Closing summary
Donald Trump’s ex-lawyer Michael Cohen returned to the stand on Tuesday as the prosecution’s star witness in the former president’s hush-money criminal trial. Court has adjourned for the day and will resume on Thursday, when the defense will continue to cross-examine Cohen.
Here’s a recap of what happened:
Cohen testified that he submitted phoney invoices for legal services to cover up reimbursements for a $130,000 hush-money payment to the adult film actor Stormy Daniels on Trump’s behalf.
Cohen repeatedly identified Trump as the driver of the Daniels payoff scheme – and said that he did it to protect Trump from losing the election. Cohen said he got the money to Daniels “to ensure that the story…would not affect Mr Trump’s chances of becoming president”.
Cohen said repayments began shortly after an 8 February 2017 meeting with Trump in the Oval Office, where he said the then-president “asked me if I needed money” and told him “just make sure you deal with Allen” Weisselberg, then the Trump Organization’s CFO, who was recently jailed for lying at his former boss’s civil fraud trial.
Cohen testified that invoices for $35,000 each month to the then Trump Organization controller, Jeffrey McConney, were false record and not for legal services. Cohen said it was for “the reimbursement, to me, of the hush-money fee along with [another expense] and the bonus”.
Cohen confirmed that descriptions in emails, invoices, pay documents, were all false. Cohen’s testimony appeared to make clear that the invoices were not for legal services, either as Trump’s personal counsel or for Trump’s wife, Melania.
Cohen detailed how he tried to mislead federal investigators about the Daniels payment in the wake of news articles detailing the transaction – and his public admission that he, not Trump, did the deal. He said it was designed “in order to protect Mr Trump, to stay on message, in order to demonstrate loyalty”.
Cohen also admitted that he lied to Congress during an investigation into potential ties between Russia and the 2016 Trump campaign. “I was staying on Mr. Trump’s message that there was no Russia, Russia, Russia,” he told the jury.
Cohen expressed regret for the “lying, bullying” that he had done on Trump’s behalf, adding that he had “violated my moral compass” for Trump. He testified that it was his family that persuaded him to stop protecting his former boss. “‘Why are you holding on to this loyalty? What are you doing? We’re supposed to be your first loyalty,” he said his family asked him.
Under cross examination, Cohen’s credibility was attacked as Trump’s attorney brought up his many social media comments bashing the former president, as well as attempting to show Cohen is motivated by publicity.
Cohen admitted that he would like to see Trump convicted in this trial. “It sounds like something I would say,” he responded to Trump attorney Todd Blanche.
Trump was joined by a coterie of supporters on Tuesday, including the Republican House speaker, Mike Johnson, despite the House being in session with vital business to complete. Johnson said he was making the appearance “on my own, to support President Trump” who he said “is innocent of these charges”.
Johnson was joined on Tuesday morning by the Republican governor of North Dakota, Doug Burgum, the Florida representatives Byron Donalds and Cory Mills, and Vivek Ramaswamy, a biotech entrepreneur who ran for the Republican presidential nomination.
Court adjourns for the day
The court has adjourned for the day, and is due to resume on Thursday.
The defense will resume cross-examination of Michael Cohen on Thursday, and court will end slightly earlier than usual at 4pm ET.
Updated
Michael Cohen testified he made $2m on his book Disloyal in the first two months it was released.
Trump attorney Todd Blanche asked how much his second book made. Cohen said:
I don’t know exactly, but I would say around $400,000.
“So you made about $3.4m from those two books, is that fair? “Over the four-year period?” Yes. “Yes, sir.”
Updated
Trump attorney Todd Blanche is still trying to chip away at Michael Cohen’s credibility, by painting him as an attention-seeker. Blanche asks:
Is it fair to say that you are motivated by fame?
Cohen says:
No, sir I don’t think that’s fair to say.
Blanche asks:
Is it fair to say that you’re motivated by publicity.”
Cohen replies:
I don’t think that’s fair to say – I’m motivated by many things.
Michael Cohen has an interesting refrain on the stand. When asked if he’s said something inflammatory he’ll say “sounds like something I would say.”
Instead of admitting to the inflammatory remark, it justs ever so slightly distances him from it while also owning up to it and showing the jury he’s not embarrassed of using foul or colorful language.
It’s a clever turn of phrase.
Trump attorney Todd Blanche asks Michael Cohen if he ever said that “I hope this fucking man lands in prison.”
Cohen says it “sounds like my language on [his podcast] Mea Culpa”. Cohen then glanced quickly at the jury.
Blanche asks Cohen to put on headphones to listen to an episode of Mea Culpa.
Donald Trump is also putting the headphone near his head but he’s kind of holding it like he might hold a telephone, or the way a child might hold a banana to pretend to use a phone.
Now he’s putting one of the ear portions of the headphone to an ear.
Cohen asked whether he called Trump a 'boorish cartoon misogynist'
Trump attorney Todd Blanche is asking whether Michael Cohen started speaking to the press extensively when he left prison in 2020 due to Covid.
Did he call it the “Redemption Tour”? Cohen answered in the affirmative.
Later that year, Cohen said, he started the podcast Mea Culpa on September 14, 2020. Blanche asks:
On your first podcast Mea Culpa, you referred to President Trump as a boorish, cartoonish misogynist?
Cohen replied: “Sounds like something I would say.” Cartoon villain? Cohen says:
Sounds like something I would say.
Updated
Trump attorney Todd Blanche’s questioning is trying to establish a timeline between Michael Cohen’s imprisonment, meeting with prosecutors, and his desire to get a lower sentence.
He keeps trying to land some sort of a punch, but it doesn’t seem to be working.
Court is resuming after a short afternoon break.
As Donald Trump’s legal team walked in to the courtroom, they all took a peek at the sketch artist’s drawing in progress of the cross examination between Todd Blanche and Michael Cohen.
The court is taking a short afternoon break.
Trump attorney Todd Blanche asked about comments Michael Cohen made in 2019: “You said that President Trump was a conman and that you were ashamed? Cohen replied: “I said that, yes.”
Blanche tried to intimate that Cohen tried to get a brief postponement to surrendering to federal prison so he could testify before Congress. Cohen said it was because he’d had shoulder surgery.
Blanche then asked Cohen about prison. “Otisville is about 90 miles away from here?” Give or take.
Blanche asked whether Cohen had been trying to get his sentence reduced. Cohen said yes.
“Do you know someone named Anthony Scaramucci?” “I do.”
“Did he come to visit you in October 2019?” Cohen said he’d visited him but didn’t recall when.
Cohen shook his head and looked at the jury quickly after that.
First whiff of hostility in an exchange as to whether Michael Cohen lied or gave inaccurate information about the Trump Tower Moscow trip.
After initially resisting, Cohen concedes it was a lie. Blanche said:
I’m just asking questions Mr Cohen.
Cohen said back:
And I’m trying to give the answers.
Trump attorney Todd Blanche is now asking about Michael Cohen’s meeting with the feds where he was asked about Russia and the Steele dossier.
“You told them that you never paid Russians to hack anything, right?” Cohen answers in the affirmative.
I wanted my voice to be reflected that the Steele Dossier …was inaccurate.
Trump attorney tries to undercut Cohen’s credibility
Trump attorney Todd Blanche is contiuing to hammer away at Michael Cohen’s credibility, painting him as someone who saw a little bit of himself in Donald Trump and was obsessed with the former president.
But Blanche’s approach has been wide ranging, jumping around a bit and difficult to follow at times.
Cohen has continued to remain calm and even-keeled in his testimony.
Updated
Trump attorney Todd Blanche asks Michael Cohen about telling Hope Hicks in June 2017 that he missed Donald Trump and missed being around people he had worked with for years. Cohen says:
Yes, I did, I had a great relationship with my colleagues. I did say that I missed President Trump. In fact I said the same thing at a rally, I shouldn’t say a rally, a fundraiser in Washington DC.
Blanche moves on to ask about a statement Cohen made in 2017, where he spoke about the fact that it was frustrating or that he was disappointed, that he wasn’t able to spend more time with Trump’s children or President Trump, because of the investigation.
Cohen asked where that statement was made. He says:
I was advised that I could not speak to President Trump, but not to the family.
Trump attorney Todd Blanche asks Michael Cohen if he was lying when he said publicly that Donald Trump was a good man.
Cohen says “that’s how I felt” in 2015. When Blanche presses again, Cohen says he “was expressing my feelings”.
“You also said at that point that you would take a bullet for the president?” Blanche asked, referring to a fall 2017 Vanity Fair profile. Cohen says: “I did, yes.”
Did Cohen say he was offered $10m to write a tell-all book? Blanche asks: “You said in the article that your counter-offer was, ‘how about $100 m?” “You were just going back to them to say there was no number in the world that you’d agree to write about President Trump?” Cohen says that is correct.
“There was no money in the world that would have caused you to write about his family?” Cohen responds saying that sounds correct.
Updated
Cohen says he admired Trump and was 'knee deep into the cult'
Trump attorney Todd Blanche asks Michael Cohen: “You were actually obsessed with President Trump, weren’t you?” Cohen says:
I don’t know if I would characterize it as obsessed, but I admired him tremendously.
“You publicly said he was a good man?” Yes.
“You said that he’s a man who cares deeply about this country?” Cohen responds: “I said that.”
“That he’s a man who tells it straight?” Cohen said, “Yes, sir.”
“And that all he wants to do is make this country great again?” Cohen responds: “Sounds right.”
Blanche asks: “At that time, you weren’t lying, right?” Cohen says:
At that time, I was knee deep into the cult of Donald Trump, yes.
Trump attorney Todd Blanche asks Michael Cohen if it is fair to say that he admired Donald Trump when he was working for him. Cohen says yes.
Cohen is asked if he read Trump’s book Trump: The Art of the Deal while he worked for him. Cohen says yes, he’s read it twice.
Blanche asks: “You viewed it as a masterpiece, right?” Cohen says: “I viewed it as an excellent book.”
You actually described it as a masterpiece. Yes, a “masterpiece”, Cohen says.
Updated
Trump attorney Todd Blanche is now asking Michael Cohen about how he got involved with the Trumps, and is going back to the co-op board dispute that got him noticed by the family.
The board was trying to remove the Trump name from the building, correct?
Cohen says: “Yes, sir.”
Blanche is asking Cohen about how he made money with his taxi medallions. He said he’d made a lot from them. “You viewed yourself at the time, in the early 2000s, as a bit of a deal-maker?” Yes.
Blanche is asking Cohen about his work for other members of the Trump family. Cohen says:
I don’t believe I ever represented Eric, and I can’t recall whether I ever represented Ivanka.
Trump attorney Todd Blanche asks Michael Cohen when he changed his views about Donald Trump.
“I guess it will be August of 2018,” Cohen testifies.
It was around the time that I had gone on George Stephanopoulos.
Blanche is asking Cohen about all the properties he and his family owned in Trump-branded properties. “Year 2000, we bought as a block,” Cohen says.
Trump attorney Todd Blanche is now asking Michael Cohen about items that are shown on his website, including a shirt with Trump in an orange jumpsuit.
“If we can blow up the bottom of the coffee mug as well,” Blanche says, expanding a coffee mug that reads:
Send him to the Big House not the White House.
That’s also a reference to President Trump, correct? Cohen says: “Correct.”
If you actually look at that T-shirt, you actually wore that T-shirt on your TikTok on Wednesday night? Cohen says: I did.
You actually were encouraging people to buy it. “At the merch store,” Cohen said.
Updated
Cohen admits he wants to see Trump convicted
After a lot of wiggling, Michael Cohen admits on the stand that he wants to see Donald Trump convicted in this case.
Trump attorney Todd Blanche asks:
You also talked about, extensively, on Mea Culpa, your desire that President Trump get convicted in this case, correct?
“Sounds like something I would say,” Cohen said. “Yes, probably.”
Blanche asks: Do you have any doubt? Cohen says no. Blanche asks:
So why did you specifically say yes probably.
Cohen said he wasn’t sure if he used those exact words.
Blanche keeps prodding him on this. “I would like to see accountability … I’m just asking you yes or no, do you want to see President Trump get convicted” in this case, Blanche presses.
Cohen replies: “Sure.”
Trump attorney Todd Blanche is asking Michael Cohen about his hundreds of podcasts and asks whether he talks about Trump in every episode.
I would say he’s mentioned in every one, yes?
Cohen explains why he started doing nightly TikToks. He does it to “build an audience to create a community. To really vent because I’m having a difficult time sleeping. So I found an outlet.”
Trump attorney Todd Blanche asks Michael Cohen about his testimony on Monday about his conversations with Donald Trump, and how he can have “no recollection of whether last March – just over a year ago – prosecutors told you to stop talking about the case”.
Cohen says:
What I’m saying to you, sir, I don’t recall having these conversations with Lanny Davis about not going on television.
Blanche said: “You don’t recall the district attorney telling you were ... helping Trump by going on TV?” Cohen said no.
Trump attorney Todd Blanche is asking Michael Cohen about how he gave two phones to the district attorney’s office.
“Two different phones, two different days?” Cohen says: “That’s correct.”
Does he remember going on TV two days later on Don Lemon, telling him that he had been in contact with the district attorney and turning over your phones? Does he remember the district attorney’s office being frustrated that you’d done that? Cohen says: “No, sure.”
Did Cohen leak to CNN that he gave his phones to prosecutors? Cohen says: “I don’t recall.”
Blanche presses: If it was leaked by CNN, not by you, who else could have?
Clearly, [Cohen’s former attorney] Lanny Davis, could be others, I don’t know.
Who else knew? “People in the district attorney’s office.”
We’re about 15 minutes into Trump attorney Todd Blanche’s cross-examination and prosecutor Susan Hoffinger has had at least half a dozen objections sustained.
There’s no rhythm here and it’s not clear where Blanche is going.
Trump attorney Todd Blanche immediately raises Michael Cohen’s commentary of the trial at the start of his cross-examination as a way of seeding the idea that Cohen hates Donald Trump.Blanche says:
On April 1 after the trial started, you referred to president Trump as a dictator douche bag didn’t you?
Cohen responds:
Sounds like something I’d said.
Blanche asks whether Cohen said he’d like to see Trump in a cage, “like a fucking animal. Do you recall saying that? Cohen responds:
I recall saying that.
Blanche is asking whether prosecutors have asked him to stop commenting publicly about the case. “They might have, yes.”
Is it fair to say that the prosecutors have told him repeatedly to stop talking about the case. “Yes.”
During a sidebar this morning, Trump attorney Todd Blanche said, “We do not have any rebuttal witnesses as of now.”
Judge Juan Merchan asked: “You don’t have any?” Blanche said:
We do not have any rebuttal witnesses. As of now, pending the testimony of Mr Cohen. I believe the cross will continue until the end of the day Thursday. If it even finishes, it will be very near the end of the day and presumably there will be redirect. As for our expert, we have communicated with him and expect him to be here over the weekend. But whether we call him depends, in part, on the charge – we submitted the charge, just this morning, so I know you haven’t read it yet.
Updated
Cross-examination begins
Michael Cohen eyed each of the jurors as they walked past him on the way to the witness stand.
Trump attorney Todd Blanche is beginning his cross-examination of Cohen.
On 23 April, you went on TikTok and called me a “crying little shit”, Blanche says. Cohen replies:
Sounds like something I would say.
We’re already having a sidebar after Blanche began his cross examination by raising two things Cohen has said about Trump’s lawyers during the trial.
Cohen glanced at the jurors as this sidebar is happening.
Updated
During a sidebar before Michael Cohen’s testimony began this morning, the prosecution said they had elected not to call another witness, a book publisher.
To that effect, prosecutor Joshua Steinglass said:
I don’t know how long Mr Blanche’s cross-examination will be, but I think that it’s highly likely that we will get to the defense case, such as it is, on Thursday. And we don’t know who the defense witnesses are, except for an expert witness and potentially Mr Trump. They’ve indicated that the only other witnesses that they intend to call are impeachment witnesses.
Michael Cohen is back on the witness stand.
Donald Trump has entered the courtroom with his legal team and a big stack of papers.
Eric and Lara Trump are still here.
On the way in, Trump attorney Susan Necheles paused along the aisle and said to one of the court sketch artists: “I want your drawing.”
Updated
Cohen will be prosecution's last witness
Michael Cohen will be the last prosecution witness to testify in the case against Donald Trump, according to a court manuscript.
The court manuscript shows that prosecutor Joshua Steinglass told judge Juan Merchan that his team had plans to call another witness, but they decided against it.
Trump’s defense team also signaled they may call no witnesses.
Updated
The House was in session on Tuesday with vital business to complete but its speaker, Mike Johnson, was 200 miles north, attending another day in the criminal trial of Donald Trump.
“President Trump is innocent of these charges,” Johnson told reporters outside court in Manhattan, where Trump faces the first 34 of 88 criminal counts.
Trump has used his trial as a loyalty test for supporters and vice-presidential hopefuls, both at the courthouse and on social media and TV. On Tuesday, Johnson was joined in court by the governor of North Dakota, Doug Burgum, the Florida representatives Byron Donalds and Cory Mills, and Vivek Ramaswamy, a biotech entrepreneur who ran for the Republican presidential nomination.
Before proceedings began, as Johnson and other supporters stood behind him, guarded by court officers, Trump spoke to reporters. “I do have a lot of surrogates and they are speaking very beautifully,” he said.
They come from all over Washington, and they’re highly respected and they think this is the biggest scam they’ve ever seen.
Regarding such surrogates’ ability to comment on the trial unencumbered by a gag order over which Trump has been fined and threatened with incarceration, Trump told reporters: “You ask me questions that I’m not allowed to answer.”
Complaining about the courtroom, Trump said: “I’ve been here for nearly four weeks in the ice box,” adding: “Vivek … can speak for himself.” Ramaswamy smiled.
Michael Cohen, who once said he would “take a bullet” for Donald Trump, may present a conflicted witness to jurors.
Cohen has served time in prison in relation to those payments and lying to Congress, as well as a series to tax frauds to which he pleaded guilty. But he also is on a personal mission for redemption, a sinner turned proselyte, who now disavows the years he spent serving Trump.
The case against Trump is likely to succeed or fail on whether jurors believe his account, or lean toward the defense claims presented in opening arguments that he is an “admitted liar” with an “obsession to get President Trump”.
The former president’s lawyers have argued that Cohen perjured himself again when he testified at Trump’s civil fraud trial last year. They claim that Cohen has made a living from antagonizing his former (and only) client. He appeared last week in a live TikTok wearing a shirt featuring a figure resembling Trump with his hands cuffed, behind bars.
“He has a goal, an obsession with getting Trump, and you’re going to hear that,” defense lawyer Todd Blanche told jurors in his opening statement.
Michael Cohen, testifying on Monday, said Donald Trump told him to bury Stormy Daniels’s account of an alleged sexual liaison weeks before the election, demanding that he “just take care of it”.
Cohen recalled Trump saying:
This was a disaster, a fucking disaster. Women will hate me.
Cohen described Trump as angry at the possibility that Daniels might come forward shortly after the release of the “Access Hollywood” tape in which Trump bragged about groping women “by the pussy” without their consent.
Cohen told jurors that he had kept Daniels’s account under wraps in 2011, working with her then lawyer, Keith Davidson, to remove a story about it that had been on a gossip.
“He was really angry with me,” Cohen recalled of Trump’s reaction after he informed him about Daniels. Trump, he said, remarked:
I thought you had this under control? I thought you took care of this.
The prosecution has finished its direct examination of Michael Cohen and the court is breaking for lunch.
Updated
'I violated my moral compass': Cohen says he regrets 'lying, bullying' in his work for Trump
Prosecutor Susan Hoffinger asks Michael Cohen:
Do you have any regrets about your past work and your association with Donald Trump?
“I do,” Cohen responds.
I regret doing things for him that I should not have – lying, bullying people in order to effectuate a goal.
Cohen adds:
I don’t regret working at the Trump organization, as I expressed before, some very interesting, great times, but to keep the loyalty and to do things that he had asked me to do, I violated my moral compass and I suffered the penalty, as has my family.
Updated
Michael Cohen’s body language does not come across as someone who is thrilled to be on the witness stand.
His speech is staid, and his answers are short.
It’s a demeanor that’s will likely be at odds with how Trump’s lawyers will try and portray him during cross-examination as someone who is out to get Trump.
Asked about Stormy Daniels’s first appearance on his podcast, Michael Cohen said he thought it would be a good idea to speak to her and apologize.
Cohen is now being asked about a Truth Social post about him. For reference, it’s the post that starts with “I did NOTHING wrong in the “HORSEFACE” case.”
Of Cohen, the post said:
She knows nothing about me other than her conman lawyer, Avanatti, and convicted liar and felon, jailbird Michael Cohen, might have schemed up.
Updated
Prosecutor Susan Hoffinger is now pre-butting attacks that Michael Cohen is out to get Donald Trump.
She’s asked Cohen to outline how he lost business as a result of his felony convictoins. Cohen says the way he makes money now is through his podcast Mea Culpa and another news podcast, both of which frequently discuss Trump.
He also says he wrote a book, Disloyal, a memoir, in prison.
Hoffinger:
Are these endeavors that you’ve engaged in conducted largely to support your family?
Cohen says: “Yes, ma’am”.
Updated
Michael Cohen described how his career collapsed after pleading guilty. No more law license. His stakes in taxi medallions were gone, as felons can’t have taxi medallions. So did most of his real estate holdings.
So, how does he make money now?
Predominately, it’s media and entertainment.
Prosecutor Susan Hoffinger is continuing to anticipate attacks on Michael Cohen’s credibility coming in the cross-examination.
Cohen said during Trump’s civil fraud case that he wasn’t actually guilty of tax fraud and had lied to the federal judge that had accepted his guilty plea.
That prompted a federal judge to deny a request to end his supervised release in March.
Prosecutor Susan Hoffinger is asking about Michael Cohen’s statement that he didn’t think he should have been prosecuted for tax evasion and false statements for a bank.
This is something that he said in the civil trial that Donald Trump’s lawyers hemmed and hawed about.
Cohen said “I do not dispute the fact” that he did something off with his taxes.
What I did dispute, for a first-time offender who’s consistently paid taxes on its due date, never having been audited, that this would go immediately to a criminal charge. The day I found out [about the charge], I was given 48 hours to plead guilty or the Southern District of New York was going to bring an 8-page indictment that would also include my wife.
Prosecutor Susan Hoffinger is detailing Michael Cohen’s criminal history and his cooperation with law enforcement, including her office.
She mentions that anyone who testifies before a grand jury receives immunity in that matter.
It’s an effort to bolster Cohen’s credibility and show that he is not benefiting from testifying.
Updated
Michael Cohen said he got out of prison significantly earlier because of Covid; the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act, and his co-morbidities, allowed him to leave.
He spent the remainder of his incarceration sentence at home. Was he sent back to prison? Cohen said yes.
“I was on furlough,” he said, “and awaiting a date to meet with a company called GEO … and I was finally given a day, it as supposed to be the following day, to head up to the Bronx to sign the paperwork and do the installation of the ankle bracelet.”
Instead I received a phone call from an individual named [unclear] at 500 Pearl Street … and I’m told that I need to go there instead of up to the Bronx. It just didn’t make any sense.
He asked a friend of his, lawyer Jeffrey K. Levine.
Come with me, because something just seems wrong. We get there and were brought into an office.
Michael Cohen is asked if on 29 November 2018, did he also plead guilty to one count of lying to Congress in 2017? Cohen replies: “Yes ma’am.”
Cohen said the false statement was in connection to his comments on the Russia probe.
Cohen is talking about his testimony before Congress in 2019. He said that he apologized to Congress and his family, as well as the US populace.
Why did he apologize to the country? Cohen says: “For lying to them, for acting in a way that suppressed information that the citizenry had a right to know about making a determination” about a candidate.
Michael Cohen confirms that he pleaded guilty to evasion of personal income tax for the years 2012 to 2016.
Cohen also confirms that he pleaded guilty to one count of making false statements to a financial institution.
Prosecutor Susan Hoffinger is now posting tweets from Donald Trump on 22 August 2018 -- one day after Cohen pleaded guilty.
I feel very badly for Paul Manafort and his wonderful family. “Justice” took a 12 year old tax case, among other things, applied tremendous pressure on him and, unlike Michael Cohen, he refused to “break” - make up stories in order to get a “deal.” Such respect for a brave man!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 22, 2018
If anyone is looking for a good lawyer, I would strongly suggest that you don’t retain the services of Michael Cohen!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 22, 2018
What, if any effect did it have on him at the time to have Trump tweet this one day after he pleaded guilty? Cohen said:
It caused a lot of angst, anxiety.
'Worst day of my life': Cohen recounts pleading guilty to charges
Michael Cohen says he pleaded guilty to lying for Donald Trump in order to influence the 2016 election.
Cohen says the day he pleaded guilty was the “worst day of my life”.
During breaks in the testimony, Cohen isn’t even looking in the direction of Donald Trump’s team. He’s looking straight ahead or at the jury.
Updated
Cohen says he paid Stormy Daniels to influence the 2016 election 'on behalf of Trump'
The prosecution asks Michael Cohen: Why in fact did you pay that money to Stormy Daniels?
To ensure that the story would not come out, would not affect Mr Trump’s chances of becoming President of the United States.
If not for the campaign, Mr Cohen, would you have paid that money? “No, ma’am.”
“At who’s direction, and on who’s behalf, did you commit that crime?” Cohen said:
On behalf of Mr. Trump.
He’s talking about his admission to an AMI-related charge, the Karen McDougal payment. Why did he do it?
In order to ensure that the possibility of Mr Trump succeeding in the election, that this would not be a hindrance.
This was “at the direction of Donald J Trump.” And for who’s benefit?
For the benefit of Donald J Trump.
Updated
Michael Cohen is now being asked about his August 2018 guilty plea to various crimes. Cohen tells the jury:
I made a decision based on a conversation that I had with my family – I would not lie for President Trump any more.
Did you plead guilty to one act of excessive campaign contribution? I did. “What did that charge relate to?” Stormy Daniels.
Updated
Cohen says he decided his loyalty was with his family, not Trump
In the months that followed, Michael Cohen spoke with attorneys and his family. Cohen said:
At that point in time, we didn’t even know what the southern district of New York was even looking at. And the conversation with my family was: what to do? We’re in this unique situation, never experienced. My family, my wife, my daughter, my son, all said to me: ‘Why are you holding onto this loyalty? What are you doing? We’re supposed to be your first loyalty.’
What decision did you make? “It was about time to listen to them.”
What did you decide about where your loyalty should go, going forward?
To my wife, my daughter, my son and the country.
Updated
Vivek Ramaswamy, Doug Burgum, Cory Mills and Byron Donalds are all now back in the courtroom.
Updated
Michael Cohen is testifying about an email he received from Robert Costello on 14 June 2018. It was an email of a YouTube video where Rudy Giuliani talked about the possibility of Cohen cooperating.
“Why send this to me?” Cohen responded. “The answer to your question will be found in watching the video,” Costello wrote.
It seems clear to me that you are under the impression that Trump and Giuliani are trying to discredit you and throw you under the bus to use your phrase. I think you are wrong because you are believing the narrative promoted by the left wing media. They want you to believe what they are writing... The whole objective of this exercise by the SDNY is to drain you, emotionally and financially, until you re ach a point that you see them as your only means to salvation.
Costello also wrote:
You are making a very big mistake if you believe the stories these ‘journalists’ are writing about you. They want you to cave. They want you to fail. If you really believe you are not being supported properly by your former boss, then you should make your position known. If you really want certain things to happen, you should make that known.
What did this mean? Cohen replied:
This is part of the pressure campaign, that everyone is lying to you, that you are still regarded, the president still supports you, do not listen to what any of hte journalists or anybody is saying, and stayign the fold -- don’t flip, don’t speak, don’t cooperate.
Prosecutor Susan Hoffinger asks Cohen if he ever told the truth to Costello about Donald Trump’s involvement in AMI’s involvement in Karen McDougal’s story, or Trump’s involvement or connection to Stormy Daniels? Cohen says: “No.”
Why did you not tell Costello the truth? “I didn’t trust him,” Cohen said, saying he was “still remaining loyal to Mr Trump.”
Updated
In an email, Robert Costello wrote to Michael Cohen:
I must tell you quite frankly that I am not used to listening to abuse like today’s conversation. You have called me numerous times over the last month to discuss issues and I have always tried to be as helpful as I could. You told me back in April that I was part of the team and I have acted accordingly on your behalf. When I suggested that we meet and discuss a strategy following this news you suddenly took a new approach and stated: ‘That’s not going to happen.’
Cohen, asked to explain the missive he read allowed, said: “I had had enough, and I told him.”
Costello also wrote:
Please remember if you want or need to communicate something, please let me know and I will see that it gets done. I hope I am wrong but it seem to both Jeff and I that perhaps we have been played here...
Updated
Cohen describes 'back channel' discussions with Trump and Rudy Giuliani
Prosecutor Susan Hoffinger is now presenting a Wednesday, 13 June 2018 email from Robert Costello to Michael Cohen. The email reads:
Michael, since you jumped off the phone rather abruptly, I did not get a chance to tell you that my friend has communicated to me that he is meeting with his client this evening and he added that if there was anything you wanted to convey, you should tell me and my friend will bring it up for discussion this evening.
Hoffinger asked: Who was my friend? “Rudy Giuliani,” Cohen said.
And who would Rudy Giuliani’s client be? “Donald J Trump – President Trump.”
Why would they use the term friend? “Sort of to be covert,” Cohen said, to back-channel.
When he described the phrasing as “I-Spy-ish”, laughter spread through the overflow room.
Updated
Prosecutor Susan Hoffinger then showed Michael Cohen a 7 June 2018 email. The email, from Robert Costello, said:
Michael, To prove to you that Rudy Giuliani called me and I did not call him, I photographed the pages from my iPhone which I am attaching. They show that you called me at 11:30 am today on my cell and that the next call I had was two incoming calls from Rudy Giuliani at 108 pm and then at 115 pm because the first cell call transmission was lost (calling from Israel) and Giuliani called me back at 1:15.
There’s more mention of phone calls showing that Costello and Giuliani were close, and that he was “in the fold”, Cohen explained.
Updated
In another email that same day, Robert Costello wrote to Michael Cohen saying:
I spoke with Rudy [Giuliani’]. Very Very positive. You are “loved”.
Costello later said:
Sleep well tonight, you have friends in high places. Bob. PS Some very positive comments about you from the White House. Rudy noted how that followed my chat with him last night.
Prosecutor Susan Hoffinger asked: “Who did you think Mr Costello was referred to when saying you were “loved?”
“By President Trump,” Cohen said.
Updated
Michael Cohen now being shown an 19 April 2018 email from Robert Costello. The email reads:
I am sure you saw the news that Rudy is joining the Trump legal team. I told you my relationship with Rudy [Giuliani] which could be very very useful for you. Bob Costello.
Cohen said he thought this was meant to reinforce “the whole concept of the back channel”.
Costello sent another email several days later. Cohen read that email in court:
Michael, I just spoke to Rudy Giuliani and told him I was on your team. Rudy was thrilled and said this could not be a better situation for the president or you. He asked me if it was ok to call the president and Jay Sekelow and I said fine … He said I can’t tell you how pleased I am that I can work with someone I know and trust. He asked me to tell you that he knows how tough this is on you and your family and he will make [sure] to tell the president. He said thank you for opening this back channel of communication and asked me to keep in touch. I told him I would after speaking to you further.
“The back channel was Bob Costello, to Rudy, to President Trump,” Cohen explained.
Updated
Michael Cohen says Robert Costello told him after the FBI raid that “there are certain things that you need to know. The first thing you need to remember is what might be in those boxes.”
He said to me that he’d been at the Southern District of New York and incredibly close to Rudy Giuliani ... as close as you can imagine. That would be a relationship that would be very beneficial to you going forward with this matter,
Prosecutor Susan Hoffinger asks: “During that meeting, did you tell Mr Costello the truth about what Mr Trump’s role was in the payoff to Stormy Daniels?” “No,” Cohen said, adding:
There was something really sketchy and wrong about him.
He came with a retainer agreement, Cohen said, and he told Costello he wouldn’t sign right away. Why not?
“I certainly wasn’t going to expose anything to anybody one I didn’t know and … having trouble connecting with,” Cohen said.
I was also concerned, when he started talking about his incredibly close relationship with Rudy, that anything I said to him was going to be spoken and told to Rudy Giuliani and of course, because Rudy Giuliani was so proximate, at the time, to Mr Trump, President Trump, that anything that I said would get back to him.
Updated
Cohen says he was 'distraught, nervous, concerned' during meeting with Robert Costello
Prosecutor Susan Hoffinger asks: “Mr Cohen, are you familiar with an attorney by the name of Robert Costello?”
Michael Cohen says: “I am. He was introduced by another attorney,” adding:
He told me he was a criminal defense attorney and he was incredibly close to Rudy Giuliani.
Cohen said he was “distraught, nervous, concerned”.
Updated
No cameras are allowed inside the courtroom, but a court sketch captures Michael Cohen on the witness stand this morning as a Wall Street Journal is displayed on a screen.
Updated
The court is resuming after a short morning break.
Donald Trump is back in the courtroom and almost the entire entourage has left. Lara Trump, Eric Trump and Alina Habba are still here.
Updated
The court is taking a short morning break.
Earlier this morning, House speaker Mike Johnson addressed the media outside the courtroom as court was under way, where he denounced the proceedings as “not about justice” but rather “all about politics”.
With Donald Trump barred by gag order from attacking witnesses and the judge’s family, Johnson did the dirty work for him, AP reported. Johnson claimed the Manhattan district attorney, Alvin Bragg, was a “partisan Democrat” and judge Juan Merchan a “Biden donor judge”.
Michael Cohen, the prosecution’s star witness on the stand today, is “a man who is clearly on a mission for personal revenge” and “has trouble with the truth”, Johnson said, adding:
No one should believe a word he says today.
Johnson added:
I came here again today on my own to support President Trump because I am one of hundreds of millions of people and one citizen who is deeply concerned about this.
“The crime [prosecutors] are accusing President Trump of is falsification of business records. But I think everybody knows he is not the bookkeeper for his company. ... It's all about politics.”
— The Recount (@therecount) May 14, 2024
— House Speaker Mike Johnson speaks outside Trump's hush money trial in New York pic.twitter.com/TlKNpBmlAK
Updated
'Don't flip': Cohen says Trump was telling him to 'stay loyal' in tweets
What did Michael Cohen read into Donald Trump’s tweets about him? “Stay in the fold. Stay loyal,” Cohen said.
When Cohen said, “Don’t flip,” laughs rang out in the overflow room.
Based on that line, “most people will flip if the government lets them out of trouble,” Hoffinger said, what did Cohen understand Trump meant about this statement. Cohen responds:
That Mr Trump did not want me to cooperate with government, certainly not to provide information or flip.
Updated
After that, did he maintain ties with Donald Trump? Michael Cohen says: “Only through other people.”
Did he think that important (the distance)? “Extremely.”
There are little details that show how carefully prosecutors have constructed their case here. Cohen is currently reading a series of 21 April 2018 tweets in which Trump accused New York Times reporter Maggie Haberman of being a biased reporter.
The New York Times and a third rate reporter named Maggie Haberman, known as a Crooked H flunkie who I don’t speak to and have nothing to do with, are going out of their way to destroy Michael Cohen and his relationship with me in the hope that he will “flip.” They use....
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 21, 2018
....non-existent “sources” and a drunk/drugged up loser who hates Michael, a fine person with a wonderful family. Michael is a businessman for his own account/lawyer who I have always liked & respected. Most people will flip if the Government lets them out of trouble, even if....
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 21, 2018
....it means lying or making up stories. Sorry, I don’t see Michael doing that despite the horrible Witch Hunt and the dishonest media!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 21, 2018
But just minutes ago we saw text messages between Cohen and Haberman in which Cohen was offering her an exclusive statement that Cohen said Trump had approved. It undercuts Trump’s credibility.
Updated
Cohen says he stayed in the Trump camp because 'I had the President of the United States protecting me'
Michael Cohen says he felt “reassured” after Donald Trump told him not to worry and that “everything’s going to be fine.” Cohen says:
I felt reassured, because I had the President of the United States protecting me. His justice department – [it] should go nowhere. So I felt reassured. So I remained in the camp. In the fold. In the Trump camp.
That made you stay loyal to him? Cohen says: “Yes.”
And continue to lie abut his involvement? Yes.
Cohen says others told him that “you’re loved, don’t worry, he’s got your back. Most powerful guy in the country, if not the world. You’re going to be OK.”
Updated
Cohen says Trump told him 'you're going to be OK' after April 2018 FBI raid
Michael Cohen says he spoke to Donald Trump after the FBI raid. Cohen says:
I received a phone call from President Trump in response to me leaving a message for him to call me. I obviously wanted him to know what was taking place. And he said to me, ‘Dont worry, I’m the president of the United states, there’s nothing here, everything is going to be OK. Stay tough. You’re going to be OK.’
Have you spoken directly to Mr Trump since that time? “No ma’am.”
Was that call from President Trump at that time important to you? “Extremely important.”
Why? Cohen says he was very scared and wanted to know that “Mr Trump had my back.”
Updated
We’re now at Michael Cohen’s legal woes. What happened in April 2018? “ I was raided by the FBI.”
“At 7 o’clock in the morning, there’s a knock at the door,” he said, he saw “a ton of people out in the hallway.”
He opened the door, they identified themselves as the FBI. Cohen said:
I found out that simultaneously, they had also, the FBI, raided my apartment … my office, and bank.
Cohen is asked to describe his state of mind during the FBI raid. How would you describe your life being turned upside down? Concerned? Cohen says:
Despondent. Angry.
Were you frightened? “Yes, ma’am.”
Several of Trump’s entourage are talking among themselves in the gallery. Lara Trump is leaning in and chatting with Vivek Ramaswamy, Doug Burgum and Byron Donalds.
Updated
Prosecutor Susan Hoffinger is asking Michael Cohen to explain a lot of legal matters directly to the jury.
It’s a strategy that again diminishes Cohen’s edge. He comes off like a teacher or law school professor, looking at the juror and explaining how cases work or why a decision was made.
Cohen has continued to speak slowly and methodically.
Michael Cohen said that when the Wall Street Journal was publishing an article about American Media Inc’s payment, former publisher of the National Enquirer David Pecker was worried.
Cohen said that he told Pecker that all would be OK. After conversations with the president, Cohen recalled telling Pecker, “do not worry, I have this thing under control.”
Cohen said:
I told him that the matter’s going to be taken care of. And the person’s that going to be able to do it is Jeff Sessions.
Updated
Cohen says Trump thanked him after Stormy Daniels episode
Prosecutors are showing text messages between attorney Jay Sekulow and Michael Cohen after Cohen denied Donald Trump’s involvement in the Stormy Daniels episode.
“Client says thanks for what you do,” a text from Sekulow to Cohen says. The client is Trump.
Michael Cohen reads out loud a statement he made in February 2018 where he said he personally made a payment of $130,000 to adult film star Stormy Daniels as part of a non-disclosure agreement before the 2016 election. Cohen reads:
I am Mr Trump’s longtime special counsel and I have proudly served in that role for more than decade.
Prosecutor Susan Hoffinger interrupted Cohen to ask “Why did you write that line?”
Cohen said he wanted to “validate the statement that I was sending out and wanted them to run with and because it was true.” He then kept reading:
In a private transaction in 2016, I used my own personal funds to facilitate a payment of $130,000 to Ms Stephanie Clifford. Neither the Trump Organization nor the Trump campaign was a party to the transaction with Ms Clifford, and neither reimbursed me for the payment, either directly or indirectly. The payment to Ms Clifford was lawful, and was not a campaign contribution, or a campaign expenditure by anyone.
The prosecution asks: “Was the statement that you read false or misleading?” “Yes,” he said.
The prosecution asks: “For the same reasons as your lawyers’ statement being false or misleading?” Cohen says: “Yes.”
Cohen was also asked about a line where he claimed that nothing was illegal about the payment. He said that statement was “inaccurate”.
Then came the last line:
Just because something isn’t true doesn’t mean that it can’t cause you harm or damage. I will always protect Mr Trump.
Why did you write that?
It was a statement that validated what was in the second paragraph … the last line, ‘I will always protect Mr Trump.’ It was to validate that specific line.
Updated
Michael Cohen just read aloud a text he sent to New York Times reporter Maggie Haberman on 6 February 2018.
Big boss just approved me responding to complaint and statement. Please start writing and I will call you soon.
This text is from January 6. Cohen recalls:
I was going to give it to her first so she would have a scoop.
Meanwhile, Trump is leaning back in his seat, with his eyes closed.
Cohen says he misled FEC about Stormy Daniels payment to 'demonstrate loyalty to Mr Trump'
Prosecutor Susan Hoffinger asked: “In early 2018, did you receive a letter, a complaint letter, from the Federal Election Commission (FEC) about your $130,000 payment to Stormy Daniels?”
Michael Cohen said “I did.” He got a lawyer to help him in the matter.
Who paid for his representation? Cohen says the Trump Organization.
Cohen read aloud a 8 February 2018 message from his lawyers in the FEC matter responding to the commission’s complaint letter.
In a private transaction in 2016, before the US presidential election, Mr Cohen used his own personal funds to facilitate a payment of 130,000 to Ms Stephanie Clifford. Neither the Trump Organization nor the Trump campaign was a party to the transaction with Ms Clifford, and neither reimbursed Mr Cohen for the payment directly or indirectly.
Was it true or false? “It’s a true statement but it’s deceptive, misleading.”
Why? “It was neither the Trump Organization nor campaign – it was either the Trump Revocable Trust or Trump himself.”
Did you intend for it to be misleading? “Yes ma’am.” Why?
In order to protect Mr Trump, to stay on message, in order to demonstrate loyalty.
Updated
New York appeals court rejects Trump's gag order appeal
A New York appeals court has rejected Donald Trump’s appeal of the gag orders that were imposed in his hush-money criminal case, NBC News is reporting, citing a legal filing.
Trump has already been found in violation of the order 10 times.
Prosecutors are having Michael Cohen walk through the fallout from the Wall Street Journal’s 2018 bombshell story revealing the Stormy Daniels episode.
Jurors have already heard this in detail from Keith Davidson, Daniels’s then lawyer, and now Cohen is giving them the details again.
Cohen is reading texts between him and Davidson about his request that Daniels’s appear on Sean Hannity. “It’s really important?” This is from 17 January 2018.
Cohen kept asking Davidson to call him after the attorney said that Daniels couldn’t appear on a given night. Eventually, Cohen says he’s not worried, in the text chain:
Let’s forget tonight. They would rather tomorrow so they can promote the heck out of the show.
Later Cohen said:
Keith, the wise men all believe the story is dying and I don’t think it’s smart for her to do any interviews. Let her do her thing but no interviews at all with anyone.
Davidson’s response states: “100 percent”, to which Cohen responds: “thanks pal.”
Then, he later writes: “Just no interviews or statements unless through you.” He replies, “Got it.”
Updated
Michael Cohen is talking about how he pressured attorney Keith Davidson to keep Stormy Daniels silent.
The jury is being shown the 10 January 2018 Daniels denial. Did you know this statement by Daniels was false? Cohen says: “Yes.”
Did he send the denial to Trump? Cohen said yes. Why?
One, to get credit for expressing that I was continuing to ensure that he was protected and stayed loyal.
Michael Cohen looks a bit tired and anxious on the stand.
Lots of big sighs and he was shaking his head a bit.
Michael Cohen said that he continued to pressure people not to come forward about Stormy Daniels, beyond the election, in 2018. Why?
In order to protect Mr Trump.
Prosecutor Susan Hoffinger is now showing the January 2018 Wall Street Journal story about how Trump arranged the Daniels payoff.
“Did you tell the truth about Mr Trump’s role in the payoff?” Cohen says “no, ma’am.”
Did you tell the truth about how he repaid you? “No.”
Did you continue to be in touch with Trump in early 2018? Cohen answered in the affirmative.
He said he’d get Trump by contacting former Trump White House aide Madeleine Westerhout or ringing him on his cell. Recall: Westerhout took the stand in this case.
Cohen told Trump that he’d cover for him and claim the payment was done without his knowledge. Trump responded “good.”
Michael Cohen is asked what did he communicate to Congress in terms of the time period?
He says he told them “it was a truncated time period and that I had only spoken to Trump three times” about the Trump Tower Moscow real estate project.
In truth, he’d spoken to Trump 10 times about it, he said.
Updated
Cohen says he made false statements to Congress during the Russia investigations
Michael Cohen is now being asked about his testimony in the Russia investigation.
It was about the Trump Tower Moscow deal and Russian connections to the campaign.
Cohen said he felt a “tremendous amount of pressure” testifying before Congress about this. He did have an attorney.
He said the Trump Organization was paying for his attorney, who was part of a joint defense agreement.
A joint defense agreement is when there are several different lawyers representing different people and they’re all working together for a common goal.
At the time, what – if anything – did he feel about it? Cohens says:
I felt I needed it, it was extremely important to me.
Did you make false statements to Congress in 2017? “I did,” Cohen testifies. Generally, what did those false statements relate to?
They dealt with the Trump Tower Moscow real estate project specifically the number of times I claimed to have spoken to Mr Trump …
Why did you make those false statements to Congress?
I was staying on Mr Trump’s message that there was no Russia, Russia, Russia and again in coordination with the joint defense team, that’s what was preferred.
Updated
Cohen says he continued to lie for Trump 'out of loyalty and to protect him'
Michael Cohen says he continued to lie for Donald Trump after he was president.
Out of loyalty and to continue to protect him.
Prosecutor Susan Hoffinger asked Michael Cohen about his comment yesterday that he saw compensation for his work as Donald Trump’s personal lawyer as part of a long game; he knew he wouldn’t get paid for his legal work, but knew his reputation as Trump’s personal attorney would pay dividends in the end.
Did that title assist you in getting other clients? “Yes ma’am.”
Was that your plan all along? “Yes.”
In 2017 and 2018, approximately how many clients did you have? Five.
How much did he make? “Approximately $4m.”
Updated
Michael Cohen said he did more legal work in 2018 than 2017.
The prosecution asks: “Did you get paid anything by Mr Trump or the Trump Organization?” Cohen says: “No, ma’am.”
Did you bill anything? “No, ma’am.”
Cohen says he earned $4m for consulting he did for five clients in 2017 and 2018. Cohen has said he intended to monetize his relationship with Donald Trump into consulting work.
Prosecutor Susan Hoffinger asks Michael Cohen if he billed for the work he did for Donald Trump and Melania in 2017. Cohen says no.
Did you do any legal work for Mr Trump in 2018? “I did,” Cohen said.
As a result of the Stormy Daniels matter, and her electing to go public, Mr Trump wanted an action to be filed, an arbitration action to be filed, against her for breach of the non-disclosure agreement and so I was contacted by Eric Trump as well as Mr Trump regarding how to move forward with this arbitration proceeding.
Cohen said he worked with outside counsel on that issue, but did do work on that.
Updated
Prosecutor Susan Hoffinger is asking whether Michael Cohen did any work for Donald Trump or Melania in 2017. “Minimal,” he said.
Cohen says he estimates he did less than 10 hours of work for Trump, Melania Trump, and the Trump Organization in 2017. He says:
It was a matter dealing with an individual named Summer Zervos.
He said that he gave Trump some papers in the Zervos matter but that Marc Kasowitz was the leading attorney on the matter.
As far as Melania, I think it had to do with some trademarks or maybe even Madame Tussauds … I received an agreement that Madame Tussauds sent to her to create her likeness and image for her museum.
Cohen said his work on Zervos was “very minimal.”
Updated
'I had been reimbursed $420,000': Cohen says last check signed by Trump in December 2017
We’re now at December 2017. Michael Cohen said this was his last invoice in this vein. Why?
Now I had been reimbursed $420,000.
The check he received, also signed by Trump, was the last he received.
Prosecutor Susan Hoffinger asks:
After the last check was sent to you in December of 2017, I think you mentioned, you never received any other checks from Mr Trump, or his Trust?
Cohen says: “That’s right.” “Or from the Trump Organization?” Cohen answered, “Also correct.”
Updated
‘Whose signature is it?’ Cohen confirms Trump signed repayment checks
Prosecutor Susan Hoffinger has repeatedly asked Michael Cohen about checks to him for these repayments; the refrain is virtually the same every time, and directly points the finger at Donald Trump.
She goes one-by-one. “Do you see whose signature is on the check?” Hoffinger asks. “I do,” Cohen says.
“Whose is it?” she follows up. “Donald J Trump,” Cohen says.
Updated
The members of Trump’s entourage that I can see – Lara Trump, Byron Donalds, and Eric Trump – appear to be alternating between looking down and then at the false invoices and checks that are being displayed on screen.
Updated
Besides former GOP presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy, other members of Donald Trump’s court entourage today have also been posting to social media with their support of the former president.
Cory Mills, the Republican congressman from Florida, said he was “honored” to stand with Trump and described the case as a “victimless sham indictment” and “political theater and interference”.
Great to meet with President Trump today prior to us heading to the courtroom. Im honored to stand with the President, as America stands with him, and I view this victimless sham indictment as political theater and interference. I look forward to sharing my thoughts throughout…
— Cory Mills (@CoryMillsFL) May 14, 2024
Another Florida congressman, Byron Donalds, said Trump’s case is a “tragedy for the American justice system”. Donalds is widely viewed to be on Trump’s short list of vice presidential contenders.
I'm in NY state court today to stand with @realDonaldTrump. This case is a tragedy for the American justice system. They still haven't identified a crime and it's been 4 weeks. This is ELECTION INTERFERENCE.
— Byron Donalds (@ByronDonalds) May 14, 2024
The Republican House speaker, Mike Johnson, has said he will hold a press conference this morning outside the courthouse.
Prosecutor Susan Hoffinger is having Michael Cohen walk the jury through each of the fake invoices he submitted for $35,000 and then going through the checks that were issued as a result of those fake invoices. So far we’ve seen this for Jan/Feb, March, and April.
This is a bit dry, but this is the heart of the actual crime at issue in the trial here. Fake invoices submitted for checks that were issued for payments that were falsely recorded.
The jury is taking notes.
Prosecutor Susan Hoffinger may return to it later, but we moved very quickly past Michael Cohen’s meeting with Donald Trump in the Oval Office in February of 2017.
Cohen spent less than two minutes on that topic, which is a key moment linking Trump to the reimbursement scheme.
Michael Cohen is continuing in a calm steady voice, frequently using “ma’am” to answer yes and no.
His eyes are trained closely on prosecutor Susan Hoffinger as she asks him questions.
Now we have an email from Michael Cohen to Trump Organization controller Jeff McConney about an invoice. It’s dated 14 February 2017 with the subject line “$$”.
Dear Allen, Pursuant to the retainer agreement, kindly remit payment for services rendered for the months of January and February, 2017. January, 2017: $35,000 February, 2017: $35,000
Prosecutor Susan Hoffinger asks if the description of pursuant to a retainer agreement was a truthful statement? Cohen says: “No, ma’am.”
What was the true purpose for legal services? Cohen says:
The reimbursement, to me, of the hush-money fee along with redfinch and the bonus.
Was this invoice a false record? Cohen replies:
”Yes, ma’am.”
Did you continue to submit false invoices? “Yes ma’am.”
Were any of the invoices for legal services? Cohen replies:
No ma’am, they were for reimbursement.
Updated
Michael Cohen said that former Trump Organization controller Jeff McConney sent him another email about invoicing one week after the White House meeting.
Prosecutor Susan Hoffinger shows Cohen an email in court. Cohen tells McConney:
Jeff, Sorry for the delay and thank you for the reminder. Please have the monthly checks for January and February made payable to Michael D. Cohen, Esq...
Cohen testifies about Oval Office meeting with Trump in February 2017
Michael Cohen is now relaying a February meeting with Donald Trump in the Oval Office at the White House.
So I was sitting with President Trump and he asked me if I was OK, he asked me if I needed money, and I said, no, I’m OK, he said, alright, just make sure you deal with Allen [Weisselberg, Trump Organization CFO].
The prosecution asks: “So at that point in time, you had not yet been reimbursed for the payments to Stormy Daniels?” Cohen says: No.
“Did you take any photos commemorating your visit?” Cohen says: “I did.”
Why? Cohen says: “I was in the White House.”
The overflow room broke into chuckles as the photo shows Cohen at the briefing room lectern, smiling.
Updated
Vivek Ramaswamy, who is seated in the courtroom behind the defense table, tweeted earlier that it was “great to see President Trump in good spirits this morning”.
Great to see President Trump in good spirits this morning. Headed to NYC courtroom now. Let’s see what’s going on down there, will share my thoughts over the day.
— Vivek Ramaswamy (@VivekGRamaswamy) May 14, 2024
Prosecutor Susan Hoffinger is continuing her direct examination.
Hoffinger is asking Michael Cohen to read an email from Trump Organization controller Jeff McConney where he says:
Mike, Just a reminder to get me the invoices you spoke to Allen [Weisselberg, Trump Organization CFO] about.
This is from 6 February 2017.
Cohen is back on the stand
Michael Cohen just entered the courtroom and walked to the witness stand. He’s wearing a blue tie.
Cohen did not make eye contact with Donald Trump.
Updated
Donald Trump addressed the media before he entered the courtroom, where he complained that his case “is not a trial of Donald Trump. It’s a case of the Democrat party versus America.”
The former president said his hush-money criminal trial represented the “greatest effort to interfere with and steal a federal election in American political history”, claiming that Joe Biden had “weaponized” the justice department so “they have their people in that room because they are trying to hurt me”.
“There’s never been anything like this in the history of our country. It’s a scam,” Trump said, before complaining that he would be forced to sit in “the icebox” for “a long time”.
Updated
Trump is in the courtroom
Donald Trump is entering the courtroom. He was carrying papers, which he dropped on to the defense table before sitting.
Trump is joined by Florida congressman Cory Mills, North Dakota governor Doug Burgum, former Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy, as well as Eric Trump and Lara Trump.
All of Trump’s guests are sitting in the first two rows of the gallery, directly behind the defense table.
Updated
Almost all of the section in the courtroom reserved for the district attorney’s office is filled up, which is different from when I was here last week. This is perhaps a reflection of how important this testimony from Michael Cohen is.
Key takeaways from Cohen's testimony so far
1. Trump knew about the sham repayment scheme
Donald Trump was in his office in Trump Tower in January 2017 when he and Allen Weisselberg discussed how to structure the plan to repay the $130,000 hush money wired to Stormy Daniels, Michael Cohen testified on Monday – adding that Trump personally gave his approval then and there. “Good, good” Cohen recalled Trump as saying.
Trump was also present in the meeting when Weisselberg turned to Cohen and told him the reimbursement would come in 12 monthly checks, and be described as legal fees as part of a retainer agreement for Cohen supposedly working as personal attorney to Trump. But, Cohen testified, everyone in the meeting knew that the money had nothing to do with legal fees. After all, Weisselberg had developed the repayment plan himself, using numbers that he wrote out on a bank statement for the shell company Cohen had used to wire the hush money to Daniels.
The testimony from Cohen was important because it was evidence that Trump knew the payments to Cohen were hush-money reimbursements and Trump approved the plan’s details and logistics suggested by Weisselberg, sign-off that Cohen testified Weisselberg needed.
2. Trump had real-time updates about Daniels
Trump was apprised of every development with the Daniels catch-and-kill scheme in the weeks leading up to the 2016 election, Cohen repeatedly testified, in large part because Cohen was desperate to get “credit” for dealing with the matter.
The testimony about Cohen acknowledging he wanted to get recognition for resolving the Daniels situation further undercut the Trump defense argument that he was detached from the situation because he was busy with the 2016 campaign and later, being the president-elect. Cohen reinforced his testimony by adding he told Trump “immediately” once he had resolved the Stormy Daniels hush-money deal.
3. Trump knew deadline was the election
To get to a felony, prosecutors have to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Trump falsified records with an intent to violate election law, either to conceal he exceeded campaign contributions or ran afoul of a New York state law barring the use of unlawful means to promote a campaign.
Cohen did not testify on Monday that Trump intended to commit a second crime. But he laid the groundwork, saying he slow-walked paying Daniels with Trump’s permission in the hope that they could delay it until after the election. Cohen says Trump told him to “push it out as long as you can, past the election, because if I win, I’ll be president, and if I lose, I wont really care.” Either way, Cohen suggested Trump knew the 2016 election was his deadline.
Manhattan prosecutors have entered the courtroom.
The Republican speaker of the House, Mike Johnson, has confirmed that he will join Donald Trump in court in Manhattan this morning.
In a statement, Johnson said he will give a press conference at about 10.15am ET outside the courthouse where he will speak about the “political persecution of the 45th President of the United States by President Biden’s weaponized Department of Justice and the left-wing Manhattan district attorney.”
Donald Trump has arrived at the Manhattan courthouse where the trial will get under way at 9.30am ET.
Michael Cohen is expected to return to the witness stand this morning to resume his testimony.
Who is Michael Cohen?
Michael Cohen is Donald Trump’s former personal lawyer who was for more than a decade his Mr Fix-It, but is now the prosecution’s star witness as it builds its case that the former president sought to conceal hush-money payments to the adult film star, Stormy Daniels.
Cohen served as Trump’s trusted adviser, personal attorney and self-described “attack dog with a law license”. But the relationship soured after Trump won the US presidential election in 2016 and did not offer Cohen a role in his administration.
Cohen, a native of Long Island, began practicing law as a personal injury lawyer in 1992 and joined the Trump Organization in 2006. He’d told Trump he’d read his book The Art of the Deal twice and soon became a close confidant.
In a 2018 profile, it was noted that Cohen performed a role much like that of Roy Cohn, the notorious New York political and legal fixer who had worked for Trump and his father. Cohen’s duties led him into fixing situations of a sensitive nature, including setting up “catch-and-kill” arrangements with David Pecker, publisher of the National Enquirer, which has circuitously led to today’s court confrontation.
Updated
House speaker Mike Johnson to attend trial in support of Trump
Mike Johnson, the Republican speaker of the House of Representatives, will reportedly join Trump in court today during the trial, according to multiple sources.
Also rumored to be making appearances were the North Dakota governor Doug Burgum and the former presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy, who ran against Trump in the primaries before dropping out and supporting him.
Johnson has received backing from Trump on a number of occasions, including at a joint event at Mar-a-Lago while a far-right group of Republicans including Marjorie Taylor Greene were trying to oust the speaker – an attempt that ultimately failed.
For the first weeks of the trial, Trump had next to no supporters in the courtroom except occasionally for his son Eric. Yesterday, however, he was joined by an entourage that included JD Vance, the Republican senator who reportedly has his eye on becoming Trump’s running mate. Vance subsequently criticized the prosecution’s star witness, Michael Cohen – whom Trump is banned from attacking by judge Juan Merchan.
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The second day of Michael Cohen’s testimony appears to be the most highly anticipated trial day. Officials started turning away hopeful spectators at 6am and at present, there appear to be some 200 people in various lines, a court officer said.
Lori Grabowski, who’s the second member of the public in line, said she got a line sitter for an opportunity to sit in the courtroom.
The line sitter arrived at 1pm Monday, she said. What brought her here?
“My love for political news and, I don’t want to be trite and say this is historic, but to be in that room with Donald Trump and Michael Cohen, for me, would be an epic experience. Even if I can’t see much, the intensity inside that courtroom will be palpable,” Grabowski said.
And, “There is the added bonus of seeing Donald Trump squirm.”
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Michael Cohen to return to the stand
Good morning. Michael Cohen, once one of Donald Trump’s most loyal lieutenants and enforcers, is expected to take the stand this morning for a second day after testifying that the former president demanded that he bury an adult film star’s account of an alleged sexual liaison weeks before the election.
Cohen’s hush-money payment to Stormy Daniels is at the heart of the historic trial in Manhattan criminal court. Prosecutors charge that Cohen wired $130,000 to Daniels’s then attorney just 12 days before the presidential election to keep quiet about her alleged sexual encounter with Trump. Trump is charged with 34 felony counts of falsifying business records in connection with the payments and had pleaded not guilty.
Cohen is the prosecution’s star witness but jurors may see him as conflicted. The case against Trump is likely to succeed or fail on whether jurors believe Cohen’s account, or lean toward the defense claims that he is an “admitted liar” with an “obsession to get President Trump”.
We’re at the courthouse again today. Stay with us.
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The key takeaways from Daniels’ testimony last week.
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From Michael Cohen to Stormy Daniels: the key players
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