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Donald Trump’s lawyer on Thursday attacked the main allegation against the former president as he sought to undermine Michael Cohen, the former lawyer whose $130,000 was paid to the adult film star Stormy Daniels is at the heart of the criminal trial in New York.
The defense, led by Trump lawyer Todd Blanche, prompted Cohen to concede that Daniels had technically entered into a legal contract to sell the rights to her sex story with Trump, apparently in an attempt to justify labeling the payouts as legal expenses.
During the hours-long cross-examination, the defense forced Cohen to admit that he previously lied to protect Trump because it affected the stakes for him personally, and that he lied to a federal judge when he was prosecuted for concealing taxes and misrepresentations.
As Cohen returned to the stand for the third day, Blanche suggested that Cohen’s ultimate goal was to see Trump go to prison, raising the possibility that he also lied about the extent of Trump’s involvement in the hush money scheme with Daniels.
Blanche also directly accused Cohen of lying in his trial testimony. Cohen said earlier this week that when he called then-Trump bodyguard Keith Schiller on Oct. 24, 2016, it was to let Trump know he was continuing to pay Daniels hush money.
But relying on texts sent by Cohen to Schiller complaining about prank calls from a 14-year-old, Blanche raised her voice to tell Cohen that he must have called Schiller mostly about the prank calls and that he didn’t have enough time for a one-minute, 30-second call to tell Trump about the Daniels deal.
“You can admit,” Blanche said, that you lied. “No, sir, I cannot,” replied Cohen, sticking to his account.
Trump was joined in court Thursday by his son Eric Trump and U.S. Reps. Lauren Bobert and Matt Goetz. The trio appeared engaged in a dynamic conversation, at times smiling, laughing and whispering in each other’s ears shortly before Cohen took the stand.
Trump has pleaded not guilty to 34 counts of falsifying business documents. Prosecutors must prove that Trump allowed what he knew to be secret cash payments to be falsely characterized as “legal expenses” in the Trump Organization’s filings, with the intention of committing a second, campaign crime.
The criminal case against Trump – the first against a US president – stems from his attempts to suppress negative stories about alleged sexual encounters he had with Daniels and others out of fear they could negatively affect his campaign just weeks before the 2016 election .
Cohen was a dramatic witness for the prosecution when he recounted how he used a home equity loan to raise $130,000, which he then transferred to Daniels’ attorney through a shell company he created. Cohen did so in the belief that Trump would reimburse him, he testified.
In January 2017, Cohen previously said he had discussed with Trump and former Trump Organization chief financial officer Alan Weiselberg about paying $130,000 in back pay and other expenses he incurred doing work that benefited him for Trump’s 2016 campaign.
Cohen issued 11 invoices demanding payment under a legal “hold” that Cohen said did not exist, resulting in 11 checks being cut to Cohen and the Trump Organization recording 12 entries for “legal expenses” in its general ledger — total 34 cases of alleged forgeries.
Under New York law, prosecutors must prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Trump made or caused a false entry in an entity’s business records. Cohen’s testimony provided the first direct evidence that Trump ordered the nature of the recovery to be hidden.
But Blanche relentlessly attacks Cohen’s credibility and motivations in telling this story.
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Blanche played clips from Cohen’s Mea Culpa podcast, including when Cohen said that “thinking about Trump in Otisville jail makes me giddy with joy.” He also got Cohen to admit that he believed he played a big role in getting Trump indicted — and bragged about it.
The defense later delved into Cohen’s past lies under oath and how he seemingly lied about details big and small. When Cohen testified before Congress in 2017 about a Trump real estate deal in Moscow, Blanche revealed that Cohen had lied about how many times he had spoken to Trump about the deal.
And although Cohen told U.S. District Court Judge William Polley in 2018 that he was reluctant to plead guilty to federal charges of tax evasion and making false statements, Blanche challenged, Cohen later said , that he felt cornered into pleading guilty so his wife wouldn’t be charged either.
“The reason you would lie to a federal judge is because the stakes affect you personally?” Blanche asked. “Yes,” Cohen replied, confirming that he told lies not only to protect Trump, as he previously claimed, but also for his own personal gain when it was convenient for him.
In an apparent attempt to undermine Cohen’s testimony on direct examination that Trump was responsible and involved in the effort to cover up Daniels’ secret money, Blanche ripped from Cohen that he has a track record of trying to shift the blame for his own actions onto other people.
“You blamed … Your bank? Your accountant? You charged federal prosecutors? The judge? President Trump?” Blanche asked. “Yes, sir,” Cohen answered each question.
Cohen’s cross-examination is expected to conclude Monday morning. The redirect examination is unlikely to take more than an hour, prosecutors told the judge. After Cohen is done, Trump’s lawyers may call Bradley Smith, an expert on federal election law.
Smith’s potential testimony likely won’t take long, in large part because the judge placed limits on expert testimony in the preliminary ruling. Smith could only testify about general definitions of federal campaign contributions.
Whether Trump will testify in his own defense remains uncertain, even if Trump has indicated he wants to take the stand. If Trump does not testify, closing arguments in the case could take place on Tuesday. But the judge has yet to issue jury instructions, meaning the jury could not begin deliberating until Thursday.
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