Donald Trump’s former lawyer Michael Cohen returned to the witness stand Tuesday in the New York criminal case against the former president.
Mr. Cohen, the prosecution’s key witness, did not offer additional evidence against Mr. Trump during direct examination on Monday and Tuesday, despite his credibility being compromised.
In 2018, Cohen plead guilty False statements to Congress, tax evasion, campaign finance violations, etc.He claimed he “lied out of loyalty and to protect himself.” [Trump]. ”
“It wasn’t a lie. It wasn’t true.
“And my family, my wife, my daughter, my son, all said, ‘Why do you hold on to this loyalty? What are you doing? We’re supposed to be your first loyalists.’ ” Cohen testified. “Based on my conversations with my family, I have once again decided that I will no longer lie for President Trump.”
He acknowledged that some of the charges to which he pleaded guilty were unrelated to the alleged deal with Trump.
“I had 48 hours to accept their plea deal or I would have to file an 80-page indictment that included my wife,” Cohen said, referring to a civil fraud trial in New York. .And I was going to protect my wife.”
Although the crime carried a maximum sentence of decades in prison, Cohen was sentenced to just 36 months. He testified that he was released early due to COVID-19.
Mr. Cohen claimed that he paid porn actress Stormy Daniels $130,000 to keep quiet about her alleged affair with Mr. Trump. Mr. Cohen testified that the payments to Mr. Daniels were made “on behalf of Mr. Trump,” and that the former president repaid Mr. Daniels $420,000 in increments of $35,000 over one year.
Cohen told jurors about the April 2018 raids by the Federal Bureau of Investigation on his hotel room, apartment complex and office. Cohen said he was living in a hotel at the time because his apartment building flooded. When asked to describe the attack, he said: “How can I describe how my life has changed forever? I feel anxious, depressed and angry.”
According to , Cohen was the last witness for the prosecution. live update From the court.
Defense team begins cross-examination
On Tuesday afternoon, Trump’s lawyers began cross-examining the prosecution’s key witness.
Cohen acknowledged that the New York criminal case against Trump was of “personal” importance to him.
He acknowledged that he had received multiple instructions not to discuss the matter publicly, but had continued to do so. Cohen said on his twice-weekly podcast that Trump “comes up every time.” His TikTok account “does make money, but it’s not important,” he testified.
Trump’s lawyer, Todd Blanche, asked whether Cohen was truthful when he previously said Trump wanted to “make our country great again.”
Cohen responded, “At the time, I was knee-deep in the cult of Donald Trump. … I wasn’t lying. That’s how I felt.”
He also acknowledged that he had previously described Trump as “a man who cares deeply about his family” and “kind, humble and honest.”
Mr. Blanche forced Mr. Cohen to confess that he had lied to investigators involved in Robert Mueller’s investigation into Mr. Trump’s alleged ties to Russia. Cohen acknowledged that the information he provided was “not accurate.”
“It wasn’t a lie. It wasn’t true. If you want to say it’s a lie, we can say it’s a lie. I believe the information I gave them was inaccurate,” he told Blanche. Ta.
“But aren’t you testifying that it’s a lie?” asked Blanche.
“Of course I say that’s a lie,” Cohen admitted.
Asked if he wanted to see Trump convicted, Cohen refused to give a clear “yes” or “no” answer, repeatedly replying “of course.”
Blanche asked about comments Cohen made on social media on April 23, in which he called President Trump a “dictator in a cage like a fucking animal.” Blanche also showed off a T-shirt that Cohen recently wore in one of his social media videos. The shirt included an illustration of President Trump in prison, and Cohen said he encouraged viewers of his show to purchase the shirt from his personal merchandise store.
Cohen denied that he was “motivated by fame.”
“I don’t think it’s fair to say that,” he said.
“Is it fair to say it’s motivated by publicity?” asked Blanche.
“I don’t know if that’s fair. I’m motivated by a lot of things,” Cohen said.
Mr. Cohen is scheduled to be cross-examined again on Thursday.
Court records show the defense has not yet decided whether Trump will testify.
anything else?
President Trump insists no crime was committed. He has pleaded not guilty to all 34 charges in the case and has repeatedly denied Daniels’ allegations of extramarital affairs.
“I paid the lawyer a certain amount of money. We recorded it as a legal expense. So I had a legal expense, so I recorded it as a legal expense. As the construction of the wall. “We didn’t account for it, we didn’t mark the construction of the building as electric,” Trump said.
“There is no crime,” he continued. “I’ve been here for almost four weeks listening to a completely corrupt and conflicted judge sitting in an icebox called an icebox.”
Acting Judge Juan Mercian on Tuesday again denied Trump’s defense team’s request to appeal a gag order barring anyone involved in the case from speaking to him. Marchand has previously fined Trump $10,000 for 10 comments that allegedly violated the executive order.
House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-Louisiana) visited the courthouse on Tuesday to voice his support for Trump. He spoke to the media before attending the trial. He said Cohen was “clearly on a mission of personal revenge” and argued that the case was “not about justice, it’s about politics.”
“The crime they’re accusing President Trump of is falsifying business records, but I think everyone knows he’s not a company bookkeeper,” Johnson said.
North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum (R), former Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy, and Florida congressmen Byron Donald (R) and Cory Mills (R) also attended Tuesday’s trial.
“This trial is a joke. This is a farce,” Donald told reporters. “Where’s the crime? There’s no crime. The only crime going on here is that this Democratic judge and the Democratic Party are prosecuting their political opponents in the middle of a presidential election.”
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