Michael Cohen trouble, judicial fireworks: 5 takeaways from the Trump trial

Prosecutors on Monday adjourned their case in former President Trump’s New York criminal court.

Michael Cohen, President Trump’s former lawyer-turned-enemy, was the prosecution’s final witness. Cohen’s testimony dominated last week. He endured another tough moment Monday.

The defense is currently shortlisting witnesses. Closing arguments are likely to be held next week.

Trump becomes the first former president to be indicted in a criminal case. He faces 34 felony counts of falsifying his business records. If convicted, he could be sentenced to prison, but it is unusual for a first-time offender to receive a prison sentence.

The charges relate to $130,000 in hush money paid to adult film actress Stormy Daniels in the final days of the 2016 presidential election.

Daniels claims she had a sexual relationship with Trump at a celebrity golf event in Lake Tahoe in 2006, a claim Trump denies. In any case, the $130,000 was meant to stop her from going public with her suspicions.

Cohen paid Daniels. He was then reimbursed and paid additional amounts from Trump’s trust and Trump’s own bank account.

Prosecutors claim the funds were misclassified as legal fees to hide the true purpose of silencing Daniels and thereby increasing Trump’s chances of winning the election.

Trump has denied any wrongdoing, saying the money paid to Cohen was indeed legal fees and that his prosecution was politically motivated.

Here are the main takeaways for Monday:

More difficulties for Michael Cohen

Cohen’s credibility came under severe attack from the defense over the weekend, a process that accelerated on Monday.

The Trump campaign has a lot to work with as it seeks to undermine Cohen. The lawyer was sentenced to prison after pleading guilty to tax evasion, violating campaign finance laws, and lying to Congress.

But on Monday, another rather cheesy detail was released.

In one episode, Cohen appeared to defraud the Trump Organization by claiming to have paid more of his own funds than he actually did for an unrelated matter to Stormy Daniels.

The case involved a company called Red Finch that was hired to tilt online polls about prominent businessmen in Trump’s favor.

Mr. Cohen said Mr. Trump owed Red Finch $50,000 for the work and evaded payment. Mr. Cohen himself paid the company’s owner $20,000 in cash.

Cohen then pretended to have paid the full $50,000 when he claimed and received a refund from the Trump Organization.

“You stole from the Trump Organization, right?” Trump lawyer Todd Branche asked Cohen.

“Yes, sir,” Cohen replied.

Later that day, defense witness Robert Costello cast doubt on Cohen’s central argument that the hush money payments to Daniels were made with Trump’s knowledge and at Trump’s direction. Ta.

Costello testified that Cohen “said multiple times that President Trump knew nothing about these payments.” [Cohen] I did this myself.”

The positive side of Trump’s negative side

Trump is known for his particular dislike of those who directly profit from his name.

Monday’s testimony will give him some more reasons to dislike his former lawyer.

Cohen testified that he made about $4.4 million from his media work, primarily podcasts and books, over the past four years.

Mr. Cohen has taken a vigorously anti-Trump stance in every public appearance, brought up at the beginning of his testimony and in his gleeful comments about the former president’s legal troubles. Some of it was read into the records.

Cohen also revealed that he is trying to sell a television show based on his work, tentatively titled “The Fixer.”

Cohen acknowledged that no network has yet commissioned the show. Maggie Haberman of The New York Times noted that the remarks prompted “laughter from Trump supporters lined up in the back of the room.”

Judge reprimands defense witness

Towards the end of the day, unexpected fireworks erupted when Judge Juan Melchan took exception to Costello’s behavior on the witness stand.

Costello, a veteran New York lawyer, appeared to bristle at objections raised by the prosecution during his testimony.

Sometimes, even after objections were raised, he continued to speak.

But the breaking point for Marchan came when the judge upheld one of the prosecution’s challenges and Costello responded, “Well.”

“Sorry? Sorry?” Machan shot back.

The jury was quickly removed from the courtroom, and the judge admonished Costello for the need to maintain “appropriate courtroom decorum.”

Apparently still unhappy with what he interpreted as Costello’s defiant attitude, Marchan continued: “Clear the courtroom!”

After a short break, Costello’s testimony resumed.

Trump seems unlikely to testify.

Nothing is certain about Trump, but it seems highly unlikely that he will testify in his own defense.

The former president’s lawyers have indicated to the judge that they plan to call at most one other key witness after Costello — the final one, if he testifies, will be an election law expert.

Of course, dramatic last-minute changes could happen, but the risks of putting Trump on the stand would be significant, and he and his lawyers seem reluctant to roll the dice.

Closing argument date

Machan indicated Monday that closing arguments could begin on May 28.

As recently as last week, it looked like such a debate could take place a full week early, on Tuesday.

But Marchan noted that, as in previous years, the Memorial Day weekend was disrupted. The court was always scheduled to be closed this Friday and next Monday due to holidays.

Judges don’t like long weekends to interrupt the flow of cases and want to avoid natural breaks.

In any case, the nearly confirmed date was a reminder that the historic trial is in its final stages.