Michael Cohen endured his toughest hours on the witness stand yet on Thursday as former President Trump’s trial reached its 18th day.
This week has been dominated by testimony from Cohen, Trump’s former lawyer turned nemesis. Thursday saw the most sustained attack on his credibility by the former president’s legal team.
Trump is charged with 34 felony counts of falsifying business records.
The underlying events revolve around a $130,000 payment to adult film actor Stormy Daniels in the final days of the 2016 election. The money was intended to silence Daniels from going public with her allegation that she had sex with Trump at a celebrity golf tournament in Lake Tahoe a decade earlier.
Cohen is a key figure because he paid Daniels the money from his own funds. He was later reimbursed by Trump and a Trump-related fund — and received a bonus and other sums tacked on.
Prosecutors claim that these reimbursements were falsely classified as legal expenses to hide their true purpose – to silence Daniels and thus increase Trump’s chances of winning the election.
Trump counters that the money paid to Cohen was in fact a legal expense, that he did nothing wrong and that his accusation is politically motivated. Trump also denies having sex with Daniels.
Here are the key takeaways from Thursday.
A fiery exchange via a phone call
The most dramatic conversation of the day was over the phone – and whether Cohen had testified to the truth about it earlier this week.
Cohen made the call to Trump bodyguard Keith Schiller’s phone in 2016.
Cohen claimed he did this because he knew Schiller would be with Trump. Cohen says he and Trump discussed preparations for paying Daniels.
But Trump’s top lawyer, Todd Blanche, managed to cast some doubt on that issue on Thursday.
Blanche noted that the call came amid a little unrelated drama in which Cohen was receiving harassing calls from a prankster teenager.
The text messages show that over a period of about 15 minutes, Cohen texted Schiller asking for advice about the phone harassment, Schiller called back, but his call went to voicemail, and Cohen then called Schiller for a conversation that lasted less than 100 seconds.
Blanche pressed Cohen hard, arguing that the call was really about harassing calls and had nothing to do with Trump or Daniels.
Cohen admitted that “part of it had to do with the phone calls,” but stood firm that he had also talked about the hush money to Trump.
“Did you have enough time in that minute and 36 seconds to update Mr. Schiller on all the problems you were having with this harassing phone call and also update President Trump on the status of the Stormy Daniels situation?” a confused Blanche asked.
Cohen insisted that was the case. But it seems likely that the exchange at least raised questions in the jurors’ minds about the accuracy of his earlier testimony.
Defense refutes Cohen’s credibility
The phone conversation was the most damning moment in a broader effort by Blanche to dismantle Cohen’s credibility.
The defense would always have a lot of material to work with in this regard. Cohen served prison time after pleading guilty to tax evasion, violating campaign finance law and lying to Congress.
Blanche brought up the false congressional testimony, as well as Cohen’s account of how his plea deal was negotiated; whether he ever asked for forgiveness; and whether he was disappointed about not getting a White House job after Trump won the election. In each case, he implied that Cohen had lied.
He also referenced some light-hearted comments Cohen made on his podcast about Trump’s legal troubles.
The entire effort was designed to paint Cohen as a liar motivated by resentment toward the former president.
A problem for the prosecution
Blanche seemed to hit the target in another way as she interrogated Cohen.
Earlier in the week, prosecutors emphasized that Cohen had no legal retainer agreement at the time he was reimbursed by Trump. This, prosecutors suggested, was clear evidence that Trump’s business records were in fact falsified when those payments were classified as legal expenses.
But Blanche pushed that claim, noting that Cohen had done legal work for Trump and the Trump Organization for years without an official contract.
Blanche also had Cohen confirm that there was nothing illegal, per se, in the hush-hush agreement with Daniels.
“This is a perfectly legal contract, correct?” Blanche asked, according to the Associated Press.
“Yes, sir,” Cohen replied.
These rudimentary exchanges underscored Trump’s counter-narrative: that every element of what happened was legal.
Representative Matt Gaetz arrives, bringing new controversy
Trump has appeared in court with a sizable entourage in recent days — including a rotating cast of Republican members of Congress.
On Thursday, Reps. Andy Biggs (Ariz.), Lauren Boebert (Colo.), Matt Gaetz (Florida), Bob Good (Va.), Anna Paulina Luna (Florida) and Mike Waltz (Florida) were among those who came to offer support.
Congressional supporters in New York were so numerous that in Washington, one of two Republican Party-led votes targeting Attorney General Merrick Garland had to be postponed.
Meanwhile, Gaetz — a fervent Trump loyalist with a penchant for controversy — sparked a new furore by posting a photo of himself behind the former president with the caption: “Standing back and standing by, Mr. Trump.”
The phrase appeared to be an allusion to a controversial comment Trump made during a 2020 debate with President Biden. Asked about white supremacist groups and the Proud Boys, Trump responded: “Proud Boys, stand back and stand by.”
The remark raised criticism from those who considered it a call to the marginal group to prepare to intervene, including with violence, if Trump lost the elections.
The end is near – maybe
The trial is in its final stages – probably.
The court will not meet on Friday to allow Trump to attend his youngest son Barron’s high school graduation.
Cohen is the prosecution’s final witness and Blanche said she hopes to conclude her cross-examination by mid-morning Monday.
A huge, unresolved question is whether Trump will testify in his own defense. Otherwise, the former president’s legal team has given no indication that he plans to call a long list of witnesses.
Judge Juan Merchan on Thursday instructed lawyers on both sides to be ready to present closing arguments on Tuesday.
This is far from a guaranteed timeline. But he emphasizes that the first criminal trial of a former president appears to be in the final stretch.
This story originally appeared on thehill.com read the full story
