new york-Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s team called five witnesses on Friday to conclude the bulk of the case, paving the way for Trump’s former personal lawyer Michael Cohen, who has admitted to lying, to take the stand. I opened it.
Prosecutor Joshua Steinglass told a judge he could wrap up the case against former President Donald Trump by the end of the week by calling just two more witnesses next week. Cohen’s recommendations include pleading guilty to lying to Congress; admit He claims he lied under oath to a federal judge and is expected to take the stand Monday to corroborate key aspects of Bragg’s case.
Mr. Trump repaid Mr. Cohen the $130,000 he paid to silence allegations of an affair with porn star Stormy Daniels in the run-up to the 2016 election, while also filing 34 charges for allegedly falsifying business records. He has been charged with a felony.
Former US President Donald Trump leaves Manhattan Criminal Court after a hearing in his upcoming hush money trial, March 25, 2024 in New York City, US.Meaning of Mr. Curtis/Pool, via Reuters
Many of Friday’s witnesses were detained witnesses called by prosecutors to review evidence such as phone records and social media posts, including Madeline Wester, who served as President Trump’s chief of staff in the White House; Haught also finished testifying on Friday.
Westerhout said he had no specific recollection of Trump speaking to Allen Weisselberg, the former chief financial officer of the Trump Organization, in 2017. She told prosecutors Thursday that she remembered Trump calling Weisselberg several times to ask for clarification about the questionable checks.
Westerhout also acknowledged Friday that Trump sometimes signs documents and checks without looking at them, agreeing that Trump is a “multitasker.” (Related: Bragg judge tells prosecutors to tell Michael Cohen to stop talking about Trump case)
Responding to concerns raised by Trump’s defense, Marchan suggested Friday that Weisselberg be called into court without a jury present, at least initially, to see if he is willing to testify. did.Weisselberg is the current He is serving a five-month sentence for perjury related to his testimony in Trump’s civil fraud case and previously pleaded guilty to tax evasion.
Necheres: Did you see him signing it without checking it?
Westerhout: Yes.
Necheres: Did you see him signing the checks without looking at them?
Westerhout: Yes.— Katelyn Richardson (@katesrichardson) May 10, 2024
Other witnesses Friday included AT&T and Verizon employees who testified with phone records, President Trump’s social media posts, Stormy Daniels’ manager, Gina Rodriguez and National Enquirer Editor-in-Chief Dylan Howard. They included two paralegals from the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office who testified about text messages between them. Summaries of call records prepared by the secretariat.
According to text messages, Mr. Rodriguez originally asked for $250,000 for Mr. Daniels’ story, but after negotiations with Mr. Howard, he lowered the price.
one of trump Tweet The evidence introduced Friday included his May 2018 Twitter posts about payments to Cohen.
“Mr. Cohen, an attorney, receives a monthly fee that does not come from the campaign and has nothing to do with the campaign, from which he enters into a bilateral personal agreement known as a non-disclosure agreement or NDA through reimbursement.” ” Trump wrote at the time.
Michael Cohen TikTok screenshot
Marchan dismissed the jury before lunch, capping a week that featured dramatic testimony from Stormy Daniels that caused Trump’s defense to twice petition for a mistrial. The judge denied both motions.
After the jury retired on Friday, defense attorney Todd Blanche asked Marchand to order Cohen to stop talking about the case with Trump. (Related: Judge imposes double standard by keeping Trump quiet, but gives Michael Cohen free rein, legal experts say)
Judge Machan instructed prosecutors to tell Cohen not to make any further statements.
— Katelyn Richardson (@katesrichardson) May 10, 2024
Cohen criticized Trump on social media, repetition Many Twitter posts refer to him as “VonShitzenpants.” He recently said: live About the trial on TikTok.
Blanche on Friday cited an example of Cohen wearing a shirt with a picture of Trump on TikTok while in prison.
Georgia Longstreet, one of the paralegals in the Manhattan district attorney’s office who testified Friday, said in response to questions from Trump’s defense team that she had not recently reviewed Cohen’s TikToks as part of her job.
Machan instructed prosecutors to tell Cohen that “the judge has asked him to refrain from making any further statements.”
Many of the witnesses who have testified thus far have continued to paint Cohen in an unfavorable light. Former National Enquirer publisher David Pecker agreed that Cohen has a tendency to exaggerate.
Karen McDougall and Daniels’ former lawyer, Keith Davidson, called Cohen “a very aggressive man.” Mr. Davidson said that after Mr. Cohen called him to express his frustration at not getting a post in the Trump administration, which he had hoped would be as high as attorney general, Mr. Cohen said, “I’m going to kill myself.” ” he said.
Similarly, former White House communications director Hope Hicks testified that Cohen had a tendency to be a “ruffian” and behave in ways that were unhelpful and frustrating to campaign staff.
Merchan was denied Trump tried to block Cohen from testifying in March. Trump’s lawyers have argued that Michael Cohen is a liar. “He recently committed perjury on stage and under oath in a civil trial involving President Trump. If his public statements are any indication, he will do so again in this criminal trial. plan to do so.”
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