselberg [Trump Organization CFO]?” Cohen says: No doubt.
“Do you have any doubt in your mind that Mr Trump gave you the final sign off...?” Cohen responded, no doubt.
“Would you have paid Stormy Daniels if Mr Trump had not signed off?” “No ma’am,” Cohen said.
“Why not?” Cohen explained:
Because, I wanted to ensure that I’d get my funds back.
Michael Cohen returns to the stand
Michael Cohen has returned to the witness stand. Prosecutor Susan Hoffinger is back at the lectern, resuming her re-direct. “Good afternoon, Mr Cohen.” “Good afternoon,” he replied.
“Mr Cohen, did you see the picture?” Cohen says: Yes, ma’am.
Hoffinger is now offering into evidence the picture that almost necessitated the re-calling of the C-SPAN records custodian. It’s a photo of Donald Trump and his bodyguard Keith Schiller, which is a still from a video captured by C-SPAN.
Updated
Prosecutor Joshua Steinglass is addressing the court.
It appears that both sides are going to stipulate to the veracity of the photo. This means that prosecutors will not be calling the C-SPAN custodian.
“I understand this is a strategic decision, but have you discussed this with your client?” Trump attorney Todd Blanche said “yes.”
This raises the very much increases the probability that both sides will rest today.
And it turns out that C-Span will come back. “Your honor, we were able to reach C-Span and they are booking travel right now,” the prosecution said.
Judge Juan Merchan says, “look, if scheduling were an issue, if time were of the essence, I would agree with you, Mr Blanche, we’re essentially going to have a week down,” Merchan said.
He says they can make their case out of order, or wait until the final prosecution witness testifies, in which case they’ll adjourn early, after Michael Cohen today.
Merchan gave Trump and his team a minute to confer and decide what they want to do.
Defense indicates that Trump won't testify
Trump lawyer Todd Blanche just told Judge Merchan: “There’s a likelihood we will rest today”.
This suggests, at least for now, that Donald Trump won’t testify.
The prosecution said that they would be interested in re-calling the records custodian from C-Span, but it’s unclear when he could get there.
Trump attorney Todd Blanche is pushing back, saying that they have a couple of potential witnesses in the pipeline.
Judge, this isn’t also a new fact...it’s patently unfair, in our view, for the court to allow the people, given an obvious ruling on the admissibility of a picture, of a picture, on re-direct, to allow them to stop, to presumably rest or not rest, make us decide [whether/how] to put on a case...
Merchan said he wouldn’t make the defense make whatever case they would, and then let the prosecution bring their witness back.
Donald Trump is back in the courtroom after a lunch break.
Judge Juan Merchan is back on the bench and now discussing the prosecution’s request to admit stills from videos showing Trump with his longtime bodyguard, Keith Schiller.
What prosecutors have to prove in Trump's hush-money case
Alvin Bragg, the Manhattan district attorney, in spring 2023 charged Donald Trump with 34 counts of falsifying business records over an alleged hush-money scheme involving the adult film star Stormy Daniels. The charge is a class E felony.
Bragg’s office contends that Trump facilitated payoffs to Daniels through his then attorney, Michael Cohen, to cover up alleged extramarital liaisons that could have damaged his candidacy in the 2016 election. They say that the illicit “catch and kill” payoff scheme spanned from August 2015 to December 2017. Cohen in 2018 pleaded guilty to federal charges in Manhattan related to his involvement in that particular scheme, among other crimes.
Prosecutors charge that Cohen wired $130,000 to Daniels’ then attorney, Keith Davidson, just 12 days before the presidential election. Cohen funneled the money by making the payoff through a shell company, which was funded through a New York City bank, prosecutors say.
When Trump won the election, prosecutors continue, he repaid Cohen in a series of monthly checks. Initially, those checks came from the Donald J Trump Revocable Trust – which was launched in New York to retain the president’s namesake company’s assets during his time in the White House. Then, payments to Cohen came from Trump’s bank account, per court papers.
Prosecutors say that 11 checks were doled out for this spurious purpose – and that Trump signed nine of them; the Trump Organization processed each of these checks “disguised as a payment for legal services rendered pursuant to a non-existent retainer agreement”.
Trump’s alleged passing off hush-money payouts as remittance for legal work “made and caused a false entry in the business records of an enterprise”, prosecutors say in the counts of his indictment. This was done, they say, “with intent to defraud and intent to commit another crime and aid and conceal the commission thereof …”.
Prosecutors say there were a total of 34 phoney ledger entries to hide the purpose of this “covert” payment. They also contend that those who partook in the scheme plotted to mischaracterize these disbursements for taxes.
After another sidebar, judge Juan Merchan tells jurors we’re taking an early lunch.
The attorneys are discussing exhibits. The prosecution wants to introduce photos of Donald Trump with his bodyguard Keith Schiller which, due to the date it was taken, could corroborate a Michael Cohen call with Schiller and, Trump’s being on the call, if he was with Schiller.
This photo, prosecutors said, establishes that Trump and Schiller were together on 24 October.
Defense lawyer Todd Blanche said “we never asked or implied whether or not” Schiller and Trump were together on that day.
Michael Cohen was again asked about lawyer Bob Costello. He said he didn’t have a retainer because of concerns that anything he might say would get back to Donald Trump, via Rudy Giuliani.
Prosecutor Susan Hoffinger is now asking Cohen about trouble he ran into using Google Bard, the AI platform, to help him find cases for his attorney in his early release petition. Cohen said:
It gave me a plethora of cases that appeared, to me, to be legitimate....I was just trying to be helpful...
The AI program, he said, “wants to please the user.” When Cohen and his lawyers found out about how Google Bard had made up cases that he’d cited, they went to the judge right away, Cohen said.
Updated
Prosecutor Susan Hoffinger has undercut Trump lawyer Todd Blanche’s efforts to paint Michael Cohen as a man with a vested interest in Donald Trump’s failure at trial, and the overall tenure of his questioning.
“Are you actually on trial here, in this case?” No, ma’am, Cohen said.
“Are you a witness here?” Yes.
“Are you actually charged with any crimes in this case?” No ma’am.
“Did we subpoena you to testify here?” Yes. Is this different? Cohen says:
The other one, it was, my life was on the line – my liberty, I was the defendant in that case, and here I’m just a non-party subpoenaed witness.
“And was there an issue about whether your wife might be charged in that [federal] case?” Yes, ma’am.
“The payment to Ms Clifford (Stormy Daniels) was lawful, and was not a campaign contribution or a campaign expenditure by anyone,’ is that statement truthful?” Prosecutor Susan Hoffinger asked Michael Cohen of this statement. He said no.
The jury is shown a text exchange between Cohen and Jay Sekulow seeking an OK for the statement. As Sekulow was one of Trump’s lawyers, this suggested that Donald Trump must have been aware of Cohen’s statement.
Letter to election watchdog saying Daniels payment was not a campaign expense was untrue, Cohen says
Michael Cohen on re-direct testifies that the line in a February 2018 letter submitted to Federal Election Commission, saying the Stormy Daniels payment was not a campaign contribution or expenditure, was not a true statement.
This was a key moment because Donald Trump is charged with falsifying business records to commit second crime, including a Federal Election Campaign Act violation.
The jury just heard Cohen suggest it was in fact a violation, and that Cohen knew it at the time – in turn suggesting Trump also knew.
Updated
Prosecutor Susan Hoffinger is going through various documents that contain statements from Michael Cohen, in which he claimed to be responsible for the payment and that Donald Trump was completely unaware.
This includes his letter to the Federal Election Commission in 2018 and a statement to the press.
Was this “false and misleading,” Hoffinger asked. Cohen said yes.
Donald Trump just extended his arms above his head, as if he was stretching out after a peaceful nap.
His lawyers are currently huddling with Judge Juan Merchan and the prosecution at the bench.
Prosecutor Susan Hoffinger asked Michael Cohen about RedFinch, a tech company which helped Donald Trump in a CNBC poll on the most famous business people of the last century.
Trump was mad because of his low position. “With Mr Trump’s permission, I advised the president and CEO of RedFinch to start acquiring the IP addresses and then more IP addresses were needed,” Cohen said, saying there was an effort to sway the online polls.
Ultimately, when the poll ended, “Mr Trump was no. 9.”
Trump didn’t want to pay RedFinch because CNBC ended the poll sooner than expected.
Mr Trump didn’t feel that he got the benefit of what the funds were supposed to go to despite achieving no. 9 and refused to make the payment.
Cohen said he felt pressure to repay RedFinch because the company head was his friend.
Prosecutor Susan Hoffinger also tried to undermine Trump lawyer Todd Blanche’s contention that Michael Cohen was so busy in October 2016 that he was just too busy to recall the intricacies of his call with Donald Trump where the Stormy Daniels payment is discussed.
Cohen said he was always very busy.
Hoffinger has gone on the attack against Blanche’s questions that tried suggesting Cohen did do legal work for Trump in 2017.
Cohen said he wasn’t paid a “dime” for any of the various things he did for Trump and his camp.
Prosecution begins re-direct of Cohen after defense finishes cross-examination
Prosecutor Susan Hoffinger is at the lectern for re-direct of Michael Cohen.
Trump lawyer Todd Blanche “asked whether you testified falsely in Congress in 2019. Did you testify truthfully in Congress in 2019?” Hoffinger asked. Cohen said, “Yes, ma’am.”
“Was it Congress in 2017 when you testified falsely?” Cohen said that’s what he thought he said.
Through these questions, Hoffinger established that Cohen misspoke but didn’t lie more than thought.
Updated
Michael Cohen said “yes, sir,” when Trump attorney Todd Blanche asked if the trial had affected his personal life.
“When you lied to Congress, you said you were lying out of loyalty, correct?” Blanche asked. “Yes, sir,” Cohen said.
“Loyalty to President Trump?” Correct, Cohen said.
“It’s true that you will lie out of loyalty, correct?” Blanche said, to which Cohen responded, “Yes, sir.”
Blanche is now done with cross examination.
Cohen tells Trump lawyer it would be better for him if Trump were not convicted to give him more material for his podcast
Trump attorney Todd Blanche is pushing hard on the notion that Michael Cohen will pocket money from the case.
“Do you have a financial interest in the outcome of this case?” Cohen said: “Yes, sir.
“Because if President Trump is convicted that would benefit you personally, financially?” Cohen said, “No, sir.”
Blanche continues: “What is your financial interest in this case?” Cohen says:
Whether or not, when you said do I have a financial interest in this case, I talk about it on my podcast, I talk about it on TikTok, they make money, and that’s how I view your question. Whether Trump is ultimately determined innocent or guilty is not going to affect whether I speak about it or not.
Blanche presses: Would it be better for Cohen if Trump were convicted. Cohen replies:
It’s better if he’s not for me, because it gives me more to talk about in the future.
Updated
Trump attorney Todd Blanche asks Michael Cohen if Donald Trump, his wife and his family trusted him.
“Along the way, you have a traditional attorney-client relationship with President Trump?” Correct, Cohen responds.
Sometimes, a non-traditional attorney-client relationship? Cohen agreed.
“When do you view your attorney-client relationship with President Trump as ending?” Blanche asked, prompting an objection that was sustained.
Trump attorney Todd Blanche is back at the lectern and resuming his cross of Michael Cohen.
Cohen says he’s working on a third book, but was not paid any money upfront for it, nor is he in dicussions about getting an advance payment.
Blanche now asking about how he’s said he’s considering a run for Congress. Is that true? “Yes, sir.”
Did he say that he’d be a great candidate because he had the “best name recognition out there?” Cohen answered in the affirmative.
My name recognition is because of the journey I’ve been on...not Mr Trump.
“My journey is to tell my story,” Cohen said in response to a follow-up question.
“Your journey has been near-daily attacks on president Trump since 2020?” Blanche said. “Sure.”
The court is back in session after a short break.
The court is taking a short morning break.
Trump attorney Todd Blanche asks Michael Cohen: “You’re also, I’m correct, pitching a TV show based upon your life, correct?”
“I’m not pitching it,” Cohen said, but there’s a television show being discussed.
“Well, who’s pitching it?” Cohen said a man who used to be a part of the “Mea Culpa” podcast would pitch. “He asked if I could send a crew to New York” to work on a flushed out pitch, he said.
Cohen says he has made $4m from books and podcasts since 2020
Trump attorney Todd Blanche is now pushing hard to suggest that Michael Cohen has a financial stake in opposing Donald Trump.
Cohen did great financially until 2018, when the Daniels leak emerged and his guilty plea. “And you had a lot of bills during that time though, correct?” Cohen says: Correct.
Things changed, however, when Cohen started speaking out, Blanche suggested through cross.
“Since your podcast started, you published your book. When did you start your podcast?” “While I was on home confinement.” “So that was in 2020?” Yes.
“Since you started your podcast in the fall of 2020 and wrote your book, how much have you made on a yearly basis until now?” Cohen says:
In total, between the books and the podcasts, about 4 million dollars.
Updated
Trump attorney Todd Blanche is now asking Michael Cohen about an email to lawyer Bob Costello dated 28 June.
Cohen said that there were legal invoices to the Trump Organization from another firm, but that they hadn’t been paid. The email reads:
Not sure what concerns other than non-payment I expressed to you. But I thank you either way for your assistance in speaking to your friend.
Cohen said on the stand that the non-payment was becoming “an issue.”
Blanche is pointing to these emails to suggest that Cohen was OK with Costello -- and his relationship with Rudy Giuliani -- by pointing to how he was appreciative that Costello chatted with Giuliani about this invoicing concern.
Trump lawyer Todd Blanche is losing his earlier momentum from when he had Michael Cohen say he was actually doing legal work for Donald Trump and family in 2017 even without a retainer, and his confession that he stole from the Trump Organization through the “grossed up” repayment scheme.
We’ve been bogged down with Cohen’s emails with Trump world lawyer Bob Costello and its slow progress.
Trump attorney Todd Blanche is now showing Michael Cohen emails between him and attorney Bob Costello from May 2018, not long after the FBI raided Cohen’s hotel room where he was staying.
Bob, as I have stated in the past, when the right time comes, and not is not the right time, we will advance our conversations regarding this issue. Here are too many hands right now all with varying view points and ideas. I asked you to reach out to Stephen Ryan if there was something to communicate as I can only listen to one person at a time.
Blanche asked: “Would it surprised you to learn that you actually communicated on the phone either you calling Mr Costello or Mr Costello calling you, 75 times?” Cohen said that “seems excessive, but possible.”
Would it surprise you to learn that there were multiple calls that lasted more than a half hour? Cohen says: “No, sir.”
“That you spoke over nine hours over the course of a few months with Mr Costello, would that surprise you?” Blanche asked. Cohen said no.
Recall: Cohen testified last week that Costello was a defense attorney with whom he was afraid of working because of his close proximity to Rudy Giuliani. Cohen said that he feared if he told Costello anything, it would get back to Giuliani and thus, Trump.
Michael Cohen is being grilled on his conversations with reporters in early 2018 – some of which he recorded – where he claimed that Donald Trump knew nothing about the payment to Stormy Daniels.
Trump attorney Todd Blanche is asking about the Stormy Daniels story starting to leak in 2018.
Michael Cohen concedes that he told multiple people that Donald Trump knew nothing about the hush money payment.
Michael Cohen reveals that he was paid some $4m in 2017 for consulting services to several clients, among them AT&T.
“And they paid you $50,000 a month?” Correct. For one year.
Cohen said he “advised them on the issue that was taking place where they wanted to acquire, I believe it was Time Warner.”
He had about 20 communications with AT&T. “And they paid you $600,000?” Trump attorney Todd Blanche said. “And there was nothing wrong with that?” Cohen said he didn’t think so.
Blanche’s line of questioning is manifold. Blanche is trying to hammer down that getting paid hundreds of thousands for doing little legal work was normal – hence his reference to the consultants.
Cohen said that Trump introduced the CEO of AT&T to him, which is how the company became his client.
Blanche, through questioning, reveals that Cohen didn’t immediately disclose to Trump that he had six consulting clients and with the telecom giant. “He was frustrated that you had signed a deal with AT&T, correct?” Cohen said yes.
Trump attorney Todd Blanche asks Michael Cohen: “You also did a fair amount of legal work in 2017?”
Cohen says he did legal work for the first lady, Melania Trump. “There was an issue with Madame Tussauds,” Cohen said he read over the agreement with the wax museum in relation to Melania’s likeness.
“Again, that’s legal work you were performing for the first lady?” Yes.
“Did you do that as part of your job?” Yes, sir, Cohen said.
So part of your job wasn’t just doing legal work but helping Mr Trump and his family with an array of issues? Cohen said, “That’s what I did, yes.”
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Trump attorney Todd Blanche’s line of questioning now is doubling down on the defense’s strategy that Michael Cohen was, in fact, providing legal services for him during the period when prosecutors say he was not.
This involved working with another Trump attorney on a case, subpoenas, and doing battle with potential defamation issues.
“In May of 2017, a special counsel was appointed by the name of Robert Mueller … what if any impact did that have on the attorney-client relationship?” Blanche asked. “It did not.”
“Were you happy, sad, or indifferent, that Mr Kasowitz had been appointed Mr Trump’s personal attorney for that?”
Cohen says: Probably happy. Why? He says because he had a good relationship with him.
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Trump attorney Todd Blanche is now pointing to a January 2017 email in which Michael Cohen announces his resignation from the Trump Organization to his colleagues there. Blanche says:
Here, you again tell everybody at the Trump Organization that you’re starting a new job to be President Trump’s personal attorney?
Cohen says: Correct.
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Trump attorney Todd Blanche points to early 2017, when Michael Cohen was becoming Donald Trump’s personal attorney/attorney to the president of the United States.
“You told everybody that that was happening, correct?” Blanche said of when Cohen’s gig came to fruition. Cohen says:
Not everybody but I certainly was proud of the role and I announced it.
“You told TMZ?” Blanche asks. Cohen says: Yes, sir.
“You also told the New York Times?” Yes, sir.
“You actually gave them a little scoop on it?” Yes, sir.
“You went on TV, you actually told about it?” Cohen says: I did.
“You told him you’d have the same role you already had?” Cohen answered in the affirmative.
“Do we have any understanding why Don Jr and Eric would approve your payment as opposed to President Trump?” Trump attorney Todd Blanche asks.
Michael Cohen says:
Because they were trustees of the Trust.
Recall: Cohen initially got paid out of the Trust, not from Trump directly.
The first two checks for the first three months were signed by Trust representatives. Cohen said, “either Eric or Don, in association with Allen Weisselberg”.
Blanche is now pointing to Cohen’s email signature in 2017. “It always said personal attorney to President Trump?” Cohen conceded, “Yes, sir.”
Blanche is noting how Cohen had always had something like this on his email when he was at the Trump Organization, firming up that Cohen was acting as a lawyer for Trump.
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Trump attorney Todd Blanche is now showing Michael Cohen emails from Trump Organization CFO Allen Weisselberg to him from January 2017.
The email exchange has a subject line about a refinancing agreement with an apartment in a Trump building. One line in the email exchange said:
Thank you, you never stopped on for a bro hug. Anyway please prepare the agreement … so we can pay you monthly.
The point that Blanche seems to be making is that Cohen was doing legal services for Donald Trump and that the lack of a written retainer agreement was entirely normal, pointing to how Cohen didn’t have one before.
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Cohen admits stealing from Trump Organization
Trump lawyer Todd Blanche is offering an alternative explanation for the jury about why the repayment to Michael Cohen was “grossed up” - doubled for tax purposes.
Cohen was paid a bonus of $150k in 2015, but only got a $50k bonus in 2016. Blanche argues Cohen used the repayment scheme to get himself the bonus money he thought he was owed.
The logic appears to go like this: Cohen paid the IT company RedFinch $20k during the 2016 campaign. But Cohen told Trump Organization CFO Allen Weisselberg that he needed to be paid back $50k. That meant Cohen stole $30k from the Trump Org.
As the payment was “grossed up”, Cohen actually made $60k. “So you stole from the Trump Organization?” Blanche asks. “Yes sir,” Cohen concedes.
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Trump attorney Todd Blanche is now asking about Michael Cohen’s repayment to Red Finch, a company which, he testified, Donald Trump had stiffed.
Part of the $420,000 in payments Cohen received was $50,000 for services to the company. Cohen said he repaid $20,000 owed to Red Finch in cash.
“You had what, a duffle bag of cash?” Blanche asked. No, it was a small bag, Cohen said, describing it as a brown paper bag.
“So you stole from the Trump Organization, right?” Blanche said. “Yes, sir,” Cohen said.
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Trump attorney Todd Blanche is asking Michael Cohen whether he remembers Donald Trump’s plan to sit down with George Stephanopoulos, the former White House communications director, on the 26th with his whole family.
Did he recall that the Old Post Office building in Washington DC was opening that day? No, Cohen said.
“On those two phone calls, you just talked about the Stormy Daniels, that’s it?” Cohen said, “because they were important to me.”
“So, was fixing Tiffany Trump’s situation important to you?” Cohen replied:
It was important that I take care of it, but it was not personally important to me.
“But would that have been something you’d update her father about when you spoke to him in the morning?” Cohen says no.
Trump attorney Todd Blanche asks Michael Cohen about his testimony that he had two phone calls with Donald Trump the morning he made the payment to Stormy Daniels’s lawyer.
Blanche pointed to Cohen’s testimony that he wanted to speak with Trump about the Daniels’ matter during those calls because he was going to make the payment and “wanted his blessing”.
Cohen said, “Yes, sir.”
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“This is a pretty big deal for you and the campaign?” Trump attorney Todd Blanche asks of Michael Cohen’s work on the Trump diversity coalition.
Cohen said it was. Asked about whether an endorsement from a relative of Martin Luther King Jr: “It was big deal for everyone.”
This was also around the Stormy Daniels payment.
“All that was happening the week of the 24th, 25th, 26th?” Blanche presses. Cohen answered yes.
“Do you recall her communicating with you about her concerns that someone was trying to blackmail her?” Cohen replies: Yes, sir.
“Do you recall trying to handle it immediately.” Cohen says: Yes, sir.
Cohen says he spoke to David Pecker, the former publisher of the National Enquirer, and the general counsel at American Media Inc (AMI).
“And that was all to figure out a way to shut this down, right?” Correct, Cohen said.
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Michael Cohen, wearing a slate grey suit and baby shower-pink tie, looks tired on the stand today.
It’s still early in Trump attorney Todd Blanche’s continued cross-examination, but Cohen doesn’t seem to be as punchy.
Blanche’s cross is pushing on the idea that Cohen was suffering financial woes related to his holding of taxi medallions and business relationship with Gene Freidman, the late taxi king of New York City.
Freidman reportedly helped inflate the price of medallions in this city which, of course, was problematic with the advent of Lyft and Uber, which gutted the taxi cab industry. Since medallions were expensive and people took on lots of debt for them, the crash of the industry harmed lots of players, big and small.
Blanche asked Cohen whether he was trying to help Freidman with his marriage around October 2016. “I tried,” Cohen said.
Tried to assist in bringing them back together, as well as talking to potential lawyers.
“Do you remember helping one of President Trump’s daughters, Tiffany Trump, with a possible extortion [involving] photographs?” Trump attorney Todd Blanche asked.
Michael Cohen answered in the affirmative. He mentions harassing phone calls.
“Do you know someone named John Lydon?” Blanche asks. Lydon is a mortgage broker in Florida whose company is named Resolution Consultants.
Note: Cohen testified last week that he lied on documents to create a bank account for Resolution Consultants, before it “dawned on me that it’s actually the name of a company of someone I know.” So, Cohen said, he changed it to “Essential Consultants LLC.
Trump attorney Todd Blanche is now focusing on October 2016. He asks Michael Cohen:
You’ll agree that you had a lot going on in your personal life and with President Trump in those first few weeks of October?
Cohen said yes. Blanche also asked Cohen about re-structuring his taxi medallion business.
Still on October 2016, Blanche is now asking Cohen about his work for the National Diversity Coalition for Donald Trump and getting and endorsement from one of Dr Martin Luther King Jr’s relatives.
Trump attorney Todd Blanche asks Michael Cohen if he knows somebody named Dan Goldman. Cohen says he does and that Goldman is “now a member of Congress.”
Blanche is now going to October 2016.
So, early October until October 26, ok. You said last week, and correct me if I’m wrong, that there was significant urgency to the [Stormy] Daniels situation at that time?
Cohen responds, “Correct.” Blanche continues:
That issue, the Daniels issue, was taking a lot of your time?
Cohen says, “yes, sir.”
Trump attorney Todd Blanche resumes his cross and asks Michael Cohen how many reporters he spoke to last week. Cohen says:
I’ve spoken to reporters who have just called to say hello, see how I’m doing, check in, but not talk about this case.
Michael Cohen takes the stand
Court has resumed after a short break.
Michael Cohen is entering the courtroom. “Good morning Mr Cohen, welcome back,” Judge Juan Merchan says.
Cohen responds, “Good morning.”
Judge Juan Merchan rules that Donald Trump’s proposed Federal Election Commission (FEC) expert Bradley Smith witness can testify only about:
What the FEC is and its purpose
Who makes up the FEC
What the FEC is responsible for enforcing
General definitions for contributions, expenditures
But Merchan is adamant that Smith cannot offer an interpretation of FECA statute, because he doesn’t want the jury to be effectively “instructed” on the law by an expert witness – which is a job for the judge.
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Judge Juan Merchan declined to broaden the scope of testimony that the defense can elicit from the potential witness, a Federal Election Commission (FEC) expert.
Bradley A Smith, a former Bill Clinton-appointed Republican FEC member, can give general background on the FEC but he may not define three terms in federal election law, the judge noted, saying it would breach rules preventing expert witnesses from interpreting the law.
Donald Trump addressed the media before heading inside the courtroom this morning, where he complained once again of not being allowed to campaign, the cold courtroom and Joe Biden, per pool reports.
“I’m here instead of campaigning,” the former president told reporters.
I was supposed to be making the speech. for political purposes. I’m not allowed to have anything to do with politics because I’m sitting in a very freezing cold, dark room for the last four weeks. It’s very unfair.
Trump once against took aim at judge Juan Merchan, saying he was “highly conflicted” and “corrupt”.
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Judge Juan Merchan is speaking about whether or not to restrict the testimony of a Federal Election Commission (FEC) expert, who the defense wanted to call.
Judge expects closing arguments next week
Judge Juan Merchan says he expects closing arguments to be next Tuesday. “It’s become apparent that we’re not going to be able to sum up tomorrow,” Merchan says.
Testimony will wrap up this week, and closing arguments to be held after Memorial Day. Merchan still needs to decide whether he will issue jury instructions, and what form they might take.
Even if Donald Trump does not testify, closing arguments are not expected to come until the Tuesday after Memorial Day.
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Before entering the courtroom, Trump addressed the media in the hallway. In a rambling speech, Trump railed against Joe Biden, calling him “unfit” to be president.
In what’s become a familiar complaint, he spoke about the courtroom temperature and brightness and how the trial is keeping him from the campaign trail.
Trump will be joined by several allies in court today, according to CNN. South Carolina attorney general Alan Wilson, Representatives Eric Burlison, Andrew Clyde, Mary Miller and Keith Self will be there as well as John Coale, Alan Dershowitz, Will Scharf, Steve Witkoff, Bernie Kerik, Kash Patel, Vernon Jones, Jerry Kassar and Chuck Zito, according to a Trump campaign official.
Trump enters courtroom
Donald Trump is entering the courtroom. He turned to look at the left side of the courtroom as he walked down the aisle and offered a slight, closed-lipped smile to someone in the gallery. He is wearing a navy suit and a lighter blue tie.
Trump is standing near the defense table as a coterie of supporters - including his son Eric and Alan Dershowitz - fill the two rows directly behind him.
Todd Blanche, Trump’s defense attorney, gave him a small tap on the shoulder and he sat down. They’re whispering with each other.
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During a break from the trial over the weekend, Trump flirted with the idea of being president for three terms – a clear violation of the US constitution.
During a bombastic speech for the National Rifle Association in which he vowed to reverse gun safety measures green-lighted during the Biden administration, Trump said on Saturday: “You know, FDR 16 years – almost 16 years – he was four terms. I don’t know, are we going to be considered three-term? Or two-term?”
The ex-president and GOP presidential frontrunner spoke at the organization’s annual convention in Dallas, and some in the crowd responded, yelling “three!” Politico reported.
Trump has floated a third term in past comments, even mentioning a prolonged presidency while campaigning in 2020. He has also tried distancing himself from this idea, telling Time magazine in April: “I wouldn’t be in favor of it at all. I intend to serve four years and do a great job.”
Michael Cohen was seen leaving his home in Manhattan on Monday morning to testify once again in Trump’s first criminal trial.
Donald Trump, flanked by his son Eric and staunch congressional supporters Lauren Boebert and Matt Gaetz, attended the 18th day of his hush-money trial on Thursday.
The former president sat and occasionally glowered as he watched Michael Cohen, his former attorney and fixer, testify. Cohen answered questions about Trump’s reimbursements to Cohen – seemingly disguised as legal fees – for Cohen’s payment to the adult film star Stormy Daniels.
During several hours of cross-examination, Trump’s lawyers sought to discredit Cohen as a vindictive and lying former employee with animosity towards Trump. Cohen largely remained calm.
Here are four key takeaways from the trial that day:
There was no court on Friday to allow Trump to attend his son Barron’s high school graduation in West Palm Beach. Here’s a recap of what happened on Thursday:
Michael Cohen, Donald Trump’s former fixer and lawyer, returned to the stand on Thursday for the third day. Trump was joined in court by his son Eric Trump and Republican congressional allies including Lauren Boebert, Matt Gaetz and Bob Good, chair of the hard-right House Freedom Caucus.
Gaetz posted a photo of himself standing behind Trump in court, with the words: “Standing back, and standing by, Mr President.” The phrase echoed one that Trump used for the far-right extremist group the Proud Boys in a 2020 presidential debate.
The defense, led by Trump lawyer Todd Blanche, resumed attacking Cohen’s credibility in an effort to undermine the testimony of the prosecution’s star witness.
Cohen conceded that he had previously lied to protect Trump because it affected the stakes for him personally, and that he lied to the federal judge when he was prosecuted for tax evasion and false statements.
These admissions could prove problematic for prosecutors, as they portray Cohen as an unreliable narrator who lied with ease and abandon to achieve whatever aim he was pursuing at that moment.
Blanche suggested Cohen’s latest objective was to see Trump go to jail, seeding the possibility that he might have also lied about the extent of Trump’s involvement in the hush-money scheme with Stormy Daniels.
Blanche played clips from Cohen’s podcast Mea Culpa, including when Cohen said “thinking about Trump in Otisville prison makes me giddy with joy”. He also got Cohen to concede that he believed he played a large role in the indictment being brought against Trump – and bragged about it.
The defense dug into Cohen’s previous lies under oath and how he seemingly lied about details big and small. When Cohen testified to Congress in 2017 about a Trump real-estate deal in Moscow, Blanche elicited, Cohen lied about how many times he had spoken to Trump about the deal.
Blanche also directly accused Cohen of lying in his trial testimony. Cohen testified earlier in the week that when he called Trump’s then bodyguard, Keith Schiller, on 24 October 2016, it was to apprise Trump that he was moving forward with paying hush money to Daniels. Blanche suggested Cohen phoned Schiller primarily about a series of prank calls from a 14-year-old, arguing that he could not have had enough time in a one-minute, 30-second call to tell Trump about the Daniels deal.
Cohen acknowledged telling Mark Pomerantz, who had previously led the Manhattan district attorney’s investigation of Trump, that he felt Daniels and her then lawyer, Keith Davidson, were extorting Trump in seeking a $130,000 payment for her silence on an alleged sexual encounter.
It is unclear whether Trump will testify next week, when the defense will have the opportunity to present its case. Before the trial, Trump said he would testify, but Blanche has since said Trump has yet to decide whether to do so.
Michael Cohen expected in court for fourth and likely final day of testimony
Michael Cohen is expected back in court as Donald Trump’s lawyers are due to launch their final blows at his credibility. The ex-lawyer and former Trump fixer, who facilitated the $130,000 hush-money payment to the adult film star Stormy Daniels, was grilled last week in an effort to undercut his testimony so far.
Cohen affirmed last week that the payment to Daniels was part of a bona fide settlement agreement, in an attempt to counter the prosecution’s claim that it was fraudulent to record the payment as legal expenses.
Cohen was also confronted with accusations that he has lied whenever it has suited his needs: lying to Congress about a Trump real estate deal in Moscow, to a federal judge in 2018, and in his testimony to prosecutors about Trump’s involvement in the hush-money deal – the latter of which he denied.
When Cohen returns, it will be his fourth and likely final day of testimony. After Cohen is done, the prosecution is expected to rest its case.
Whether Trump testifies in his own defense remains uncertain, even if Trump has suggested he wants to take the stand. Should Trump not testify, closing arguments in the case could come on Tuesday. With the court not in session on Wednesdays, the jury might start deliberating on Thursday.
Trump has pleaded not guilty to 34 counts of felony falsification of business records. Prosecutors must prove Trump authorized what he knew to be hush-money repayments to be falsely labelled as “legal expenses” in the Trump Organization’s records, with an intent to commit a second crime.
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