new york – Prosecutors finally presented documents Monday that are central to Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s case against former President Donald Trump, but they have yet to establish a direct link to prove Trump’s guilt.
Until Monday, prosecutors were focused on proving other parts of the case. The story behind the $130,000 paid to porn star Stormy Daniels to keep her quiet about allegations of a sexual relationship and a broader “conspiracy” to influence the 2016 election. Monday’s witnesses, former Trump Organization administrator Jeffrey McConney and Trump Organization treasurer Deborah Tarasoff, were very different from previous witnesses such as David Pecker and Keith Davidson. He gave testimony and focused almost exclusively on accounting issues, offering no sordid celebrity stories. .
Through testimony, prosecutors revealed invoices, book entries and checks in a 34-count indictment that Trump allegedly forged to repay payments to Daniels from his former lawyer, Michael Cohen. introduced.
Mr. Bragg could only charge the core charge of falsifying business records as a felony, which was past the statute of limitations, and argue that it was done to cover up or commit another crime. That is why much of the prosecution’s case focuses on: He emphasized Trump’s involvement in the alleged “conspiracy.”
In cross-examination by McConney and Tarasoff, Trump’s defense sought to cast doubt on the president’s personal responsibility by questioning his direct involvement in repaying Cohen. (Related: Judge finds President Trump violates gag order for 10th time)
The crux of the matter hinges on former Trump Organization chief financial officer Allen Weisselberg’s instructions on how Mr. McConney should repay Mr. Cohen, which jurors ruled was based on Mr. Cohen’s bank transactions. A handwritten note on a copy of the statement was deemed to have resolved the issue. The memo includes $180,000 in reimbursements for payments to Daniel and payments to tech companies (which Weisselberg doubled to cover taxes) and a $60,000 bonus, for a total of $420,000. Become.
Mr McConey explained how the payment was split into $35,000 installments over 12 months and classified as “legal costs” for pursuing a retainer agreement, but he saw it He said that there was no such thing.
The defense sought to prove that President Trump’s involvement in the scheme was not clear.
Under cross-examination, Mr. McConney acknowledged that he had “very few” conversations with Mr. Trump during his time with the organization, and none specifically about these payments.
Defense attorney Emile Bove said business practices were “fluid and chaotic” when Trump took office in early 2017. He noted that Mr. McConney did not know many details surrounding the payments, including whether Mr. Cohen was doing legal work.
Defense attorney Todd Blanche asked Tarasoff from a similar angle in his cross-examination, asking whether President Trump was right in not directly giving her permission to cut checks.
“That’s right,” she said.
In the normal process, invoices are approved by Weisselberg. Mr. Maconie will instruct Mr. Tarasoff to pay that amount. She then cut out her check and had it sent for her signature.
During a brief cross-examination, defense attorney Todd Blanche emphasized that he had no interaction with Trump.
Blanche: You didn’t get permission to write the check from Donald Trump himself?
Tarasov: Correct.
— Katelyn Richardson (@katesrichardson) May 6, 2024
Mr. Trump signed many of the checks made to Mr. Cohen. Two witnesses Monday, Mr. McConney and Mr. Tarasoff, testified that even if he becomes president, only Mr. Trump can sign checks for his personal account.
Tarasoff testified that he would send the check to the White House and return it with his signature.
Before ending the day, prosecutor Joshua Steinglass estimated that the prosecution had two weeks left, maybe even more. “I thought it was over today,” Trump said in the hallway after the proceedings.
“When the judge asked them, the judge is very happy for another couple of weeks because they are all trying to keep me out of the campaign,” he said, according to the pool report. Ta. “It’s all about election reasoning, how do we stop this. This is shameful.”
Before witness testimony began on Monday, Marchan ruled and fined Trump that he had violated the gag order for the 10th time for comments he made about jurors. Mr Machan said at his next court date “we will have to consider a prison term”.
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