UPDATE: A “suicidal” Michael Cohen mentioned he virtually threw himself off a 21-story constructing on Park Avenue in Manhattan as a result of he noticed no different means out after an FBI raid turned him right into a federal prison goal, a lawyer testified this afternoon within the hush cash trial of Cohen’s former boss, Donald Trump.
Shortly after prosecutors for the Manhattan District Legal professional rested their case towards the previous president, the lawyer, Robert Costello, was known as by Trump’s protection group to debate a gathering with Cohen. The assembly occurred per week after an April 2018 raid by the FBI on Cohen’s resort room, house, workplace and security deposit field.
“He was placing on fairly a present,” prison protection lawyer Costello mentioned, referring to the sit-down on the Loews Regency New York resort, the place Cohen was additionally staying along with his household when the raid occurred.
Costello was launched to Cohen by a mutual lawyer acquaintance to debate Cohen’s predicament. Within the assembly, a “manic” Cohen confided that two days earlier he had gone to the resort’s roof in a second of despair. “He was going to leap off and kill himself,” Costello testified on cross-examination by Assistant District Legal professional Susan Hoffinger.
Hoffinger, noting Costello’s dismissive perspective towards a suicide menace, reminded Costello that he known as Cohen a “drama queen” when Costello testified earlier than the grand jury investigating Trump in 2023. “You don’t like drama queens,” Hoffinger added.
Minutes earlier, Choose Juan Merchan cleared the courtroom to debate his unhappiness with Costello’s demeanor on the stand.
Earlier than clearing the courtroom, Merchan despatched jurors out and scolded Costello for saying “jeez” in response to an objection from prosecutors, and for giving the choose “aspect eye.” However he allowed protection lawyer Emil Bove to proceed questioning Costello, who was there to forged doubt on Cohen’s credibility because the prosecution’s star witness.
Cohen has testified that he took the assembly with Costello on the recommendation of a lawyer buddy however by no means employed him as a result of he discovered Costello “sketchy” and apprehensive that something he mentioned to him would get again to then-President Trump. Costello countered that after assembly Cohen he didn’t need him as a consumer, though he did say that his regulation agency later sought cost from Cohen for his authorized providers, and was by no means paid.
In that first assembly with Cohen, which Costello mentioned he thought of a privileged session with a possible consumer, “Michael Cohen mentioned quite a few occasions that President Trump knew nothing about these funds, and that he did that on his personal,” Costello testified.
He was referring to the $130,000 that Cohen paid to porn star Stormy Daniels in 2016, within the closing days of the presidential election, for her silence about an alleged sexual liaison years earlier with Trump. Prosecutors say that cost was a part of a conspiracy to maintain Daniels’ declare out of the information earlier than the election. They declare that Trump coated up his reimbursement to Cohen utilizing falsified enterprise information to disguise the compensation as routine authorized work.
Costello additionally testified that Cohen instructed him to hunt assist from Rudy Giuliani — who Costello knew — to search out out extra in regards to the federal case towards him. Giuliani had simply joined President Trump’s authorized group. Costello mentioned his solely curiosity was in representing Cohen and that he supplied to cross any messages Cohen may need to Giuliani.
Costello will return to the stand on Tuesday. After the choose despatched jurors house, protection lawyer Todd Blanche made a movement to dismiss the case primarily based on what he known as Cohen’s considerable lies on the witness stand.
“So that you need me to take this out of the jury’s arms?” Merchan requested. Blanche mentioned sure as a result of Cohen “lied underneath oath on this courtroom.”
“You mentioned his lies are irrefutable, however you assume he’s going to idiot 12 New Yorkers?” Merchan replied, referring to the jury.
Merchan mentioned he would wait to rule on Blanche’s movement.
Exterior the courtroom, Trump once more railed on the choose, calling him a “tyrant” for his dressing down of Costello, in line with hallway pool reporters.
“You noticed what occurred, what simply occurred in that court docket,” Trump mentioned. “Hopefully, the movement to dismiss this trial will undergo as a result of it is a catastrophe for our nation. It’s a catastrophe for New York state, New York Metropolis.”
“You noticed what occurred to a extremely revered lawyer in the present day, Bob Costello,” Trump added, straight discussing a trial witness in potential violation of Merchan’s gag order.
“Wow. I’ve by no means seen something like that. Extremely revered.”
PREVIOUSLY: Donald Trump’s hush-money trial got here to a sudden halt this afternoon when the protection’s second witness, lawyer Robert Costello, drew the ire of Choose Juan Service provider.
“Are you staring me down now?” Merchan demanded after castigating Costello for his demeanor on the stand. Jurors weren’t current for that scolding and moments later, Merchan ordered the complete courtroom cleared of spectators. The reside video feed within the overflow room the place different reporters are seated additionally lower out for the subsequent jiffy. What transpired subsequent between Merchan and the trial’s individuals must await an official transcript.
Prison protection lawyer Costello was testifying about his dealings with Michael Cohen after federal brokers raided Cohen’s resort room, house, workplace and financial institution security deposit field in April of 2018. Costello met Cohen — Trump’s onetime lawyer and fixer — per week after the raid on the resort the place Cohen was staying, after a mutual acquaintance launched them to debate Cohen’s authorized predicament.
“He was completely manic,” Costello testified. “He saved on pacing forwards and backwards, left and proper.”
However over a number of minutes of knotty testimony interrupted by objections, a few of them sustained, Costello gave solutions that have been tormented by the choose. When one other objection was sustained, Costello muttered, “Jeez.”
“I’m sorry?” Merchan mentioned to Costello.
The testimony continued from there, and when Costello audibly huffed at one other objection being sustained, Merchan excused jurors and mentioned, “Counsel, let’s take a couple of minutes.” He turned to Costello at that time and mentioned, “I’d like to debate correct decorum in my court docket.”
“When you don’t like my ruling you don’t say ‘jeez,’” Merchan mentioned. “You don’t give me side-eye and also you don’t roll your eyes.”
A second later he cleared the room of all spectators. Costello later returned to the stand after a number of minutes and continued his testimony.
PREVIOUSLY: Prosecutors have rested their case within the Trump hush cash trial in New York after its star witness, Michael Cohen, ended his testimony.
The protection known as its first witness, Daniel Sitko, a paralegal within the agency of Todd Blanche’s Trump’s lead lawyer.
Nonetheless unclear is whether or not Trump himself will testify, however Blanche has indicated that the protection’s case shall be brief.
PREVIOUSLY: Michael Cohen completed three days of cross-examination in the present day within the hush cash trial of his former boss, Donald Trump, going through one other barrage of questions from protection lawyer Todd Blanche about his credibility because the Manhattan District Legal professional’s star witness.
Cohen admitted for a second time on the stand that he stole $30,000 from the Trump Group by overcharging for bills. He additionally mentioned that after information broke in 2018 that he had paid $130,000 to porn star Stormy Daniels for her silence a couple of declare of a sexual liaison with Trump, he advised a number of individuals in confidence that Trump knew nothing in regards to the cost.
“It might have been what I’d have mentioned at the moment,” Cohen advised protection lawyer Todd Blanche
At one level Cohen was requested by Blanche if he ever filed taxes for the $420,000 that Trump paid him, allegedly as reimbursement for $130,000 in hush cash. The reimbursement is the centerpiece of the DA’s case towards Trump, as a result of Cohen testified its goal was to cowl up the hush cash cost in a phony authorized retainer settlement utilizing falsified enterprise information.
An objection from a prosecutor, upheld by Choose Juan Merchan, derailed Blanche’s line of questioning about taxes.
Blanche opened in the present day’s cross-examination of Cohen by asking “[H]ow many reporters have you ever talked to about what occurred final week?” Cohen mentioned a variety of reporters have known as him between Thursday and in the present day, however “I didn’t speak about this case.”
The unprecedented trial of a former and presumably future U.S. president is winding down, and Cohen’s fourth day of testimony general about his previous work as Trump’s lawyer and self-styled “fixer” was his final. Prosecutors haven’t any extra witnesses scheduled except they name a number of to rebut the protection’s case.
However jurors received’t hear closing arguments till after the lengthy Memorial Day vacation weekend, Merchan advised prosecutors and protection legal professionals, setting again a speedier timetable that appeared potential final week.
“It’s grow to be obvious that we’re not going to have the ability to sum up tomorrow,” Merchan mentioned.
Earlier than he introduced jurors again into the courtroom, Merchan additionally dominated {that a} former federal elections commissioner recruited by the Trump’s protection group can’t provide detailed interpretations about marketing campaign finance regulation as a result of it’s the choose’s position to instruct jurors because it applies to the costs within the case. Cohen pleaded responsible in a federal case in 2018 to creating an unlawful, undeclared contribution to Trump’s 2016 presidential marketing campaign within the type of the $130,000 to Daniels.
Cohen, on the stand in the present day, mentioned he was juggling a number of points because the November 2016 election neared, together with an actual property deal and an effort to assist Trump’s daughter, Tiffany Trump, fight an obvious try to extort cash from her. Blanche seemed to be suggesting that Cohen was too preoccupied with too many tasks to be trusted in his testimony in regards to the hush-money deal.
Blanche has used cross-examination to attempt to present jurors that Cohen, a disbarred lawyer, is not any extra reliable underneath oath now than he was when he admittedly lied in different authorized proceedings targeted on Trump.
In 2018, Cohen pleaded responsible to mendacity to Congress about Trump’s dealings in Russia. Final week, he testified that he lied to a federal choose in 2018 when pleading responsible to tax evasion and banking fees as a result of he didn’t really consider in his personal guilt, and had accepted a plea take care of jail time after prosecutors threatened to indict his spouse. Cohen mentioned he additionally withheld important data from Particular Counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation of Russian election interference.
On Thursday, in one of many trial’s most dramatic moments, Cohen stumbled when confronted with a discrepancy between his testimony and a string of texts produced by Blanche. Cohen had mentioned that in late October 2016 he reached Trump on a bodyguard’s telephone to inform the presidential candidate {that a} deal was near repay porn star Stormy Daniels. However texts with the bodyguard, Keith Schiller, in the identical time-frame confirmed Cohen preoccupied with prank calls from a 14-year-old. Cohen was additionally texting the teenager and threatening the youthful prankster with a go to from the Secret Service.
Blanche in the present day seemed to be aiming for a reprise of that gotcha second, and he pressed Cohen on whether or not his capability to earn cash, since he can not apply regulation, is determined by his public persona as Trump’s former fixer-turned-antagonist.
“That’s your identify recognition, proper?” Blanche requested, discussing efforts by Cohen to promote one other ebook and a TV present — the latter known as “The Fixer” — about his experiences.
Cohen replied that his fame is results of “the journey I’ve been on.”
Blanche retorted that Cohen has been attacking his former boss every day. “That’s a part of your journey, proper, sir?” Cohen mentioned it’s.
Cohen’s testimony continued to be dotted with repetitions of “don’t recall” and requests for Blanche to please repeat questions he professed to not perceive.
A grand jury empaneled by the DA indicted Trump final 12 months on 34 fees of falsifying enterprise information — invoices, checks and pay stubs — to disguise reimbursement of an unlawful marketing campaign contribution: the $130,000 that Cohen paid to Daniels. Prosecutors say the compensation scheme is a felony, and never only a misdemeanor enterprise information case, as a result of it constituted an unlawful effort to affect the end result of the election that vaulted Trump into the White Home.
Trump has denied having intercourse with Daniels. His legal professionals have argued the non-disclosure settlement together with her is a authorized train of his proper to guard himself, his household and his candidacy from public embarrassment. Their protection has targeted extra on the credibility of witnesses together with Cohen and Daniels, and touched glancingly on the small print of the indictment.
After Blanche completed, Manhattan Assistant District Legal professional Susan Hoffinger sought to make clear a few of Cohen’s cross-examination testimony — a spherical of questioning that can proceed after lunch. Over an objection from the protection, Hoffinger reminded jurors that Cohen had pleaded responsible in federal court docket to creating the $130,000 unlawful marketing campaign contribution.
“Are you really on trial right here?” Hoffinger requested Cohen rhetorically.
PREVIOUSLY: Michael Cohen testified in the present day that he stole $30,000 from the Trump Group on his means out the door in early 2017 by overcharging the corporate as a part of his reimbursement for hush-money paid to porn star Stormy Daniels.
Cohen admitted as a lot on the stand final week, when he mentioned the exit bundle he negotiated to assist cowl up the hush-money cost included an overcharge of $30,000 for one more enterprise expense.
However in the present day, requested level clean by protection lawyer Todd Blanche if he had stolen from his former employer, Cohen mentioned, “Sure, sir.”
“Have you ever paid again the Trump group the cash that you just stole from them?” Blanche requested at one other level.
“No sir,” Cohen replied.
Cohen mentioned he claimed to have paid $50,000 out of pocket to a expertise firm known as Pink Finch. In truth, Cohen had solely paid Pink Finch $20,000 — all money in a brown paper bag that he delivered to Trump Tower at hand over to Pink Finch’s CEO.
The alternate got here close to the top of Cohen’s cross-examination by Blanche, which lasted three days and wrapped up shortly earlier than midday. On re-direct questioning by a prosecutor, extra particulars in regards to the theft got here out.
Cohen mentioned the service Pink Finch offered was to spice up Trump’s rating in a CNBC on-line ballot that requested individuals to call the best enterprise leaders in U.S. historical past. Trump was upset, Cohen testified, as a result of “he was polling in the direction of the very very backside.” Pink Finch promised to enhance Trump’s rating with an “algorithm” and by buying IP addresses that may cross as particular person ballot individuals, Cohen testified.
Trump reached No. 9 in CNBC’s ballot however determined he nonetheless wouldn’t pay Pink Finch’s $50,000 payment, Cohen testified. Cohen advised Manhattan Assistant District Legal professional Susan Hoffinger that after he paid $20,000, he claimed the distinction and pocketed $30,000 as a result of he was “offended” at having his annual vacation bonus lower. He agreed with Hoffinger that it was the flawed factor to do.
