michael cohen will be back on the witness stand in Manhattan criminal court on Thursday to resume the face-off donald trumpdefense lawyer as historical criminal case against the former president is coming to an end.
Prosecutors said Judge Juan Merchan this week that Cohen, Trump former personal lawyeris the last witness in the often sensational trial, which began on April 15.
It is the first criminal trial involving a former president, but Trump’s lawyer Todd Blanche didn’t start yours Cohen interrogation on Tuesday in an intellectual way.
“After the trial started in this case, you went on TikTok and called me a ‘whiny—‘, didn’t you?” he asked.
“Sounds like something I would say,” Cohen responded.
Blanche then bombarded Cohen with questions designed to show that he has a documented history of lying – and a strong prejudice against his former boss. Blanche asked Cohen if he had said in the same April 23 TikTok that Trump belongs in a “cage, like an animal.”
“I remember saying that,” Cohen said.
Cohen, 57, is a key witness in Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s case against Trump. It was Cohen who paid the adult film actor Stormy Daniels $130,000 in the final days of the 2016 presidential election to keep her quiet about her claim to have had a sexual encounter with Trump a decade earlier, after they met at a celebrity golf tournament. Trump denies her claim.
Prosecutors say then-President Trump reimbursed Cohen in a series of payments that were falsely recorded as legal expenses in an attempt to hide what they were really for.
In testimony this week, Cohen said Trump directed him to deal with Daniels’ allegations because he feared they could be a “total disaster” for his campaign. Cohen said Trump assured him he would pay him back and later told him to work out the details with the Trump Organization’s then-chief financial officer, Allen Weisselberg.
When news of his payment to Daniels became public in 2018, Cohen said Trump encouraged him to take full responsibility for the hush-money agreement, which Cohen did.
Asked why he took these actions and others aimed at suppressing scandalous Trump stories during the 2016 election, Cohen said he did so “at the direction of” and “for the benefit of Donald J. Trump.”
Cohen is the only witness directly linking Trump to the alleged business records falsification scheme.
Blanche told jurors in her opening statement that Trump’s payments to Cohen were for legal work and that Cohen is “untrustworthy” because he has a history of lying and an ax to grind with his former boss.
Cohen has acknowledged lying in the past – including for Congressto which he pleaded guilty in 2018 – but claims he was motivated by what was then his strong desire to “protect Mr. Trump.”
Blanche said in court Tuesday that she anticipated her ongoing questioning would take most, if not all, of Thursday. The defense’s cross-examination of Cohen on Thursday will focus on his previous testimony under oath and his repeated lies about events in 2016 and 2017, according to a source with direct knowledge of what to expect during the interrogation.
Court is not in session Friday for Trump to attend his son’s high school graduation; So, if Blanche’s estimate is correct, Cohen will likely return to the stand on Monday for additional questions from prosecutors, followed by additional questions from Blanche before the arraignment ends.
It is unclear at this time whether Trump will present a defense case. Blanche told the judge this week that he may offer some expert testimony if he determines it is necessary to do so. Court records show the expert is Bradley A. Smith, a former chairman of the Federal Election Commission who could testify about the FEC and its role, the laws the agency is responsible for enforcing and definitions and terms related to the case.
The other possible witness is Trump himself. Trump said before the trial began that he would “absolutely” testify in this case, but has since said he would do it if necessary. Blanche told the judge on Tuesday that she did not know whether her client would testify.
Otherwise, that would pave the way for final discussions early next week.
Trump has declared himself innocent to 34 counts of falsifying business records. He faces up to four years in prison if he is convicted.
This article was originally published in NBCNews. with
