The prosecution and protection rested yesterday, which means, to no one’s shock, that Donald Trump did not testify.
Trump had stated he would, but it would have been judicial malpractice for his attorneys to expose him to a hundred unique strains of interrogation.
Michael Cohen went into the hush income trial with a nicely-set up standing as a convicted liar.
We all knew he would be hammered on cross-evaluation for lying on behalf of Trump, lying to Congress, lying to investigators and lying to the push. That was baked into the equation.
CROSS-Assessment THROWS MICHAEL COHEN OFF Stability, BUT BELABORS Place THAT HE HATES TRUMP
Donald Trump’s previous law firm Michael Cohen concluded his testimony in the NY v. Trump trial. (Getty Illustrations or photos)
But the lie he acknowledged on Monday is in a full various group – and may well be a turning issue in convincing just one or far more jurors to dismiss him as a dollars-grubbing thief and vote for Trump’s acquittal.
The onetime fixer fastened up a wonderful offer for himself: thieving from the Trump Corporation.
Yep, he did it, mentioned Cohen. Yep, he lied about it. Yep, he gladly pocketed the dollars mainly because he was angry about his bonus currently being lower.
This was a actual Perry Mason second – and an complete failure by the prosecution.
On the other litany of lies, Alvin Bragg’s attorneys introduced them up on direct examination, with the best achievable spin, to soften the sting when Trump’s lawyers were grilling him.
But on this just one? Nada. At initial, I assumed Cohen didn’t convey to the prosecutors, but Trump law firm Todd Blanche requested, “And you explained to many prosecutors in the District 13 Attorney’s Office that tale, correct?”
“Indeed sir.”
So it was sheer sloppiness – an unbelievable failure.
And the narrative receives even sleazier.
The Trump campaign employed a tech firm known as Purple Finch to consider to discredit unfavorable polls by CNBC and Drudge. The price was $50,000. Cohen delivered $20,000 in hard cash stuffed into a brown bag to the company’s main – absolutely nothing suspicious there, appropriate?
And Cohen retained the other $30,000 – later grossed up to $60,000 for tax good reasons – blatantly stealing from his ex-boss’s business. (Trump decided not to pay back Pink Finch for the reason that its initiatives petered out but did not know about the bag o’ money.)
There was very little the prosecutors could do when they had their flip. Cohen explained he was “angered” by the two-thirds cut in his standard $150K reward “so I just felt it was virtually like self-help. You know, I was not going to allow him have the profit this way as effectively.”
Ah, self-help. Thieving as remedy. A pretty lame rationalization.
It didn’t issue what else Cohen explained in 2018, such as insisting he would never have paid out the $130,000 in hush revenue to Stormy Daniels, which is perfectly-documented, with out the president’s express approval. The damage had been accomplished.
But there were being far more fireworks to arrive.
The protection known as as its key witness Robert Costello, a veteran law firm and gifted talker who represented Cohen for a several months.
Previous President Donald Trump leaves Trump Tower on his way to Manhattan felony court docket, Monday, April 15, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)
Cohen has testified that he did not trust Costello because he was close to Rudy Giuliani, supplying a back channel to the White Residence, but also the danger that nearly anything Cohen stated would be repeated there.
Costello testified that he told Cohen that his lawful troubles could be settled “if he experienced truthful info on Donald Trump and cooperated with the Southern District of New York.”
Cohen’s reaction, according to Costello, recurring 10 or 12 times: “I swear to God, Bob. I really don’t have anything at all on Donald Trump.”
That was obviously a massive extra fat lie.
Costello also alleged that Cohen experienced informed him Trump did not know about the hush money payments, which will get to the heart of the circumstance.
STORMY ALLEGES One particular-Night STAND WITH TRUMP, AGREED TO LIE FOR HER $130,000 PAYOFF
But Robert Costello walked into that courtroom with a big chip on his shoulder.
Right after one particular question, he audibly mentioned “ridiculous.” Just after another, he reported “Geez.”
Judge Juan Merchan experienced sufficient and despatched the jury out.
“If you never like my ruling, you really don’t say ‘Geez,’ ok. And then you you should not say ‘strike it’ due to the fact I’m the only a single that can strike testimony in the courtroom.”
The lecture was intense. “And then, if you really don’t like my ruling, you never give me aspect eye and you never roll your eyes. Do you recognize that?”
Costello gave the choose a lengthy stare. “Are you staring me down right now?” At that issue, he declared, “Distinct the courtroom.” All people later returned.
Michael Cohen is questioned by prosecutor Susan Hoffinger on re-immediate during former President Donald Trump’s criminal trial on costs that he falsified organization data to conceal dollars paid out to silence porn star Stormy Daniels in 2016, in Manhattan state court in New York City, May possibly 20, 2024, in this courtroom sketch. (REUTERS/Jane Rosenberg )
In yesterday’s testimony, the prosecution acquired Costello to acknowledge he was referring to Trump when saying he experienced “pals in higher spots.”
An email about “obtaining everyone on the exact same site” was simply because Cohen “had been complaining incessantly that Rudy Giuliani was earning statements in the press,” Costello mentioned.
He stated an e mail about finding everyone “on the similar webpage” was about working out the issues about Rudy.
Costello denied the prosecutor’s query about “encouraging him not to cooperate.”
On redirect, the defense requested: What about an e-mail expressing you ended up currently being “played”?
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Costello stated they kept urging Cohen to indicator a retainer – so they could get paid – but he kept creating excuses and placing it off.
Was he pressuring Michael Cohen to do something? Costello said he was not.
And that was it. Closing arguments are set for next Tuesday.
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The prosecution has a great deal of other witnesses and files, but Cohen is the only just one tying Trump directly to his reimbursement for hush revenue payments to Stormy Daniels and Karen McDougal in this brazenly partisan and shakily crafted case. So Cohen’s evisceration on the stand actually issues to the falsification of documents cost, except if 12 jurors believe that the former president experienced to know.
