Fired lawyer Michael Cohen has completed his testimony before a New York criminal court as the case against his boss, former US President Donald Trump, approaches its likely end.
Monday marked Cohen’s fourth and final day on the witness stand. His words were the last witness testimony the prosecution called before closing the case.
Now, the trial turns to the defense, as it seeks to refute allegations that Trump falsified business records to hide a secret payment to a former adult film actress – and thus strengthen his chances in the 2016 presidential elections.
In October 2016, Cohen transferred $130,000 to adult film actress Stormy Daniels to buy her silence about an affair she claimed to have had with then-candidate Trump.
Cohen claimed that he made the payment on Trump’s orders, and that Trump then repaid the payment through surreptitious means, recording it as “legal expenses.”
But on Cohen’s final day on the stand, the defense sought to puncture that narrative, attacking Cohen’s credibility by drawing attention to instances in which he lied and stole.
The defense has consistently maintained that Trump had nothing to do with the payment. Trump himself has denied any wrongdoing and refuted Daniels’ claim of an affair.
Day 19 of the hush money trial in New York also marked the beginning of a short week. Not only is the defense’s witness list expected to be relatively brief, but the court is scheduled to adjourn early this week to accommodate the US Memorial Day holiday.
Trump faces 34 felony counts of falsifying business records in the case. Here are the takeaways from Cohen’s final day of testimony.
Cohen admits to stealing from the Trump Organization
Before ending their cross-examination of Cohen on Monday, the defense dealt a significant blow to his credibility by making him admit that he had stolen $30,000 from Trump’s namesake company.
Defense attorney Todd Blanche bluntly asked Cohen, “You stole from the Trump Organization, right?”
Cohen offered his standard response: “Yes, sir.”
The theft occurred after Cohen hired technology company Red Finch to help boost Trump’s numbers in an online CNBC poll that ranked the best businesspeople of the past half-century.
Cohen testified that Trump was “upset” about coming in last place in the vote. By hiring Red Finch, Cohen explained that he and Trump could manipulate the poll: the technology company would cast fake votes on Trump’s behalf using different IP addresses.
Red Finch was originally scheduled to receive $50,000 for its services, Cohen explained.
But he told the jury that he instead paid Red Finch $20,000 to “placate” its owner and then pocketed the rest after Trump decided to reduce his vacation bonus.
“I was irritated by the bonus reduction and felt it was self-help,” Cohen said.
Blanche pressed the question during her interrogation: “Did you give the Trump Organization back the money you stole from them?”
“No, sir,” Cohen said.
Trump’s court entourage considered the admission a major blow to his defense.
“This just got interesting: Michael Cohen is now admitting to stealing money from our company,” Trump’s second son, Eric, posted on social media.
Kash Patel, a Trump administration official, told reporters outside the courtroom that “we finally have a crime.”
“We also have a victim,” he added. “That victim is Donald J Trump.”
The defense has long asserted that Trump himself is not guilty of falsifying business records — but that figures like Cohen and former Trump Organization chief financial officer Allen Weisselberg were responsible for any wrongdoing.
In wrapping up Cohen’s cross-examination, the defense team sought to paint a picture of Cohen’s alleged greed, highlighting the ways in which he profited from his association with Trump.
Cohen testified that after Trump was elected president in 2016, he earned about $4 million from consulting contracts, including with AT&T, a telecommunications company that was looking to merge at the time.
In 2018, however, Cohen pleaded guilty to campaign finance violations and other federal crimes, including lying to Congress. As a result, he was sentenced to prison.
But when he was moved to home confinement in 2020, he took on an increasingly public role as a Trump critic. Cohen testified that, as of 2020, he earned approximately $4.4 million from tell-all books and podcast appearances.
The defense also asked Cohen about a reality show called The Fixer that he had been shopping around to networks, although he said no studio has acquired it yet.
Cohen Interrogation Ends, Prosecution Ends
In the final minutes of Cohen’s interrogation, the defense tried to convince the jury that there were gaps in the former lawyer’s testimony.
Although Cohen maintained that the hush money payments were falsely recorded as “legal expenses,” the defense maintained the correct label since Cohen was in fact Trump’s personal lawyer.
The defense also questioned whether Cohen could accurately recall his conversations with Trump from October 2016, the month the hush money payment was made.
“Despite everything you’ve said over the years, do you have a specific memory of talking to then-candidate Donald J Trump about the subject of Stormy Daniels?” Blanche, the defense attorney, asked.
Cohen responded with his usual “yes, sir.”
“There is no doubt in your mind?” Blanche asked again. “Without a doubt,” Cohen replied.
The interrogation ended shortly afterward, and the prosecution briefly rose to question Cohen one last time.
Attorney Susan Hoffinger took the opportunity to point out that Trump’s actions were on trial, not Cohen’s.
“I know you may feel like you are being judged here after the interrogation, but are you really being judged here?” she asked Cohen.
“No, ma’am,” he replied.
The prosecution also asked Cohen to reflect on what it cost him to speak out against Trump.
“My whole life has been turned upside down as a direct result,” Cohen responded, citing a decline in his family’s well-being as well as his professional prospects.
“I lost my law license, my business, my financial security, which fortunately I was able to obtain early.”
With that, the prosecution closed the case.
The defense calls its first witnesses, including the aggressive Costello
With the prosecution’s case closed, the time has come for the defense to call witnesses.
The first was a paralegal named Daniel Sitko, who works for Blanche, the defense attorney.
Sitko presented a chart that gave an overview of calls between Cohen and Robert Costello, a lawyer who previously offered to relay messages between Cohen and Trump.
The defense only questioned Sitko long enough to establish that Cohen’s communications with Costello were frequent, especially in 2018 when he faced legal troubles.
Then, the defense’s second witness testified: Costello himself.
The decision to call Costello was not without controversy. The prosecution objected to its inclusion: Cohen admitted to lying to Costello, and in turn, Costello took a prominent public role in questioning Cohen’s credibility.
Costello was also a late addition to the defense’s list of potential witnesses, and Judge Juan Merchan was forced to quickly decide how much of Costello’s testimony he would allow.
Merchan said Costello could “offer some rebuttal” to Cohen’s testimony, but the judge added that he would not allow the situation to turn into a “trial within a trial.”
But immediately, Costello’s appearance on the witness stand was tense: the lawyer reacted audibly when the prosecution raised objections to his testimony, saying “damn” and calling the situation “ridiculous.”
It was enough to earn a stern rebuke from Judge Merchan, who briefly emptied the courtroom to address Costello directly.
“Mr. Costello, I want to discuss proper decorum in my courtroom. When there’s a witness on the stand, if you don’t like my decision, don’t say ‘damn,’” Merchan said. “You don’t look at me sideways and you don’t roll your eyes.”
Costello was eventually allowed to resume his testimony, which centered on allegations that Cohen lied about Trump’s knowledge of the secret payments.
“Michael Cohen has said countless times that President Trump knew nothing about these payments, that he did it alone, and he has repeated it countless times,” Costello said.
Trump’s court entourage includes Hells Angels
The day ended with Costello’s fiery appearance on the witness stand and the prospect of further questioning from prosecutors on Tuesday.
While much of the court’s attention was focused on the trial’s final witnesses, members of Trump’s entourage also caught media attention.
Sitting among Trump’s inner circle was Chuck Zito, former president of the New York chapter of the Hells Angels motorcycle club.
Now an actor, Zito faced his own criminal charges and served a prison sentence from 1985 to 1991.
Also present were members of Congress, such as Representative Andrew Clyde of Georgia.
“What needs to happen is this particular court system needs to be defunded,” Clyde said, calling for federal funding for Manhattan courts to be cut.
Trump himself spoke to the press outside the courtroom, revisiting familiar themes that the prosecution was politically motivated and complaining about the “freezing cold” atmosphere.
“They have no case. They don’t commit crimes,” Trump said, adding that the judge was “corrupt” and “interfered in elections.”
Trump is expected to face President Joe Biden, a Democrat, in the November presidential race.
This story originally appeared on Aljazeera.com read the full story
