Matt Gaetz posted this today,
"Standing back and standing by, Mr. President"
Nice reference to The Proud Boys. Whatever happened to them?
Why aren't they outside the New York courthouse? Oh right, they are in prison for assaults to police.
An expert on deceptive communication says the jury might not like that #Trump is sitting with his eyes closed instead of making eye contact – or they might view it as him sending a message.
That’s just one of the observations he has, in a discussion with a former federal judge about this week’s testimony:
"The defense spent a whole day casting Cohen as a liar and elicited admissions that he had lied under oath during past cases, allowing them to cast some doubt on aspects of the story he’s told at this trial. But prosecutors will have three days to prepare for a crucial re-direct, in which they will seek to build Cohen back up and refocus the jurors on the most important elements of their case." - reporting from the courtroom, Jonah Bromwich, NYT #trumptrial#trump#hushmoney
During the #TrumpTrial questioning of Michael Cohen they are talking about his relationships with reporters. But will they bring up how Cohen threatened former Daily Beast reporter Tim Mak on Trump's behalf regarding a story about Trump raping his first wife as revealed in their divorce papers.
"Todd Blanche, the defense lawyer, is asking Michael Cohen how he can have specific memories of phone calls that he conducted eight years ago. Cohen responds that the reason he remembers them is because he’s been talking about the conversations for six years." - Jonah Bromwich, reporting from the courthouse for the NYT.
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.
#Blanche continues questioning #MichaelCohen about his relationships w/ reporters over the years naming Maggie Haberman of The NYT & Katy Tur of MSNBC.
Cohen confirmed that he communicated w/ reporters over the phone & via text, & he would occasionally record phone calls w/ members of the press w/o their knowledge, including former CNN chief Jeff Zucker.
(reminder NY is a one party consent state)
#Manchin, supposedly a Democrat from West Virginia, told reporters today that #Trump's #criminal trial "doesn't make sense."
When asked whether he believes Trump should be convicted in any case, Manchin responded that "there are 2 really solid cases: January 6 & Georgia."
"Everything else doesn't really make sense," he added as a reporter directly asked about the case in NY.
#Blanche asks #MichaelCohen having specific memories of calls from 8 yrs ago. Cohen responds that the reason he remembers them is because he’s been talking about the conversations for 6 yrs.
Blanche digs in, asking if Cohen has been talking about the specific phone calls he has been testifying about for 6 yrs. Blanche is performing for #Trump & the jury laying his mock disbelief on thick, his tone is derisive & he’s acting as if Cohen's testimony is ridiculous.
Though, Cohen concedes that ONE of the things Trump was worried about w/that story was his wife & children — that was a nearly year long affair while Melania was preggers so yeah.
#MichaelCohen previously testified that in June 2016, he was negotiating w/ The #NationalEnquirer & #KarenMcDougal over her story about having had an affair w/ #Trump. On the stand now, as #Blanche digs in about whether he can remember a specific call from that year, Cohen says that seeing prosecutors’ other evidence has jogged his memory about calls he had back then. (That’s memory for ya)
#Blanche asks #MichaelCohen about what it meant for #Trump to pay in "cash," noting that it did not necessarily refer to green paper money, but to a payment that was made directly & not through financing. Blanche is referencing the recording heard earlier in the trial in which Trump directs him to “pay in cash.”
Blanche asks Cohen if Trump often made deals to pay cash for buildings or properties.
#Blanche notes that while #MichaelCohen has talked a lot about using Signal, an encrypted app that makes use of disappearing messages, many of the sensitive conversations that we’ve seen & heard about in this trial just took place over text.
(Probably because having not disappeared, they could be admitted into evidence. Duh.)
Blanche asks about negotiations he had w/ ABC News reporter John Santucci regarding the #StormyDaniels story.
Blanche is restating his opening argument point that NDAs were typical among the wealthy & famous & that they were not illegal. (No one has said otherwise)
#Blanche shows the #HushMoney contract that #MichaelCohen struck w/ #StormyDaniels. He gets Cohen to agree it’s a “perfectly legal contract.” He’s raises his voice for emphasis — trying to make the #jury feel like this arrangement was business as usual.
It may be usual to have NDAs, but this was unusual for other reasons.
#Blanche tries to undermine the relationship #MichaelCohen said he had w/ #Trump. He asks whether Cohen did #legal work not only for Trump, but also for his family & the #TrumpOrganization. Then Blanche notes that Cohen did not have a legal retainer to do the work. (He was employed but the TrumpOrg. A retainer would be redundant)
Prosecutors have said that #Trump's reimbursements for the #HushMoney were fraudulently disguised as #legal services, even though #MichaelCohen had no legal retainer. The point Blanche is seeking to make is: Cohen did legal work for years, & never had a legal retainer. (See above)
#Blanche is also trying to minimize the fact that Cohen had no retainer agreement w/ Trump, suggesting NY #ethics rules don’t require it.
#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.
Prosecutors now have 3 days to prepare re-direct, when they will seek to build #MichaelCohen back up & refocus the jurors on the most important elements of their case & the actual charges for which they’ve presented mountains of evidence regardless of whether Cohen is a liar or not.