Two new witnesses took the stand Monday on the 12th day of Donald Trump’s secret trial, shortly after the judge overseeing the case again cited the former president for violating the gag order he imposed last month.
Before trial testimony, Judge Juan Merchan found that Trump violated the order prohibiting him from attacking witnesses and others involved in the case. Trump was fined $1,000 and warned he could face prison time “if necessary” for any further violations.
When testimony resumed, a former Trump Organization executive and first current employee described how many of the large sums that went to Michael Cohen, for the supposed purpose of hush payments, came directly from Trump’s bank account.
Trump was charged with 34 counts related to falsifying business records, which Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg said the former president engaged in to conceal cash payments to adult film star Stormy Daniels in the final days of the presidential campaign 2016. Trump pleaded not guilty to all charges. He also denied having an affair with Daniels.
Judge threatens Trump with prison sentence
Merchan began the fourth week of the trial by imposing a $1,000 fine on Trump, who was fined $9,000 last week for nine previous gag order violations.
“It appears that $1,000 fines do not serve as a deterrent,” Merchan said in delivering the ruling.
“The last thing I want to do is put you in prison. You are the former president of the United States and possibly the next president as well,” Merchan said. “There are many reasons why incarceration is really a last resort for you.”
The judge acknowledged the magnitude of Trump’s arrest and how “disruptive to the process” it would be. “But at the end of the day, I have a job to do,” he said. “So, as much as I don’t want to propose a prison sanction… I will if necessary.”
Trump sat and listened, saying nothing, and showed little of the defiance he does outside the courtroom, where he quickly criticized Merchan’s decision.
“Frankly, our Constitution is much more important than prison,” Trump said, indicating that he had no intention of remaining silent despite the judge’s warnings. “I’ll make that choice any day.”
Trump’s lawyers have argued that the critical statements made by Cohen, who is expected to testify in the case, mean Trump should be able to respond. He should also be able to defend himself as a presidential candidate, said Trump lawyer Todd Blanche.
How the checks reached Cohen
The two witnesses who testified on Monday explained the mechanics of reimbursing Cohen, Trump’s former lawyer and “fixer,” for the $130,000 that was paid to Daniels.
Former Trump Organization controller Jeffrey McConney said he interacted “minimally” with Cohen during his time at the company, but that Allen Weisselberg, the company’s former chief financial officer, asked him in early 2017 to send money to Cohen. In previous months, Cohen had taken out a home equity line of credit to buy Daniels’ story alleging that she had a sexual encounter with Trump in 2006.
Cohen was reimbursed during Trump’s first year as president through 11 checks that were recorded as part of a “retainer agreement” to Cohen for allegedly acting as Trump’s lawyer and labeled as “legal expenses” in Trump Organization records, according to Monday’s testimony. Asked what Cohen’s position was in the Trump Organization, McConney responded at one point: “He said he was a lawyer.”
McConney testified that $130,000 would reimburse Daniels’ payment and $50,000 would reimburse payment for technology services. The notes showed that Weisselberg wrote that the payment was to be “accumulated” to cover New York City taxes.
The charges against Trump apply to three types of records: invoices; checks and checkbooks; and accounting entries for Trump’s personal bank account and the Donald J. Trump Revocable Trust.
In the deposition, McConney authenticated the invoices showing payments to Cohen and described what was allegedly false about them – that they were filed as legal services.
Deborah Tarasoff, an accounts payable supervisor who worked with McConney at the Trump organization, stepped in after her former colleague and authenticated each check and check stub, as well as the general ledger entry. She then linked them to the corresponding invoice.
The Trump Organization operates like “a family business,” said Tarasoff, a 24-year company veteran and the first current Trump Organization employee to take the stand.
For the first time in the trial, a check from the alleged scheme was shown in court: a $70,000 payment to Cohen for the months of January and February 2017. One payment was signed by Eric Trump, the other by Weisselberg. The payments were described as advances, payable in March, and were issued by the Revocable Trust. Subsequent payments came from the former president’s personal bank account.
Weisselberg, McConney, Donald Trump and the legal department were authorized to approve expenditures. But sums exceeding $10,000 needed approval from Donald Trump, Donald Trump Jr. or Eric Trump, Tarasoff said.
A refund check would be stapled to an invoice and taken to Trump’s longtime executive assistant, Rhona Graff, for Trump’s signature.
Only Trump himself could sign off on a payment from his personal account — and his signature was the final and definitive approval, Tarasoff said. If Trump didn’t want to write a check, it wasn’t necessary. Instead, he would simply write “VOID” in black marker and send it back, Tarasoff said.
The final total of payments to Cohen reached $420,000 and included not only the alleged hush money refunds, but also Cohen’s annual bonus and additional funds to cover taxes on the amounts.
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