#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 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 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.
After brashly declaring he wanted to #testify in his #criminal trial, it appears increasingly unlikely that #Trump will do so, as the #jury seems poised to hear #ClosingArguments next week.
Defendants rarely testify, because their #lawyers advise them that the risks of doing so, particularly when it comes to being questioned by prosecutors #UnderOath, are simply too great.
“It sounds like we might possibly be done w/ the presentation of evidence on Monday,” NY Supreme Court Justice Juan #Merchan said Thurs.
Blanche quickly added, “I was not speaking about President Trump, obviously. … That’s another decision that we need to think through.”
★ If #Trump were to take the stand, such testimony could take many days, which would significantly extend the trial.
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.
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.
After the break, prosecutors are arguing that #Blanche, early in his questioning, asked questions that seemed to suggest that #Trump's #indictment was still sealed on March 30. The indictment was unsealed that evening, after NYT broke the news. The unsealing allowed the DA’s office to confirm that the news was true.
Prosecutors ask Justice #Merchan to explain this sequence to the jury. Merchan agrees that the jury should be advised.
#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.
Justice #Merchan announces court will not be in session as usual next Wed, bc jurors won’t be free.
#Blanche, asks #MichaelCohen to clarify that he has met w/several sets of prosecutors & testimony about their conversations can be confusing. “Help the jury understand that,” he says. “There’s 2 separate prosecutors?”
Cohen confirms that he met w/both the #SpecialCounsel’s office in DC, during the #Russia investigation, & Manhattan federal prosecutors, where Blanche used to work.
Earlier, prosecutor Susan #Hoffinger raised an issue w/ Judge #Merchan saying that on Tues, some of #Trump’s guests filed into the courtroom in the middle of direct examination w/their security detail in tow.
"And I noticed that some of his guests are already here today w/their security detail," Hoffinger said, acc/to the released transcript. "But we would just ask that they not be allowed to file in, in the middle of Mr. Blanche’s cross-examination."
#Merchan said, "I would advise that that not happen."
#Trump lawyer #Blanche said, "Your Honor, I have less than zero control over what is happening on anything or anyone that’s behind me when I am crossing a witness."
#Blanche again asks #MichaelCohen about his relationship w/journalists. Cohen admits he lied to reporters in early 2018 & secretly recorded conversations w/reporters about Trump’s involvement in the HushMoney payment. (#Wenowdis)
Blanche emphasizes when Cohen recorded reporters — early 2018.
Justice #Merchan stops when Blanche says he’s moving to another area.
#MichaelCohen is scheduled to return to the stand Monday for further testimony.
Court is out of session on Friday so that #Trump can attend his son Barron's high school graduation. (To Barron’s dismay)
The defense spent the whole day casting Cohen as a liar & got a few admissions that he had lied under oath (which was known), possibly casting some doubt on his testimony.
#Trump has his posse again. Today it’s more #Republican elected officials. Today, Trump will be joined by the #House speaker, #MikeJohnson, as well as #NorthDakota’s governor, #DougBurgum, a contender to be Trump's running mate. Also present will be Representatives #ByronDonalds & #CoryMills of Florida, & #VivekRamaswamy, who was one of Trump's primary rivals this year. Both Donalds & Ramaswamy are longshot hopefuls to be Trump's running mate.
#MichaelCohen testified that he has never met the Manhattan DA, #AlvinBragg. Pretty surprising considering Cohen is the star witness in the biggest case of Bragg’s career & all signs indicate that Bragg has supervised this investigation closely.
Court is done w/the first day of Cohen's cross-examination.
Blanche indicated to Justice #Merchan that he may finish cross-examination end of day on Thurs. Cohen is the prosecution's final witness.
A fmr White House aide who worked closely w/ #Trump returned to the stand to testify about a significant meeting between Trump & #MichaelCohen his personal lawyer that is at the center of Trump’s #criminal trial.
Justice #Merchan discusses w/ both prosecutors & defense lawyers what the jury instructions may look like. This is an important part of the case, because of the complexity of the charges against #Trump, which wrap in a secondary #crime w/ which he is not charged: prosecutors have tried to convince jurors that second crime is an #election crime.
The judge is suggesting that prosecutors should, in fact, call #AllenWeisselberg as a witness, which appears as if it would be a major shift in their plan.
Justice #Merchan is very familiar w/Weisselberg, having sentenced him to #jail before.
Justice #Merchan asks prosecutors to tell #MichaelCohen that he is personally asking him to refrain from making any more statements about the case or #Trump. “That comes from the bench,” Merchan says.
Trump flashes a wide grin as the prosecutor #Steinglass says he can’t control Cohen’s statements outside court. Then he shakes his head as court adjourns.
Trump looks delighted as he stands up at the end of the proceedings.
The prosecution asks that the defense be precluded from asking #StormyDaniels whether she was arrested. Justice #Merchan agrees w/the prosecutors, saying that “anybody can be arrested” & that it “doesn’t prove anything.”
The people call Stormy Daniels back to the stand
#Trump atty #Necheles begins questioning by saying that in 2011, Daniels denied having had sex w/Trump.
#Merchan says that at every trial, the evidence comes in a different way. Why is he saying that now, he asks? Because in going back to opening statements, he sees that the defense "denied that there was ever a sexual encounter between Stormy Daniels & the defendant."
Merchan is saying defense opened the door to Daniels's testimony. He’s suggesting that what the prosecution did in response was appropriate.
#Merchan is effectively saying here that #Trump's position of totally denying the sexual encounter w/ #StormyDaniels opened the door for prosecution to introduce specific evidence that it did occur.
Judge also concern themselves w/being overturned on appeals, which can be embarrassing, especially in a high-stakes trial. By saying he went back & reviewed his own decision, Merchan sends a signal to appeals judges, that he took that first motion for a mistrial seriously.
Justice #Merchan criticizes defense for not #objecting to #testimony that was later used in a motion for #mistrial. He says he agrees that the question about whether #Trump wore a condom should not have been asked or answered. But he says he does not know "why on earth” defense atty #Necheles didn't object to that question.
Not only is Merchan signaling that he will likely reject defense’s mistrial motion, but he's dressing down their lawyering in front of their client.
#Merchan even criticized specific lines of defense’s cross-examination, chiding #Necheles in particular for leaning into the most awkward & uncomfortable parts of #StormyDaniels's testimony w/her questions in a way that he says he simply didn't understand.
[remember, the jury isn’t there]
After insisting to the defense that he barred certain details "to protect your client," Justice Merchan says, "I disagree w/your narrative that there's any new account here."
#Merchan cites specific issues w/the defense's arguments, saying that instead of denying the falsification of business records, they denied the sex w/ #StormyDaniels. [THANK YOU!]
"That in my mind allows the people to do what they can to rehabilitate her & to corroborate her story. Your motion for a mistrial is denied," he concludes.