Michael Cohen takes the stand
Court has resumed after a short break.
Michael Cohen is entering the courtroom. “Good morning Mr Cohen, welcome back,” Judge Juan Merchan says.
Cohen responds, “Good morning.”
Key events
Trump attorney Todd Blanche asks Michael Cohen if he knows somebody named Dan Goldman. Cohen says he does and that Goldman is “now a member of Congress.”
Blanche is now going to October 2016.
So, early October until October 26, ok. You said last week, and correct me if I’m wrong, that there was significant urgency to the [Stormy] Daniels situation at that time?
Cohen responds, “Correct.” Blanche continues:
That issue, the Daniels issue, was taking a lot of your time?
Cohen says, “yes, sir.”
Trump attorney Todd Blanche resumes his cross and asks Michael Cohen how many reporters he spoke to last week. Cohen says:
I’ve spoken to reporters who have just called to say hello, see how I’m doing, check in, but not talk about this case.
Michael Cohen takes the stand
Court has resumed after a short break.
Michael Cohen is entering the courtroom. “Good morning Mr Cohen, welcome back,” Judge Juan Merchan says.
Cohen responds, “Good morning.”
Hugo Lowell
Judge Juan Merchan rules that Donald Trump’s proposed Federal Election Commission (FEC) expert Bradley Smith witness can testify only about:
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What the FEC is and its purpose
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Who makes up the FEC
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What the FEC is responsible for enforcing
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General definitions for contributions, expenditures
But Merchan is adamant that Smith cannot offer an interpretation of FECA statute, because he doesn’t want the jury to be effectively “instructed” on the law by an expert witness – which is a job for the judge.
Judge Juan Merchan declined to broaden the scope of testimony that the defense can elicit from the potential witness, a Federal Election Commission (FEC) expert.
Bradley A Smith, a former Bill Clinton-appointed Republican FEC member, can give general background on the FEC but he may not define three terms in federal election law, the judge noted, saying it would breach rules preventing expert witnesses from interpreting the law.
Donald Trump addressed the media before heading inside the courtroom this morning, where he complained once again of not being allowed to campaign, the cold courtroom and Joe Biden, per pool reports.
“I’m here instead of campaigning,” the former president told reporters.
I was supposed to be making the speech. for political purposes. I’m not allowed to have anything to do with politics because I’m sitting in a very freezing cold, dark room for the last four weeks. It’s very unfair.
Trump once against took aim at judge Juan Merchan, saying he was “highly conflicted” and “corrupt”.
Judge Juan Merchan is speaking about whether or not to restrict the testimony of a Federal Election Commission (FEC) expert, who the defense wanted to call.
Judge expects closing arguments next week
Judge Juan Merchan says he expects closing arguments to be next Tuesday. “It’s become apparent that we’re not going to be able to sum up tomorrow,” Merchan says.
Testimony will wrap up this week, and closing arguments to be held after Memorial Day. Merchan still needs to decide whether he will issue jury instructions, and what form they might take.
Even if Donald Trump does not testify, closing arguments are not expected to come until the Tuesday after Memorial Day.
Before entering the courtroom, Trump addressed the media in the hallway. In a rambling speech, Trump railed against Joe Biden, calling him “unfit” to be president.
In what’s become a familiar complaint, he spoke about the courtroom temperature and brightness and how the trial is keeping him from the campaign trail.
Trump will be joined by several allies in court today, according to CNN. South Carolina attorney general Alan Wilson, Representatives Eric Burlison, Andrew Clyde, Mary Miller and Keith Self will be there as well as John Coale, Alan Dershowitz, Will Scharf, Steve Witkoff, Bernie Kerik, Kash Patel, Vernon Jones, Jerry Kassar and Chuck Zito, according to a Trump campaign official.
Trump enters courtroom
Donald Trump is entering the courtroom. He turned to look at the left side of the courtroom as he walked down the aisle and offered a slight, closed-lipped smile to someone in the gallery. He is wearing a navy suit and a lighter blue tie.
Trump is standing near the defense table as a coterie of supporters – including his son Eric and Alan Dershowitz – fill the two rows directly behind him.
Todd Blanche, Trump’s defense attorney, gave him a small tap on the shoulder and he sat down. They’re whispering with each other.
Victoria Bekiempis
During a break from the trial over the weekend, Trump flirted with the idea of being president for three terms – a clear violation of the US constitution.
During a bombastic speech for the National Rifle Association in which he vowed to reverse gun safety measures green-lighted during the Biden administration, Trump said on Saturday: “You know, FDR 16 years – almost 16 years – he was four terms. I don’t know, are we going to be considered three-term? Or two-term?”
The ex-president and GOP presidential frontrunner spoke at the organization’s annual convention in Dallas, and some in the crowd responded, yelling “three!” Politico reported.
Trump has floated a third term in past comments, even mentioning a prolonged presidency while campaigning in 2020. He has also tried distancing himself from this idea, telling Time magazine in April: “I wouldn’t be in favor of it at all. I intend to serve four years and do a great job.”
Michael Cohen was seen leaving his home in Manhattan on Monday morning to testify once again in Trump’s first criminal trial.
Maya Yang
Donald Trump, flanked by his son Eric and staunch congressional supporters Lauren Boebert and Matt Gaetz, attended the 18th day of his hush-money trial on Thursday.
The former president sat and occasionally glowered as he watched Michael Cohen, his former attorney and fixer, testify. Cohen answered questions about Trump’s reimbursements to Cohen – seemingly disguised as legal fees – for Cohen’s payment to the adult film star Stormy Daniels.
During several hours of cross-examination, Trump’s lawyers sought to discredit Cohen as a vindictive and lying former employee with animosity towards Trump. Cohen largely remained calm.
Here are four key takeaways from the trial that day:
There was no court on Friday to allow Trump to attend his son Barron’s high school graduation in West Palm Beach. Here’s a recap of what happened on Thursday:
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Michael Cohen, Donald Trump’s former fixer and lawyer, returned to the stand on Thursday for the third day. Trump was joined in court by his son Eric Trump and Republican congressional allies including Lauren Boebert, Matt Gaetz and Bob Good, chair of the hard-right House Freedom Caucus.
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Gaetz posted a photo of himself standing behind Trump in court, with the words: “Standing back, and standing by, Mr President.” The phrase echoed one that Trump used for the far-right extremist group the Proud Boys in a 2020 presidential debate.
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The defense, led by Trump lawyer Todd Blanche, resumed attacking Cohen’s credibility in an effort to undermine the testimony of the prosecution’s star witness.
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Cohen conceded that he had previously lied to protect Trump because it affected the stakes for him personally, and that he lied to the federal judge when he was prosecuted for tax evasion and false statements.
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These admissions could prove problematic for prosecutors, as they portray Cohen as an unreliable narrator who lied with ease and abandon to achieve whatever aim he was pursuing at that moment.
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Blanche suggested Cohen’s latest objective was to see Trump go to jail, seeding the possibility that he might have also lied about the extent of Trump’s involvement in the hush-money scheme with Stormy Daniels.
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Blanche played clips from Cohen’s podcast Mea Culpa, including when Cohen said “thinking about Trump in Otisville prison makes me giddy with joy”. He also got Cohen to concede that he believed he played a large role in the indictment being brought against Trump – and bragged about it.
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The defense dug into Cohen’s previous lies under oath and how he seemingly lied about details big and small. When Cohen testified to Congress in 2017 about a Trump real-estate deal in Moscow, Blanche elicited, Cohen lied about how many times he had spoken to Trump about the deal.
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Blanche also directly accused Cohen of lying in his trial testimony. Cohen testified earlier in the week that when he called Trump’s then bodyguard, Keith Schiller, on 24 October 2016, it was to apprise Trump that he was moving forward with paying hush money to Daniels. Blanche suggested Cohen phoned Schiller primarily about a series of prank calls from a 14-year-old, arguing that he could not have had enough time in a one-minute, 30-second call to tell Trump about the Daniels deal.
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Cohen acknowledged telling Mark Pomerantz, who had previously led the Manhattan district attorney’s investigation of Trump, that he felt Daniels and her then lawyer, Keith Davidson, were extorting Trump in seeking a $130,000 payment for her silence on an alleged sexual encounter.
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It is unclear whether Trump will testify next week, when the defense will have the opportunity to present its case. Before the trial, Trump said he would testify, but Blanche has since said Trump has yet to decide whether to do so.
Michael Cohen expected in court for fourth and likely final day of testimony
Michael Cohen is expected back in court as Donald Trump’s lawyers are due to launch their final blows at his credibility. The ex-lawyer and former Trump fixer, who facilitated the $130,000 hush-money payment to the adult film star Stormy Daniels, was grilled last week in an effort to undercut his testimony so far.
Cohen affirmed last week that the payment to Daniels was part of a bona fide settlement agreement, in an attempt to counter the prosecution’s claim that it was fraudulent to record the payment as legal expenses.
Cohen was also confronted with accusations that he has lied whenever it has suited his needs: lying to Congress about a Trump real estate deal in Moscow, to a federal judge in 2018, and in his testimony to prosecutors about Trump’s involvement in the hush-money deal – the latter of which he denied.
When Cohen returns, it will be his fourth and likely final day of testimony. After Cohen is done, the prosecution is expected to rest its case.
Whether Trump testifies in his own defense remains uncertain, even if Trump has suggested he wants to take the stand. Should Trump not testify, closing arguments in the case could come on Tuesday. With the court not in session on Wednesdays, the jury might start deliberating on Thursday.
Trump has pleaded not guilty to 34 counts of felony falsification of business records. Prosecutors must prove Trump authorized what he knew to be hush-money repayments to be falsely labelled as “legal expenses” in the Trump Organization’s records, with an intent to commit a second crime.
