Cohen admits stealing from Trump Organization
Hugo Lowell
Trump lawyer Todd Blanche is offering an alternative explanation for the jury about why the repayment to Michael Cohen was “grossed up” – doubled for tax purposes.
Cohen was paid a bonus of $150k in 2015, but only got a $50k bonus in 2016. Blanche argues Cohen used the repayment scheme to get himself the bonus money he thought he was owed.
The logic appears to go like this: Cohen paid the IT company RedFinch $20k during the 2016 campaign. But Cohen told Trump Organization CFO Allen Weisselberg that he needed to be paid back $50k. That meant Cohen stole $30k from the Trump Org.
As the payment was “grossed up”, Cohen actually made $60k. “So you stole from the Trump Organization?” Blanche asks. “Yes sir,” Cohen concedes.
Key events
After another sidebar, judge Juan Merchan tells jurors we’re taking an early lunch.
The attorneys are discussing exhibits. The prosecution wants to introduce photos of Donald Trump with his bodyguard Keith Schiller which, due to the date it was taken, could corroborate a Michael Cohen call with Schiller and, Trump’s being on the call, if he was with Schiller.
This photo, prosecutors said, establishes that Trump and Schiller were together on 24 October.
Defense lawyer Todd Blanche said “we never asked or implied whether or not” Schiller and Trump were together on that day.
Michael Cohen was again asked about lawyer Bob Costello. He said he didn’t have a retainer because of concerns that anything he might say would get back to Donald Trump, via Rudy Giuliani.
Prosecutor Susan Hoffinger is now asking Cohen about trouble he ran into using Google Bard, the AI platform, to help him find cases for his attorney in his early release petition. Cohen said:
It gave me a plethora of cases that appeared, to me, to be legitimate….I was just trying to be helpful…
The AI program, he said, “wants to please the user.” When Cohen and his lawyers found out about how Google Bard had made up cases that he’d cited, they went to the judge right away, Cohen said.
Prosecutor Susan Hoffinger has undercut Trump lawyer Todd Blanche’s efforts to paint Michael Cohen as a man with a vested interest in Donald Trump’s failure at trial, and the overall tenure of his questioning.
“Are you actually on trial here, in this case?” No, ma’am, Cohen said.
“Are you a witness here?” Yes.
“Are you actually charged with any crimes in this case?” No ma’am.
“Did we subpoena you to testify here?” Yes. Is this different? Cohen says:
The other one, it was, my life was on the line – my liberty, I was the defendant in that case, and here I’m just a non-party subpoenaed witness.
“And was there an issue about whether your wife might be charged in that [federal] case?” Yes, ma’am.
“The payment to Ms Clifford (Stormy Daniels) was lawful, and was not a campaign contribution or a campaign expenditure by anyone,’ is that statement truthful?” Prosecutor Susan Hoffinger asked Michael Cohen of this statement. He said no.
The jury is shown a text exchange between Cohen and Jay Sekulow seeking an OK for the statement. As Sekulow was one of Trump’s lawyers, this suggested that Donald Trump must have been aware of Cohen’s statement.
Hugo Lowell
Michael Cohen on re-direct testifies that the line in a February 2018 letter submitted to Federal Election Commission, saying the Stormy Daniels payment was not a campaign contribution or expenditure, was not a true statement.
This was a key moment because Donald Trump is charged with falsifying business records to commit second crime, including a Federal Election Campaign Act violation.
The jury just heard Cohen suggest it was in fact a violation, and that Cohen knew it at the time – in turn suggesting Trump also knew.
Prosecutor Susan Hoffinger is going through various documents that contain statements from Michael Cohen, in which he claimed to be responsible for the payment and that Donald Trump was completely unaware.
This includes his letter to the Federal Election Commission in 2018 and a statement to the press.
Was this “false and misleading,” Hoffinger asked. Cohen said yes.
Hugo Lowell
Donald Trump just extended his arms above his head, as if he was stretching out after a peaceful nap.
His lawyers are currently huddling with Judge Juan Merchan and the prosecution at the bench.
Prosecutor Susan Hoffinger asked Michael Cohen about RedFinch, a tech company which helped Donald Trump in a CNBC poll on the most famous business people of the last century.
Trump was mad because of his low position. “With Mr Trump’s permission, I advised the president and CEO of RedFinch to start acquiring the IP addresses and then more IP addresses were needed,” Cohen said, saying there was an effort to sway the online polls.
Ultimately, when the poll ended, “Mr Trump was no. 9.”
Trump didn’t want to pay RedFinch because CNBC ended the poll sooner than expected.
Mr Trump didn’t feel that he got the benefit of what the funds were supposed to go to despite achieving no. 9 and refused to make the payment.
Cohen said he felt pressure to repay RedFinch because the company head was his friend.
Prosecutor Susan Hoffinger also tried to undermine Trump lawyer Todd Blanche’s contention that Michael Cohen was so busy in October 2016 that he was just too busy to recall the intricacies of his call with Donald Trump where the Stormy Daniels payment is discussed.
Cohen said he was always very busy.
Hoffinger has gone on the attack against Blanche’s questions that tried suggesting Cohen did do legal work for Trump in 2017.
Cohen said he wasn’t paid a “dime” for any of the various things he did for Trump and his camp.
Prosecution begins re-direct of Cohen after defense finishes cross-examination
Prosecutor Susan Hoffinger is at the lectern for re-direct of Michael Cohen.
Trump lawyer Todd Blanche “asked whether you testified falsely in Congress in 2019. Did you testify truthfully in Congress in 2019?” Hoffinger asked. Cohen said, “Yes, ma’am.”
“Was it Congress in 2017 when you testified falsely?” Cohen said that’s what he thought he said.
Through these questions, Hoffinger established that Cohen misspoke but didn’t lie more than thought.
Michael Cohen said “yes, sir,” when Trump attorney Todd Blanche asked if the trial had affected his personal life.
“When you lied to Congress, you said you were lying out of loyalty, correct?” Blanche asked. “Yes, sir,” Cohen said.
“Loyalty to President Trump?” Correct, Cohen said.
“It’s true that you will lie out of loyalty, correct?” Blanche said, to which Cohen responded, “Yes, sir.”
Blanche is now done with cross examination.
Cohen tells Trump lawyer it would be better for him if Trump were not convicted to give him more material for his podcast
Trump attorney Todd Blanche is pushing hard on the notion that Michael Cohen will pocket money from the case.
“Do you have a financial interest in the outcome of this case?” Cohen said: “Yes, sir.
“Because if President Trump is convicted that would benefit you personally, financially?” Cohen said, “No, sir.”
Blanche continues: “What is your financial interest in this case?” Cohen says:
Whether or not, when you said do I have a financial interest in this case, I talk about it on my podcast, I talk about it on TikTok, they make money, and that’s how I view your question. Whether Trump is ultimately determined innocent or guilty is not going to affect whether I speak about it or not.
Blanche presses: Would it be better for Cohen if Trump were convicted. Cohen replies:
It’s better if he’s not for me, because it gives me more to talk about in the future.
Trump attorney Todd Blanche asks Michael Cohen if Donald Trump, his wife and his family trusted him.
“Along the way, you have a traditional attorney-client relationship with President Trump?” Correct, Cohen responds.
Sometimes, a non-traditional attorney-client relationship? Cohen agreed.
“When do you view your attorney-client relationship with President Trump as ending?” Blanche asked, prompting an objection that was sustained.
Trump attorney Todd Blanche is back at the lectern and resuming his cross of Michael Cohen.
Cohen says he’s working on a third book, but was not paid any money upfront for it, nor is he in dicussions about getting an advance payment.
Blanche now asking about how he’s said he’s considering a run for Congress. Is that true? “Yes, sir.”
Did he say that he’d be a great candidate because he had the “best name recognition out there?” Cohen answered in the affirmative.
My name recognition is because of the journey I’ve been on…not Mr Trump.
“My journey is to tell my story,” Cohen said in response to a follow-up question.
“Your journey has been near-daily attacks on president Trump since 2020?” Blanche said. “Sure.”
