#Trump has a huge posse today, including #KashPatel; #GerryKassar, a #conservative party leader in NY; #BernieKerik, fmr NYPD commissioner who was imprisoned for tax fraud & false statements; #AlanDershowitz, lawyer who defended Trump during his first impeachment, & #BorisEpshteyn, legal adviser who was #indicted in AZ for attempts to keep Trump in power after the 2020 election.
Justice #Merchan says that it’s become apparent that closings will not take place tomorrow. It’s looking more like #evidence, #testimony & all other business before closings will happen this week & closing arguments will take place next Tues.
“It was either have a long break now or have a long break then, & unfortunately the calendar is what it is,” the judge says, re the Memorial Day weekend.
The new #TrumpTrial schedule provides the #jury w/less of an interruption between closeting arguments & deliberations, allowing jurors to hear the defense & prosecution summations, the judge’s legal instructions, & then begin their deliberations w/it all fresh in mind.
#Hoffinger, one of the prosecutors, is addressing some exhibits that #Trump defense wants to enter into #evidence. One relates to comms between #MichaelCohen & his lawyer, Jeff Citron, about another lawyer, Bob Costello.
The lawyers have begun to argue over whether the defense can use #evidence that was not previously a part of the trial. Justice #Merchan has barred one potential email, related to #MichaelCohen & #RobertCostello, a lawyer who spoke w/Cohen in 2018, as he was beginning to question his relationship w/ #Trump. Costello, a fmr fed prosecutor, became a character late in the trial, but he’s come up a lot in the last few days.
Justice #Merchan has made several other things clear as the pre-jury proceedings cont. He will restrict the testimony of a witness who is an expert in #ElectionLaw, who the defense had wanted to call. He says that too much explanation of the law from an expert would overstep the role usually granted to such witnesses. They are meant to help #jurors understand a certain subject area, but it is the judge’s role to help jurors understand the #law itself.
Justice #Merchan says he is still deciding on #JuryInstructions. Both the prosecutors & the defense have submitted proposals for what they would like. He makes it clear that he has not decided what he will do.
Merchan made 2 minor rulings against the defense. Both times defense lawyers pushed back, seeking another chance to enter new #evidence (#delay), + clarity on jury instructions to inform the testimony of their expert witness.
#Trump defense atty Emil #Bove suggests that the prosecutors, in their proposed #JuryInstructions, shifted their theory of the case.
He’s possibly talking about the state #ElectionLaw that underlies the #felony business records charges against Trump. Justice #Merchan doesn’t seem to agree, but says prosecution’s proposal for jury instructions holds no weight — it’s only a proposal.
“Just relax,” Merchan tells defense. Nothing, he says, has been determined.
Prosecutor #Colangelo argues “there’s nothing new at all” about their theory. The charges against #Trump are #felonies because he falsified business records to conceal another #crime. They signaled that other crime was seeking to promote his own #election "by unlawful means," in violation of state #ElectionLaw. That introduces a 3rd potential crime.
3 potential crimes, all wrapped into each of the 34 felony charges of falsifying business records.
#MichaelCohen is back on the stand.
Todd #Blanche, #Trump's lawyer, begins by asking Cohen how many reporters he’s talked to about what happened last week. Cohen says he didn’t speak to reporters about what happened last week.
“I did not talk about this case,” Michael Cohen says. Blanche then asks him how often he’s spoken to reporters this year. When Cohen says he has done so frequently, Blanche asks him how many times he has met w/prosecutors.
#Blanche is now asking #MichaelCohen about meeting w/people ahead of his public testimony before a #House panel in 2019. He asks him about meeting w/ #DanGoldman, then a House investigator & now a congresssman in NY. Then he jumps back to Oct 2016 & #StormyDaniels.
Blanche is skipping around again. He started by speaking about 2024, then went back ~5yrs, to 2019, & is now back in 2016, right before he made the #HushMoney payment to Daniels.
The defense has yet to counter the prosecution’s narrative about the hush-money payment & the reimbursement. It’s possible Blanche ‘s weird jumps in time may be molded into the defense’s alternative explanation of the events.
a #TaxiMedallion is a permit allowing someone to operate a taxi cab in NYC. Once very expensive, they plummeted in value w/the rise of ride-sharing apps.
One thing #Blanche mentioned — something about #MichaelCohen helping #TiffanyTrump w/an extortion issue — underscores how it’s possible to still learn things about what Cohen was doing in that period.
Prosecutors argue Cohen was motivated solely by pleasing #Trump. Blanche is suggesting Cohen may have been motivated by his own financial interests. He suggests that one of the LLCs that Cohen said he created to help w/the hush-money may actually have been formed to address an issue Cohen was having in the taxi industry.
#Blanche is trying to confuse the timeline of the #HushMoney payment. On Fri, he questioned #MichaelCohen’s story about the events of 24 Oct, 2016. Now he’s moved on to casting doubt on Cohen’s testimony about the 2 days that followed — the 25th 26th. Cohen wired the payment to #StormyDaniels's lawyer on 27 Oct.
Blanche argues there were alternative explanations for 2 of Cohen’s calls to #Trump on 26 Oct — a possible plot to extort #TiffanyTrump.
#Blanche suggests that #MichaelCohen had said he was singlemindedly focused on the #HushMoney deal, including when he spoke to #Trump that Oct. But Blanche suggests that Cohen would have reported back to Trump about other issues, too, including dealing w/an extortion attempt against #TiffanyTrump.
Cohen sticks to his original testimony: “My recollection is that I was speaking to him about #StormyDaniels, because that was what he tasked me to take care of.”
#MichaelCohen testifies about a tech co, RedFinch, that was hired to #rig online #polls in #Trump's favor. The company was owed $50k. But Cohen ended up only paying them $20k. Nonetheless, he still asked for a $50k reimbursement from the #TrumpOrganization. Blanche asks if he lied, & Cohen acknowledges he did.
Blanche asks Cohen, “You had, like, a duffle bag of cash? Where was the cash?”
#Blanche gets #MichaelCohen to testify about having cash “in a brown paper bag.” Then Blanche refers to someone Cohen was dealing w/as “the connect.” Both characterizations are rather seedy / illicit & similar to dog-whistles #Trump uses in his speeches.
Blanche asks Cohen about the complex reimbursements for the #HushMoney payment. Defense noted that Cohen wasn’t repaid $130k, the actual amount Cohen had given to #StormyDaniels. Blanche is digging into that.
#Blanche moves on to the documents that prosecutors say were falsified. He suggests that everyone BUT #Trump — #AllenWeisselberg, #EricTrump, #DonaldTrumpJr & #MichaelCohen himself — may have falsified the docs, disguising them as repayments for #legal services. But not Trump himself, Blanche signals to the jury, w/o saying it outright.
#Blanche notes that #MichaelCohen bragged to people about being Trump’s personal atty, & that some of the work he did for #Trump was actual legal work.
That was the first time Blanche came anywhere close to the actual case — the 34 falsified business documents — but of course he moved on.
Blanche tries several times to illustrate that Cohen did legal work for the Trump family in 2017 e.g. #Melania Trump’s agreement w/Madame Tussauds wax museum.
#Blanche suggests the invoices that said #MichaelCohen was being reimbursed for #legal work were not false, because he did do legal work for #Trump.
Cohen has yet to lose his temper, & often responds to some of Blanche's questions w/perplexity. His go-to answer: “Yes, sir” or “No, sir.”
Blanche asks Cohen about the checks he received from Trump. Cohen says that 9 of them, each $35k, came directly from Trump,& were signed by him, testimony gotten —& documented— by prosecution.
#Blanche goes through the consulting work that #MichaelCohen was doing on the side in 2017 implying he was making money off his relationship w/ #Trump. The defense has sought to paint Cohen as an opportunist who uses Trump [the ultimate exploiter].
Cohen suggests that Trump was aware of the work he was doing.
#Blanche asks #MichaelCohen about telling people in 2018 that #Trump did not know about the #HushMoney payment. Cohen says that while he doesn’t recall some of the specific conversations, that was his line at the time.
Blanche is back to introducing details that don’t connect. He is drawing out the cross-examination, probably as part of the goal to make the trial last as long as possible (#delay) while simultaneously complaining that #Trump has been kept from campaigning.
#Blanche introduced an email #MichaelCohen sent to #RobertCostello, the lawyer who was informally advising Cohen & serving as a back channel to the #Trump legal team.
In the email, Cohen said “we will advance our conversations” about formalizing that #legal relationship, after Costello wrote to Cohen lamenting that he had “failed to communicate with me despite several text messages & emails.”
In the same email, #RobertCostello appeared to make a veiled reference to #Trump & #RudyGiuliani being concerned that #MichaelCohen was poised to #flip. Costello wrote: “We have continued our dialogue & need to bring you up to date concerning serious concerns on the part of our friends.”
Prosecutors showed Costello speaking in coded language to Cohen, telling him he had “friends in high places.”
But now #Blanche shows #MichaelCohen also using coded wording, sending an article re #Trump pushing him away in 2018 & writing “since we’re sharing this morning…they are again on a bad path.”
Blanche is implying that Cohen had some agency in all of this because he was using the back channel Costello created to send his own messages, not just to receive them. (Why wouldn’t he if he had no other way to communicate w/Trump?)
#Blanche’s questions are designed to imply #MichaelCohen had mixed motives & that he somehow benefits by cooperating w/prosecutors.
Blanche asks about the period in 2018 when Cohen was finding that some his legal fees were not being paid by the #TrumpOrganization anymore. That was a big contributor to the split between Cohen & #Trump, which Cohen has talked about publicly.
Aside: #Trump just sent out a fundraising appeal falsely claiming he “could even be thrown into PRISON FOR LIFE!” if the jury in this case returns a guilty verdict.
Total bullshit.
He actually faces a maximum of 4 years in prison, or probation.
“…a class ‘E’ #felony under NY #law carries a maximum 4-yr prison sentence for each count if convicted.
“#Trump could face over 100 yrs in prison if he were convicted of every charge…, but }legal experts suggest it’s unlikely he’ll face any prison time at all in this case as a first-time offender”
#Blanche connects some of his lines of questioning.
He adds up the money #MichaelCohen made from consulting, his repayment for the #HushMoney payoff, & other work.
Blanche says, “we can see what” Cohen was “up to”. Prosecution objects. Sustained.
Blanche harps on money Cohen made off attacking #Trump. Arguing that Cohen was motivated not by what was right, but by money & when working for Trump was no longer lucrative, he turned against him, & made money that way.
#Blanche asks #MichaelCohen if he’s pitching a TV show. Cohen says he’s not pitching it, but that there is a show being shopped around. News of a reality show called “The Fixer” has been reported.
Cohen acknowledges the show hasn’t been picked up yet, prompting chuckles from the row of #Trump allies at the back of the room.
Jurors hear that Cohen has made about 4M since fall 2020 from podcast & books.
#MichaelCohen testifies that he is considering a third book & a run for Congress 😂 because he has some of the “best name recognition” out there. Cohen says his name recognition is “affiliated with” #Trump because of the journey he’s been on, but that it’s not “because” of Trump.
#Blanche says that Cohen’s “journey” — sneering as he uses the word — is to attack Trump.
#Blanche’s alternative narrative is about #MichaelCohen’s greed. Blanche asks Cohen if he has a financial interest in this case, & Cohen agrees he does. But when Blanche suggests that #Trump being convicted would help Cohen, Cohen clarifies that he only said it benefits him because he talks about it on his podcasts & TV appearances.
Blanche asks Cohen if he is willing to lie under oath if it affects his personal life. Cohen says he doesn’t understand the question.
#Blanche is implying that a conviction would benefit #MichaelCohen because it would provide a neat ending to his story of revenge. But Cohen’s answer is more about the anti-Trump content industry. Cohen said it would actually be “better,” from a content-generating perspective, if #Trump didn't get convicted. “It gives me more to talk about in the future,” he said.
#Blanche concludes cross-examination of #MichaelCohen w/ a whimper not a bang. He tries to remind jurors of the most dramatic moment from Thursday's cross: that Cohen may have lied on the stand when he described a conversation on Trump's bodyguard's phone in which he said he briefed #Trump about the payment to #StormyDaniels.
There was “no doubt in your mind” that that was the purpose of the call, Blanche asks. “No doubt,” Cohen replies, standing by his testimony.
#MichaelCohen addresses the #jury directly as he tells the story of hiring the tech company, RedFinch, to #rig a #poll of influential businessmen for #Trump.
Cohen says that Trump was upset about where the poll was placed, & that he didn't feel it was worth the full amount that Cohen promised the company, so Cohen ultimately paid less. We are now getting to Cohen’s admission that he stole from the #TrumpOrganization by being reimbursed more than he paid RedFinch.
#MichaelCohen explains the intricacies of his decision to steal the money, saying that he had originally been in negotiations to pay the owner of RedFinch $50k, & after he paid them less, he never corrected that amount when telling the TrumpOrganization what he was owed. “I just felt it was almost like self-help,” he says (#criminal’s always feel entitled). #Hoffinger, the prosecutor, asks him whether it was wrong to steal the money & he agrees that it was.
After defense’s cross-examination, it’s notable how streamlined prosecution's argument is. #Hoffinger asks #MichaelCohen about his 2018 statement that he was not reimbursed for the #HushMoney by the #TrumpCampaign. Cohen says it was misleading because he was paid by #Trump himself.
After a long sidebar, the judge gives what’s called a “limiting instruction” about some of Cohen’s testimony that “the payment in question does not constitute a campaign contribution.”
#MichaelCohen pleaded guilty federally for making an illegal campaign contribution. So it seems the defense asked the judge to specify that Cohen’s #guilty plea did not necessarily mean #Trump committed a #crime.
#MichaelCohen testifies that #Trump approved his false 2018 statement about whether or not Cohen decided to pay #StormyDaniels of his own volition. As a bonus, Susan #Hoffinger, the prosecutor, has Cohen confirm that one of Trump’s lawyers at the time was aware of the statement & texted him to tell him that Trump was grateful for all he did.
#Hoffinger goes back to how #MichaelCohen was treated by the #Trump team. A complicating factor w/both Cohen & #StormyDaniels is they have multiple motives, & prosecutors have been telling the cleanest versions of their stories which makes it easy for the defense to pick at. However, the Trump team is essentially asking the #jury to believe everyone around Trump was acting shadily except for the shadiest of all – Trump.
#MichaelCohen has suggested several times that he committed #crimes in connection w/ the #StormyDaniels payoff. This is helpful for the prosecution, as they seek to prove to #jurors that #Trump caused the falsification of business records to conceal a 2nd #crime.
IMPORTANTLY That crime doesn’t need to have been committed by Trump — Cohen’s crimes are equally applicable.
“Are you actually on trial here in this case?” #Hoffinger asks #MichaelCohen. “No,” he says. Through her questions, Hoffinger makes an obvious point — that the defense sought to make Cohen look like a #criminal. But ultimately, the jurors aren’t here to judge Cohen’s criminality. They are here to judge #Trump.
#Hoffinger returns to what prosecutors say are #crimes. She asks if the $420k that #MichaelCohen received in 2017 — the reimbursement for the #HushMoney, additional money to cover taxes, a reimbursement for the payment to the tech company, RedFinch, & a bonus — had anything to do w/ #legal services.
Cohen: “No.”
Hoffinger emphasizes that the financial documents connected to the payments were false, because they said the payments were in exchange for legal services.
#MichaelCohen again testifies that the documents were false.
Cohen explains why he didn’t sign a retainer agreement or agree to pay #RobertCostello:
“I didn’t trust him,” he says, explaining that he thought everything he said to Costello would immediately make its way back to #Trump.
Cohen testifies that he signed a waiver in 2019 to talk to the #SDNY about Costello, & he is shown the waiver.
To an extent, the waiver corroborates #MichaelCohen’s story that he never hired #RobertCostello as a lawyer, though he did speak to him for a long time.
#Trump's lawyers, #Blanche & #Bove, are sitting on either side of him. When they want to talk to each other, they pass notes behind him or they both lean back & talk face to face, behind his back - possibly in order to not wake him up.
Prosecutors have pictures of #Trump w/ his bodyguard #KeithSchiller on 24 Oct 2016, right around 7:57PM. The defense had sought to suggest that #MichaelCohen had talked to Schiller that night instead of Trump, as Cohen originally testified. Now, the prosecutors will fight to get this piece of #evidence in, which shows that Cohen easily could have talked to both Schiller & Trump on the call, as he testified.
In response to prosecution’s photographic #evidence, #Blanche argues that the defense never said or implied that #KeithSchiller & #Trump were not together that evening.
I’m guessing #Merchan allows the evidence, defense opened introduced the idea, prosecution should be allowed to rebut.
“I think it’s relevant,” Justice #Merchan says, but he hasn’t decided if he’ll allow it. He says he wants to research defense argument that it’s #hearsay.
Prosecution argues the #evidence isn’t hearsay because an earlier expert witness laid the foundation to show it to jurors.
The evidence goes toward rebutting #Blanche’s argument that #MichaelCohen lied about speaking to #Trump on 24 Oct.
Obviously the defense wants to keep this piece of evidence from the jury.
#ChuckZito, helped found in the early 1980s the NY Nomads chapter of the #HellsAngels, the infamous club that started in California. The #DOJ described the org as a #criminal enterprise & linked the NY chapter to the #Gambino#crime family. Zito later left the biker group to try become a movie star in Hollywood.
Acc/to the transcript, #Trump defense lawyers earlier today, told Judge #Merchan that they were considering calling 3 witnesses: #RobertCostello, the lawyer go-between for Trump & #MichaelCohen; Bradley Smith, an expert in #ElectionLaw; & a paralegal, to put in a piece of evidence. Todd #Blanche told the judge that Costello’s potential appearance would depend on how the morning’s testimony went.
Justice #Merchan returns from lunch w/a ruling on the evidentiary issue raised before the break, involving stills from a video that show #Trump w/ his bodyguard #KeithSchiller on the evening of 24 Oct 2016.
Defense sought to cast doubt on #MichaelCohen’s account of talking to Trump on Schiller’s phone that day.
Merchan says he will NOT allow in video stills that show Schiller w/Trump.
Hold the phone — Joshua #Steinglass, a prosecutor, says the prosecution will seek to bring back a witness who works at #CSPAN & testified earlier, so that he can #verify the stills.
#Merchan asks when the witness, who does not live in NYC, could return.
#Blanche, who normally tries to slow things down to delay & draw out the trial, complains that prosecutors are doing just that w/their effort to recall this witness. He says it’s “patently unfair.”
#Steinglass is obviously frustrated w/Justice #Merchan’s ruling, saying he doesn’t understand why they have to jump through so many hoops just to show that #KeithSchiller & #Trump were together that night. He asks to bring the #CSPAN witness in again. Merchan asks Trump atty #Blanche if he objects to the prosecutors bringing in the CSPAN witness after the defense rests. Blanche does protest.
Justice #Merchan suggests adjourning until tomorrow so prosecution can bring the #CSPAN witness back on video stills #evidence.
Defense: "That's not the way a trial is supposed to work..."
Prosecution says CSPAN will make the witness — #RobertBrowning, who is executive director of archives at the network — available to testify at 9:30 AM tomorrow.
#Blanche objects to the decision by the judge that will interrupt his cross-examination of #MichaelCohen. #Steinglass says that the witness will be very quick.
Justice #Merchan points out that the #TrumpTrial has already been delayed, given that closing statements will be next week. He gives Blanche the option to decide when the witness can appear.
Prosecutor #Steinglass says that “we may be able to short circuit” this process after all. Instead, the prosecution & the defense will agree to allow the exhibit in.
This is the 2nd time in this #TrumpTrial that the defense, under pressure, agreed to let in #evidence, possibly bc they realize that a whole witness appearing just to allow the exhibit in could draw more attention to it.
So to be clear, we will not hear from the #CSPAN witness again. We are continuing w/the prosecutors’ re-direct of #MichaelCohen, who is back on the stand. The photo of #KeithSchiller & #Trump on 24 Oct 2016, which is what the lawyers were arguing about, is immediately entered into #evidence.
Note the jury is never present / privy to these types of arguments. They just hear Susan Hoffinger, the prosecutor, entering the stills into evidence.
Prosecutors play the recording of #MichaelCohen talking to #KeithDavidson, who was #StormyDaniels's lawyer, but are playing more of it than before. It corroborates much of what Cohen’s testimony about the #HushMoney payment, including that he cared about #Trump & that he would not “play pennywise, pound foolish” w/his then-boss.
#Blanche, who now has to contend w/the visual #evidence of #Trump w/his bodyguard, #KeithSchiller, on 24 Oct 2016, tries to address it directly. He asks Cohen to again confirm that he told Trump that day that he had arranged to pay #StormyDaniels the #HushMoney.
Cohen says once more that he spoke to both Schiller & Trump.
#Blanche suggests that the famously frugal #Trump would have been unlikely to overpay anyone — again harping on the disparity between the $130k that #MichaelCohen paid #StormyDaniels & the $420k that Cohen was repaid. “Did he happily write checks to lawyers, for example?” Blanche asks.
#Blanche concludes his re-cross-examination by asking #MichaelCohen if, in the 11 yrs he worked for #Trump, he ever recalled his boss having willingly overpayed for something. Cohen started by answering no, this was the first time — but then, he seemed to answer a different question, saying it was the first time he recalled Trump paying for a #NDA. Which wasn’t the question asked — confusing.
She starts by asking basic questions about the phone records he used to make the chart jurors just saw, which displayed calls between #MichaelCohen & #RobertCostello.
Mangold confirms that Cohen & Costello actually spoke fewer than 75 times, based on the way these phone calls were recorded.
He recently testified before the #House#Judiciary Cmte, where he assailed Cohen’s credibility.
Costello also testified before the #GrandJury last year, in a last-ditch plea to the panel to not accept Cohen’s word. Which obviously didn’t work since the grand jury #indicted#Trump.
#RobertCostello wasn’t a potential witness in this #TrumpTrial until recently. Prosecutors are objecting to the scope of the questions the defense lawyers want to ask him about #MichaelCohen’s credibility.
Justice #Merchan sounds frustrated that this wasn’t worked out beforehand, which falls on the defense, not the prosecutors.
Prosecutors point out that #MichaelCohen testified that he didn’t tell Costello the truth.
Bove argues “there’s no mystery” about why Costello should testify — he will contradict Cohen’s recollections of conversations the 2 men had in 2018 (remember there is audio).
Justice Merchan sounds disinclined to allowing much of Costello’s testimony.
The testimony of another witness on the defense's witness list — who seems unlikely to testify — was litigated extensively. But Justice #Merchan is now being asked to rule on the spot whether & how #RobertCostello can testify.
Not having time to consider such decisions could increase the chances that he will make an appealable mistake. The defense is putting a lot of pressure on the judge by introducing a witness who was not on their original witness list.
Justice #Merchan says he will take 5 mins to decide. “Don’t leave the courtroom,” he says, frustrated.
Merchan returns & tells #Trump defense atty Emil #Bove that he will give him some latitude to explore the pressure campaign that #MichaelCohen said #RobertCostello waged during the summer of 2018. But Merchan adds: “I’m not going to allow this to become a trial within the trial” of Michael Cohen.
Costello currently works at a law firm run by one of New York City’s most prominent lobbyists.
Costello describes #MichaelCohen as “absolutely manic” during their first meeting at the Loews Regency hotel on Park Ave in 2018, after his hotel room & office were searched by the FBI.
Costello testifies that Cohen told him then, w/ federal investigators breathing down his neck, that “my life is shattered.”
#RobertCostello testifies that #MichaelCohen then asked, “What's my escape route?” adding that he had told Cohen then that he could cooperate w/the govt.
“I swear to God, Bob, I don’t have anything on Donald Trump,” Costello recalls Cohen telling him. As prosecutors just pointed out — w/the #jury out of the room — Cohen testified that he lied to Costello at this point about the #StormyDaniels payment.
#RobertCostello shakes his head in apparent frustration w/ Justice #Merchan after Merchan sustains several objections by prosecutors. (Not a good look for jurors)
When Justice Merchan sustains yet another objection, he gets visibly irritated.
#Trump also shakes his head when the lawyers approach the bench for another sidebar.
He testifies that w/respect to #StormyDaniels, Cohen said “numerous times” that #Trump “knew nothing about those payments, that he did this on his own.”
Prosecutor #Hoffinger objects to many of Emil #Bove's questions, often being sustained by #Merchan.
Costello is ignoring the judge’s rulings, so Justice Merchan warned him directly to wait for a ruling before answering.
Before the press left, Justice #Merchan was lecturing #RobertCostello. “I want to discuss proper decorum in my courtroom, you don't give me side eye & you don't roll your eyes." he said. “If you don't like my ruling, you dont say 'jeez,' & you don’t say 'strike it,' because I’m the only one who can strike testimony in court.”
Court resumes, press is allowed back in, & the jurors are called back, totally unaware of the lecture & the clearing of the courtroom.
#RobertCostello again has an objection sustained while he is testifying & his answer is again stricken from the record. We are looking at an email he sent to #MichaelCohen in May 2018.
Asked if he ever pressured Cohen, Costello says no.
Costello testifies that he treated Cohen as a client & only had his interests at heart […yeah sure].
He says his obligation was to Cohen in the summer of 2018, & that he did not concern himself w/ #Trump’s interests at that time.
Hoffinger gets under Costello’s skin quickly. “The email speaks for itself,” he keeps saying when asked about an email exchange between his law partner & Cohen.
Costello is now scolding Hoffinger for getting his past title wrong. (This guy is a shit show)
Susan #Hoffinger is a former defense lawyer & therefore is comfortable w/ cross-examination unlike [#Blanche]. She grills #RobertCostello about what he told #MichaelCohen as he was seeking to provide #legal advice. She says that Costello extolled his famous clients in an email to Cohen.
Costello insists that it was his partner, Jeff Citron, who had the relationship w/Cohen, & he met w/him because his partner made the arrangement. “It was Jeff Citron’s client, not mine,” he says.
#RobertCostello pauses before he answers even the simplest questions from prosecutor #Hoffinger. She asks if #MichaelCohen, as the president’s lawyer, would have been a high-profile client for him. “Would it be a big win for you & your firm?” Hoffinger asks. “I would say no,” Costello responds. Hoffinger asks Costello if he would announce Cohen as a client on his website. Costello says he’s not sure what the firm would do.
#Hoffinger shows #RobertCostello an email he sent to his own son. The email says “I will be on the team,” & it quotes #MichaelCohen as saying that he would be “eternally grateful” to have him.
Costello told his son that he did not know when the announcement would be made. His son responded: "Wow. That’s big news. Congrats Dad. I hope this leads to a lot of good things coming your way.”
The judge tells the jurors that we will stop for the day, & begins to excuse them.
Susan #Hoffinger asks that #RobertCostello be reminded that he is not meant to interact w/either party while still on the stand. But Justice #Merchan says he doesn’t normally give that instruction & allows Costello to step down. Hoffinger says she has ~45 mins of questions left for Costello.
#Blanche says there is no evidence of a #conspiracy having been formed in Oct 2015, misstating the month in which prosecutors say #Trump, #MichaelCohen & David #Pecker, the fmr publisher of The #NationalEnquirer, agreed that Pecker would suppress negative stories on Trump’s behalf. It was August.
As Blanche argues that he irrefutably proved that Cohen lied, #Merchan interrupts, “You’re asking me to not find Mr. Cohen credible as a matter of #law?” Merchan asks.
Justice Merchan asks whether #Blanche wants him to rip the case away from the #jury & decide it himself. Blanche agrees that this is what the defense wants (not bloody likely — #Trump has repeatedly claimed Merchan is out to get him).
“You said that his lies were irrefutable but you think he’s going to fool 12 New Yorkers into believing this lie?” #Merchan says referring to #MichaelCohen.
Justice #Merchan asks to hear from the prosecution.
Prosecutor #Colangelo responds to Blanche’s motion to dismiss. He points to NY #law on the issues of falsifying business records & intent to defraud, & says that the #GrandJury record shows #evidence of a “general intent to deceive.” Referring to the “overwhelming record of concealment,” Colangelo drives home that prosecutors have made a good showing on #intent.
Justice #Merchan says he will reserve his decision for tomorrow. We are done w/ another long #TrumpTrial day. Prosecution rested its case against #Trump, & the defense got through a significant portion of theirs. If things go acc/to schedule, the defense will rest tomorrow, & the jury will be excused for the rest of the week, returning after the holiday weekend to hear closing arguments.
#Trump in his insecurity, goes for the petulant power play:
No one can leave because he isn’t.
Trump, who loves having everyone's eyes on him, is talking to his lawyers. After a bit, his posse starts to leave.
Prosecutors try to as well, but are stopped by #SecretService.
The power dynamic is whack. Prosecution has the power to ask the judge to hold Trump in contempt & to ask jurors to convict him. But the #USSS has the power to stop prosecutors from leaving if deemed necessary.
JUDGE MERCHAN: All right. Let the record reflect that it's now five after four. Let the record also reflect that the court officers had great difficulty clearing the courtroom, because the courtroom is made up primarily of the press. And I can appreciate that the press wants to be present for every part of these proceedings, therefore, this record is not sealed. The press will have access to this record.
“The fact that I had to clear the courtroom & that the court officers, including the Captain, had great difficulty clearing the courtroom, & that there was argument back & forth between the press & including counsel for the press, goes to why I had to clear the courtroom in the first place. And that is, sir, your conduct is contemptuous right now. I'm putting you on notice that your conduct is contemptuous.”
@Nonilex I am surprised the Trump defense waited until after their own case, (such as it was) before making this motion. My criminal law days were a long time ago, but my recollection is that a motion to dismiss typically comes immediately after the prosecution has rested.
@Nonilex As soon as the DA said that they could have the witness there by tomorrow morning, the die was cast.
Trump's lawyers objected, and like the proverbial dog who doesn't know what to do once they catch the car, the defense realized belatedly that insisting on a live witness was worse than simply agreeing to the photo's admissibility.
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