#MichaelCohen is receiving nothing in return for his testimony, other than personal satisfaction if #Trump is #convicted.

Defense lawyers often attack cooperators by highlighting the benefits they are receiving from cooperating, suggesting that they are acting in their own self-interest & their testimony is tainted. But Cohen hasn't gotten anything.

#criminal #law #TrumpTrial #Trump #CatchAndKill #conspiracy #ElectionInterference #HushMoney #MobTactics

#Merchan decides that #Blanche can do it in his own questioning. But prosecutors, Matthew #Colangelo & Joshua #Steinglass, argue that it it should come from Merchan because the questions were so misleading.

Merchan tells prosecutors that they can draft a version of an order that the judge himself would give if Blanche’s corrections end up being insufficient.

#criminal #law #TrumpTrial #Trump #CatchAndKill #conspiracy #ElectionInterference #HushMoney #MobTactics

Jurors will have to determine when — if ever — #MichaelCohen began telling the truth. #Blanche is demonstrating that Cohen told lies, big & small, over a long period of time & for various reasons.

At the same time, prosecutors have & will demonstrate in re-direct & closing arguments that #Trump has told lies, big & small, about a number of people & issues in this & other cases.

#criminal #law #TrumpTrial #CatchAndKill #conspiracy #ElectionInterference #HushMoney #MobTactics

#MichaelCohen admits he asked his lawyers to explore the possibility, although he testified before a House panel that he would never have accepted one. Cohen points out — correctly, as NYT broke the story — that Trump was dangling pardons to people connected to the special counsel's investigation into the #Trump campaign's possible ties to #Russia.

#criminal #law #TrumpTrial #CatchAndKill #conspiracy #ElectionInterference #HushMoney #MobTactics

#Blanche is now going over the financial transactions that allowed #MichaelCohen to pay #HushMoney to #StormyDaniels, perhaps the closest he's gotten to the subject matter of the case.

He notes that Cohen hid those transactions from his wife, apparently seeking to call into question whether Cohen was really as concerned about his family - & his wife — as he suggested when explaining his federal guilty plea.

#criminal #law #TrumpTrial #Trump #CatchAndKill #conspiracy #ElectionInterference

#Blanche is showing #MichaelCohen’s lack of remorse. Cohen has talked publicly about wanting to right the wrongs he committed while working for #Trump. Blanche is getting him to say he doesn’t think he should have been charged.

Blanche asks Cohen about blaming a lot of people for the conduct for which he was convicted. Cohen freely acknowledges he has.

#criminal #law #TrumpTrial #CatchAndKill #conspiracy #ElectionInterference #HushMoney #MobTactics

All #criminal trials involve #testimony from other #criminals.

That’s the thing about criminals, they work with other criminals.

Duh.

#Blanche is now demonstrating for the jury that #MichaelCohen lied under oath for different reasons. By his own admission, it wasn’t only to demonstrate his #loyalty to #Trump. He lied also, Cohen admits, because the stakes affected him personally.

#law #TrumpTrial #CatchAndKill #conspiracy #ElectionInterference #HushMoney #MobTactics

#Blanche has yet to ask #MichaelCohen about anything in connection to the actual case that's on trial.

Trump's lawyers have focused on impeaching the credibility of the prosecution's 2 biggest witnesses, #StormyDaniels & Cohen. Though while Susan #Necheles’s cross-examination of Daniels was largely focused & had an arc, Blanche’s cross-examination of Cohen has been all over the place.

#criminal #law #TrumpTrial #Trump #CatchAndKill #conspiracy #ElectionInterference #HushMoney #MobTactics

#Trump is paying close attention, as clips play of #MichaelCohen describing how much he hates Trump & wants him to rot in prison.

Prosecution used earlier witnesses to introduce Michael Cohen to the jury as an outsized personality. + Cohen has not been shy on the stand about his hatred of Trump. These clips, while entertaining, might not come as a huge shock to the jury.

#criminal #law #TrumpTrial #CatchAndKill #conspiracy #ElectionInterference #HushMoney #MobTactics

#MichaelCohen seems deflated after hearing that clip. Blanche asks if that was the first time that he had said he wanted #Trump to feel what Cohen himself had felt when he was prosecuted. Cohen says that he had expressed that sentiment before.

Reportedly Cohen’s voice sounded truly odd in the podcast clip. Giddy, high-pitched, & speaking so fast that it sounded as if the tape had been artificially sped up.

#criminal #law #TrumpTrial #CatchAndKill #conspiracy #ElectionInterference #HushMoney

There’s laughing when Justice #Merchan shoots down Todd #Blanche, #Trump's lawyer. Blanche asked for a sidebar & got a dismissive “no” from Merchan.

We’ve had 10 objections in <20 mins.

Defense plays a recording of #MichaelCohen celebrating Trump's indictment on his podcast. His voice is loud & enthusiastic to the point of seeming off-putting.

Some jurors seem uncomfortable.

#criminal #law #TrumpTrial #CatchAndKill #conspiracy #ElectionInterference #HushMoney #MobTactics

#MichaelCohen has been called back to the stand. The jury to be brought in.

#Trump atty Todd #Blanche continues cross-examination.
Blanche asks about texts between Cohen & the DA’s office.

Cohen agrees that texts shown w/ DA investigator are from around same time that he told a grand jury he was going to hold Trump accountable.

We are now on our third sidebar today.

#law #CatchAndKill #conspiracy #ElectionInterference #HushMoney #MobTactics #GagOrder #StochasticTerrorism #NodFarter

The long sidebar may have been about scheduling issues. The judge just told the jurors that, if they are OK w/it, court may be in session next Wed, despite the fact that the trial is usually off on Wednesdays.

This suggests prosecutors & defense were quibbling over the calendar.
The defense sought to delay the trial many times before it started, & #Trump has complained that it was going too fast.

#law #CatchAndKill #conspiracy #ElectionInterference #HushMoney #MobTactics

#Court officers explain, yet again, the courtroom's no-cellphone policy to the people here with #Trump.

The lawyers and the judge are having one of the longest sidebars that have taken place during this trial, if not the longest. Their voices are louder than usual, though the words they're saying aren't clear.

#law #Trump #CatchAndKill #conspiracy #ElectionInterference #HushMoney #MobTactics #GagOrder #StochasticTerrorism #StormyDaniels #KarenMcDougal #NodFarter

#TrumpTrial 🧵 Thursday 16 May 2024

Cross-examination of #MichaelCohen resumes, an opportunity for the defense to poke holes in his testimony & perhaps trip up or provoke the state’s key witness. The questioning of Cohen, #Trump’s fmr fixer, is the beginning of the end of Trump’s #criminal trial, which began April 15 & might conclude before Memorial Day weekend at this pace.

#law #CatchAndKill #conspiracy #ElectionInterference #HushMoney #MobTactics #NodFarter #StormyDaniels

#Blanche is trying to cast doubt on #MichaelCohen’s account, saying it was the first time he had mentioned the call.

Prosecutor #Hoffinger objects again, & asks to approach.

After the sidebar conversation w/the judge, Emil #Bove, one of Trump's lawyers, returns to the defense table, sits down & whispers something to #Trump who shakes his head & scowls.

#criminal #law #TrumpTrial #CatchAndKill #conspiracy #ElectionInterference #HushMoney #MobTactics

these texts - combined w/ #MichaelCohen's testimony - indicate that the motivations for the #HushMoney deal were to protect #Trump politically.

After Cohen decided to pay #StormyDaniels himself, we are seeing, he launched into a blitz of phone calls w/ both #KeithDavidson & David #Pecker. This is documentary evidence: & shows, w/ surprising ividness given that it is simply metadata, the frenzy that Cohen was experiencing as he sought to suppress the Daniels story.

#criminal #law #TrumpTrial

This testimony echoes #HopeHicks's remarks that she didn't think #MichaelCohen would have done this on his own.

The testimony is critical because it links #Trump not only to the #HushMoney payment to #StormyDaniels, but also to the scheme to reimburse Cohen for fronting the money — & that is what forms the basis of the falsification of business records charges.

#criminal #law #TrumpTrial #CatchAndKill #conspiracy #ElectionInterference #MobTactics

#MichaelCohen says #Trump “expressed to me, just do it. Meet up w/ #AllenWeisselberg, & figure it out. Allen & I spoke to Trump, I said I would front the money & he was appreciative.”

"I was doing everything that I could & more in order to protect my boss, which was something I had done for a long time," #MichaelCohen says. But he adds that he would not lay out $130k for a #HushMoney payment on someone else's behalf, indicating that he was expecting to be repaid.

#criminal #law #TrumpTrial

#MichaelCohen recalls that he & #AllenWeisselberg, spoke about possibly generating the $130k through a membership request or an event being held at a club.

Cohen is directly tying #Trump to the #HushMoney payment, corroborating the testimony of others, including #KeithDavidson & #HopeHicks, who said Cohen would never had made the payment w/o Trump's authorization. Cohen talks about Weisselberg helping him to think through how to make the payment.

#criminal #law #TrumpTrial

This ties #MichaelCohen to the #Trump campaign & addresses defense’s arg that Cohen was “freelancing,” on his own. Cohen says that he regularly received talking points from the campaign, including before the CNN appearance.

Cohen describes Trump telling him that his friends had advised him to just pay #StormyDaniels the #HushMoney, & reminded him that he was a billionaire. “Just do it,” Cohen recounts Trump saying.

#criminal #law #TrumpTrial #CatchAndKill #conspiracy #ElectionInterference

Prosecutors show #MichaelCohen the same emails & bank paperwork they showed to Farro on the witness stand. Farro previously testified about Cohen’s urgency to open up an account for Essential Consultants LLC, which was ultimately used to pay the #HushMoney to #StormyDaniels.

We are heading into the part of Cohen’s testimony that is focused on the alleged falsification of business records.

#criminal #law #Trump #TrumpTrial #CatchAndKill #conspiracy #ElectionInterference #MobTactics

After the lunch break, #Hoffinger, the prosecutor, picks up where she left off, w/ #MichaelCohen on the verge of describing having made the #HushMoney payment to #StormyDaniels. She shows a series of emails w/ #KeithDavidson, who was Daniels's lawyer in 2016.

Davidson, who already testified he was frustrated by a delay in receiving the payment, says in the email that it wasn't necessary for him to speak to Cohen, & that he just wanted to be paid.

#criminal #law #Trump #TrumpTrial

The language in these Cohen conversations is coded & very mob-like. The #HushMoney is described as a "business opportunity."

#MichaelCohen says that #Trump, upon learning that #StormyDaniels was shopping her story, was very angry w/Cohen, calling it a "total disaster" & saying "women are going to hate me." Cohen says he responded that he had no control over Daniels's story.

"Just take care of it," he says Trump told him.

#criminal #law #TrumpTrial #conspiracy #ElectionInterference #MobTactics

This was one month before the 2016 election. The text exchange w/ Chris Cuomo highlights the urgent & critical - potentially fatal - nature of the release of the #AccessHollywood tape.

For context that weekend, Wikileaks released a trove of hacked emails from #HillaryClinton's campaign chairman's personal account, drowning out a lot of the coverage of the #Trump tape.

#criminal #law #Trump #TrumpTrial #CatchAndKill #conspiracy #ElectionInterference #HushMoney #MobTactics #MichaelCohen

An incredible number of hours went into covering up #Trump's alleged affairs in 2016. #MicgaelCohen & the team at The #NationalEnquirer went to elaborate lengths & constantly communicated about how to keep #women quiet. Accounting departments were engaged. Front companies were created. Misleading invoices were produced.

#criminal #law #TrumpTrial #CatchAndKill #conspiracy #ElectionInterference #HushMoney #MobTactics #NodFarter #GagOrder #StormyDaniels #KarenMcDougal

#Trump seems to have paid attention to very little of #MichaelCohen's testimony so far. He spent the first hour or so sitting still at the defense table with his eyes closed. After the morning break he's been awake but reading through printouts as he often does - likely news clippings printed by his staff.

#criminal #law #TrumpTrial #CatchAndKill #conspiracy #ElectionInterference #HushMoney #MobTactics #NodFarter #GagOrder #StormyDaniels #KarenMcDougal

#MichaelCohen's testimony about #AllenWeisselberg's financial advice on the #KarenMcDougal deal explains why Cohen would go on to pay #StormyDaniels, borrowing against his home. He says Weisselberg told him not to go through the #TrumpOrganization -linking the payment to #Trump's company would defeat the purpose- but to come up w/other more creative ways to pay.

This will help prosecutors explain why Cohen made the #HushMoney payment in such a roundabout way.

#criminal #law #TrumpTrial

Michael Cohen testifies that he - & everybody - at the #TrumpOrganization spoke to #AllenWeisselberg about financial transactions. Weisselberg, currently in #jail, was involved in coordinating the repayments to Cohen after Cohen paid #HushMoney to #StormyDaniels.

Cohen is emphatic that Weisselberg was involved in every deal no matter the size.

#criminal #law #Trump #TrumpTrial #CatchAndKill #conspiracy #ElectionInterference #MobTactics

#MichaelCohen says that the recording he made of himself talking to #Trump cuts off because a bank employee called him & he
"must have believed" the call was important.
But Cohen says he continued to speak to Trump about the #HushMoney deal w/ #KarenMcDougal after the recording ended.
This is another piece of #evidence that Trump's lawyers have sought to delve into, questioning why the call ended abruptly suggesting that Cohen may have manipulated evidence.

#criminal #law #TrumpTrial

#Hoffinger, the prosecutor asks #MichaelCohen specific questions about the recording.

Cohen says that when he insisted that David #Pecker be paid, he made reference to Pecker's dossier on #Trump. And he says that while he said "financing," he meant "funding," meaning he was asking how Pecker would be repaid for silencing #KarenMcDougal's story.

#criminal #law #DeadBeat #TrumpTrial #CatchAndKill #conspiracy #ElectionInterference #HushMoney #MobTactics #StormyDaniels

Big picture:

#Trump currently has senior #elected officials, including a possible future VP nominee, sitting in the courtroom listening to a recording of him, as a candidate, talking w/his lawyer about paying for material from The #NationalEnquirer. Trump has completely got the party under his boot.

2 #Republican senators, a congresswoman & 2 state AGs are listening to a now-disbarred lawyer advising Trump on a #HushMoney payment.

#Pathetic #Deplorables #criminal #law #TrumpTrial

It fits w/ #MichaelCohen's narrative that he was often updating #Trump on the progress of the #KarenMcDougal #HushMoney deal - on the recording, Cohen only has to mention Pecker's name & it seems as if Trump knows that he's referring to that deal.

Cohen claims that this was the only conversation w/ Trump that he ever taped, & that he did it so that Pecker could hear that Trump planned to pay him back, thus retaining Pecker's loyalty.

#criminal #law #TrumpTrial #conspiracy #ElectionInterference

#Pecker's mounting frustration about paying to kill stories on #Trump's behalf & not getting repaid is what leads to Pecker refusing to pay for #StormyDaniels story, & #MichaelCohen taking over as the funder of the #CatchAndKill operations.

Cohen testifies about recording #Trump directing him to pay David #Pecker back in cash — the jury has heard this recording.

#criminal #law #DeadBeat #TrumpTrial #conspiracy #ElectionInterference #HushMoney #MobTactics

#MichaelCohen is now recalling David #Pecker applying pressure to get reimbursed for paying off #KarenMcDougal. "It was too much money for him to hide from the CEO of the parent company," he says. He adds that he had several conversations w/ #Trump about that fact. The jury is likely to again hear the recording that was played earlier.

#criminal #law #DeadBeat #TrumpTrial #CatchAndKill #conspiracy #ElectionInterference #HushMoney #MobTactics

Andrew Giuliani, another #Trump ally & the son of his fmr lawyer #RudyGiuliani, is also posting from the courtroom, calling #MichaelCohen a "serial liar" & smearing the Manhattan DA's office, which brought the case.

Cohen is asked how he communicated w/ #KeithDavidson, a lawyer for both #KarenMcDougal & #StormyDaniels, says "phone, email, text.”

#criminal #law #Trump #TrumpTrial #CatchAndKill #conspiracy #ElectionInterference #HushMoney #MobTactics

#MichaelCohen is asked how he monitored the progress of the deal w/ #KarenMcDougal, & says he did so by text, phone & the app Signal. The prosecutor doesn't dwell on it, but that is documented evidence, & jurors heard from other witnesses, especially David #Pecker, just how much Cohen contacted the parties during that period in 2016.

#criminal #law #Trump #TrumpTrial #CatchAndKill #conspiracy #ElectionInterference #HushMoney

#MichaelCohen lays out the first #CatchAndKill story that he worked on w/ The #NationalEnquirer. It was about an allegation by a #doorman at a #Trump building that Trump had fathered a child out of wedlock. Cohen describes telling Trump about it.

This is the first of the 3 #HushMoney deals that jurors have heard about. The last of them is Cohen's own $130k payment to #StormyDaniels.

#criminal #law #TrumpTrial #conspiracy #ElectionInterference #HushMoney

#Hoffinger, the prosecutor, asks #MichaelCohen if he ever talked to #Trump about whether he was concerned that negative personal stories would come forward. #Cohen describes a conversation before the presidential campaign kickoff, quoting Trump saying, "You know that when this comes out, meaning the announcement, just be prepared, there's going to be a lot of women coming forward."

#criminal #law #TrumpTrial #CatchAndKill #conspiracy #ElectionInterference #HushMoney #MobTactics

#MichaelCohen explains that he wasn't going to be a part of the 2016 presidential campaign — he was "just going to be a surrogate," he says. This is the first in what is likely to be a series of humiliations by #Trump that Cohen is expected to testify to.

Cohen says he did some activities on behalf of the campaign, like putting together a "diversity" coalition. He was also given a campaign email address.

#criminal #law #TrumpTrial #CatchAndKill #conspiracy #ElectionInterference #HushMoney