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.
Importantly, #Necheles’s is again not addressing the #criminal charges #Trump faces — the fact that there was a system in place that maybe was about getting Trump his mail promptly — or suggesting that #Westerhout couldn’t see everything he was doing, or all the places checks/mail may have gotten to — all of it, unrelated to the actual charges.
While they only may suggest that there could be some alternate explanation for events, they never say what that explanation is.
Trump atty #Necheles turned to the subject of #StormyDaniels. #Westerhout testifies that the “whole situation” w/Daniels was “very unpleasant.”
But she does not seem to go where Necheles was hoping she would. Necheles asked if #Trump brought up his family in relation to Daniels's claims, but Westerhout said that he did not.
This is important because defense is seeking to suggest that Trump was motivated to pay #HushMoney because of concerns about his family, not the election.
#Mangold, the prosecutor, questions #Westerhout again during re-direct, & suggests that her actual knowledge about the reaction to the #AccessHollywood tape was nonexistent because she wasn't working for #Trump at the time.
👀🚨 Westerhout admits that she spoke to the defense lawyer #Necheles 2 nights ago. Another indication that she is trying to be a helpful witness to the defense.
Briefly, as she concluded re-direct, #Mangold sought to show the #jury that #Westerhout was a #Republican loyalist, noting that her current boss, too, is a veteran of the #Trump admin.
Westerhout finished testifying.
The next witness, #DanielDixon, is from #Florida. He will be questioned by the prosecutor #ChrisConroy. Dixon testifies that he is an #ATT employee, & that he is a lead compliance analyst at the company. He’s done that work for 6-7 yrs.
#GeorgiaLongstreet, a paralegal at the Manhattan DA's office who reviews #SocialMedia posts as part of her role, is on the stand. #Longstreet testified about Trump’s social media posts once before during this trial.
#Trump has been hunched over the defense table reviewing & writing on papers in front of him. He only looked up at Longstreet when she started reading his tweets.
The texts show that reps for The Enquirer & Rodriguez were in conversation for months about Daniels’s story. This suggests that The Enquirer was monitoring the story, as its publisher, David #Pecker, said he had promised #Trump he’d do.
Longstreet spoke about the long negotiations between Daniels’s reps & The Enquirer over the #HushMoney deal. Eventually, The Enquirer's editor, Dylan Howard, alerted #MichaelCohen.
The texts delved into the amounts that Daniels’s reps were asking for, originally $250k but it was haggled down.
Blanche asks if Longstreet has reviewed Cohen’s TikTok account. Blanche doesn’t ask anything further clearly not seeking to get Longstreet to actually address the TikToks, but to get the jury wondering about them.
Some records being entered into evidence today involve calls made by or to #MichaelCohen who is expected to take the stand Monday.
Prosecution displays a comprehensive chart of the 34 business records #Trump falsified. There are 11 invoices, 11 vouchers & 12 checks, all relating to the reimbursement of Cohen — all of the documents laid out on a single screen.
These went by quickly during testimony, prosecutors are using #JarmelSchneider's testimony to highlight them.
#Trump atty Emil #Bove cross-examines #JarmelSchneider. He tries to win the witness over, first by asking him how he prefers to be addressed & then expressing sympathy as he acknowledges that a paralegal's work can be boring.
Jarmel-Schneider isn't biting, saying he enjoys his work.
#Bove is now poring over the tiny details of the data that #JarmelSchneider worked with, suggesting to the jury that there are issues w/the paralegal's work.
Bove suggests that the reports were edited in a suspicious manner. On redirect, Jarmel-Schneider clarified that the report we are looking at is abridged per prosecutors’ request. Bove on re-cross continues trying to raise suspicion about the call list displayed.
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.
#Steinglass, one of the prosecutors, says he expects to call 2 witnesses next week, & that it is entirely possible that they will rest by the end of the week.
Keep in mind that we only have a 3-day wk next wk. The trial is always off on Wednesdays, & we'll have next Friday off to allow #Trump to attend Barron’s HS graduation.
Monday will bring the appearance of #MichaelCohen, Trump’s fmr fixer & lawyer, & a crucial #witness.
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.
#Blanche, one of Trump’s lawyers, is now asking the judge about #MichaelCohen, Blanche says he has continued to attack #Trump on the social media platform TikTok. Blanche asks the judge to order prosecutors to instruct Cohen to stop talking until the trial is over.
#Steinglass, a prosecutor, says they have repeatedly asked witnesses, including Cohen, to remain silent but have little control over them.
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.