#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 describes meeting w/ #Trump in the #OvalOffice in Feb 2017. He says that Trump asked him if he needed money, & that he said no, he didn’t need any extra. He said Trump asked him to “deal w/ Allen,” meaning #AllenWeisselberg, who arranged the repayment plan for the #HushMoney. Trump also said, Cohen testified, that he’d receive a check for both Jan & Feb.
Prosecutors display a picture of Cohen visiting the #WhiteHouse at the time.
#MichaelCohen is going through check stubs for the first 2 checks & saying the descriptions of them were “false.” Cohen says both #EricTrump, who is sitting in the courtroom, & #AllenWeisselberg signed the first 2, from Trump’s revocable trust account. At some point, it switched to #Trump’s personal account.
Cohen is now testifying about checks Trump started signing himself, from his personal account.
Back in the courtroom, jurors are seeing the documents that prosecutors say are false. Yesterday #MichaelCohen described the Jan meeting w/ #AllenWeisselberg, when #Trump heard Weisselberg say that the monthly payments would be a retainer for legal services It is that single line from a witness— the word “yes” —that most directly attaches Trump to the alleged #crimes. And the signatures on the checks from his personal bank account.
Justice Merchan said before proceedings began that he would not allow in a piece of evidence related to #AllenWeisselberg, the fmr CFO of the #TrumpOrganization, who is currently in #jail.
Prosecutors had hoped to put in evidence his severance agreement that requires #Weisselberg still be loyal to #Trump, to help explain his absence at the trial. But the judge is saying he won’t allow it.
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.
#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.
#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.
#Trump, who was sleeping, wakes up, leans over, taps his lawyer Todd #Blanche & whispers something in his ear.
#MichaelCohen says he then decided that he would pay the money, & that #AllenWeisselberg said, "I'll make sure you get paid back." Cohen says he alerted Trump to that decision & that Trump was appreciative, saying "good, good." And he says that Trump, too, told him he'd be repaid.
#MichaelCohen, describing his anger at seeing his bonus cut by two-thirds, almost sounds angry all over again. "I didn't expect more," he says of his bonus that year, 2016.
"But I certainly didn't expect less."
Cohen says he took his fury out on #AllenWeisselberg, #TrumpOrganization CFO, & that Weisselberg told him that he'd be taken care of after the holidays.
Trump briefly smiled, expressing pleasure, as Cohen described #Trump stiffing him on his bonus.
#MichaelCohen testifies about the point of this whole trial: the false business records.
Cohen describes his notes w/ #TrumpOrganization CFO #AllenWeisselberg, the notes are working out how to make it so that it appears he was being paid for another matter, & on how he would be reimbursed.
Prosecution again shows to the court Weisselberg's handwritten notes on the reimbursement to Cohen.
We saw #AllenWeisselberg’s notes during Jeffrey McConney’s testimony, he worked under Weisselberg. But now, #MichaelCohen is testifying that he was in the room as Weisselberg made these notations on how to repay him for the #HushMoney, + his shrunken bonus. This document goes straight to the repayments to Cohen, & the false documents.
#Trump is charged w/ 34 #felony counts of falsifying business records: 11 checks, 11 invoices & 12 ledger entries.
#AllenWeisselberg then doubled the $180k to $360k. Weisselberg, #MichaelCohen says, expected that he would lose half because it would be taxed as income, & was making him whole.
This goes to #motive, toward how badly #Trump wanted this hidden, it actually cost Trump 2X what it would have otherwise.
Add to this sum, Cohen was also given a $60k bonus, bringing the total he was to be paid to $420k. That amount was split — as shown in #AllenWeisselberg’s notes — into 12 months' of payments.
This #MichaelCohen testimony is crucial to the case. They allege that the repayments to Cohen were not, in fact, #legal expenses as indicated on the records & instead they were the #HushMoney payment "grossed up"
#MichaelCohen says that #AllenWeisselberg said in front of #Trump that Cohen would be reimbursed completely. Cohen testifies that Trump approved the repayments & then said, “This is going to be one heck of a ride in DC.”
Cohen testifies that Trump, as president-elect, was busy w/meetings around this time. Yet he & Allen Weisselberg went into Trump's 26th floor office to discuss the reimbursement plan, he says.
We are finished for the day. #MichaelCohen has testified that #Trump directed him to make the #HushMoney payment & signed off on #AllenWeisselberg's plan to repay Cohen. Cohen will return to the stand on Tues, so prosecutors can conclude direct examination.
After that, it will be the defense's turn to cross-examine him.
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.
Defense lawyers have sought to use #Westerhout's testimony for their purposes, asking her about her experience during the 2016 campaign. She didn’t testify about that period for the prosecution much — but the defense clearly thinks her knowledge of the campaign could be helpful.
#Trump atty #Necheles is seeking to use Westerhout's testimony to suggest that Trump & #AllenWeisselberg may not have spoken much in 2017, when the alleged falsification of business records occurred.
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.
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.
A new witness, Rebecca #Manochio, has taken the stand. Manochio is a junior bookeeper at the #TrumpOrganization. She is being questioned by Rebecca #Mangold, a prosecutor.
This emphasizes the theme of #Trump as a micromanager, who wouldn't let his employees handle major transactions w/o closely supervising them.
However, Trump does say he might trust a loyal employee, such as #AllenWeisselberg, whom he name checks specifically & who prosecutors say helped orchestrate the continuing concealment of the #HushMoney payments, & who is currently in #jail for #crimes committed for Trump.
"Yesterday, witnesses established that the paper trail of payments to Trump fixer Michael Cohen, who forwarded the money to Daniels, had been falsified. … A number of observers have suggested that the evidence presented through documents yesterday was not riveting, but historians would disagree."