1. Cohen told jurors about the false invoices and checks.
The day began with prosecutor Susan Hoffinger tediously having Cohen count the 11 false invoices he submitted in 2017 and the checks he subsequently received as a result.
Mr. Hoffinger asked Mr. Cohen whether he had misrepresented each check and invoice as being for legal services rendered during that period. This was key testimony that gets to the heart of the criminal charges in the case, that Trump falsified his business records to hide payments to Stormy Daniels.
Despite being paid $420,000 in 2017, Cohen said he did minimal work for Trump that year, which he estimated was less than 10 hours.
Cohen also recalled an Oval Office meeting at the White House in February 2017. “He asked me if I was OK. He asked me if I needed money. And I said, ‘Okay,'” Cohen said. “He said, ‘Okay, make sure you deal with Allen.’ [Weisselberg]This testimony is important because it helps establish that President Trump was involved in the repayment scheme.
2. Prosecutors tried to block attacks on Cohen’s credibility, but Trump’s lawyers tried to crush them
Mr. Hoffinger spent the final section of his direct examination trying to block attacks he knew were coming from Mr. Trump’s defense team. Mr. Cohen acknowledged that he received no special legal treatment for his own testimony. She also tried to soften attacks that he was trying to profit from the case by pointing out that he lost his license to practice law after a felony conviction. His podcast, book, and TikTok livestream all feature Trump heavily, but she has established that this is his primary means of living.
During cross-examination, President Trump’s lawyer Todd Blanche first got Cohen to admit that the district attorney’s office had to repeatedly instruct its lawyers to talk about the case. It was a bit of an odd start, as objections from the prosecution continued right from the start, and Mr. Blanche’s cross-examination was unable to build any rhythm or momentum.
He also indicated that Cohen had indicated he wanted to work with prosecutors to get a more lenient sentence for him, but he and prosecutors said that was unsuccessful.
Blanche also got Cohen to admit that he mentions Trump in nearly every episode of his podcast, including a mug that says “Send to the mansion, not the White House” and , emphasized to jurors that he was selling T-shirts with a picture of Trump in an orange jumpsuit. . Cohen, who admitted he wanted Trump to be convicted, recently wore the shirt on TikTok and encouraged his supporters to buy it.
Blanche also got Cohen to acknowledge that in 2016 he called Trump “kind, humble, honest and genuine.”
“At the time, I was knee-deep in the cult of Donald Trump,” Cohen said.
3. Cohen explained why he supported Donald Trump
Mr. Cohen has long been loyal to Mr. Trump, but in the summer of 2018 he decided to stop lying for his former boss. That spring, the FBI raided his home and office.
“At the time, we didn’t even know what the Southern District of New York was looking at. The conversations I had with my family, we’re in this unique situation that my family has never experienced, so what do we do? My wife, my daughter, my son said to me, “Why do you hold on to that loyalty?” What are you doing? We are supposed to be your first loyalists,” he said.
“It’s time to listen to them. I will no longer lie for President Trump,” he said. Cohen will now plead guilty to several federal charges, including campaign finance crimes that he claims he committed at President Trump’s direction to influence the 2016 election.
Four. Cohen described an intense campaign to keep him “boxed in.”
After the FBI raided his home office in April 2018, Cohen said he received a call from Trump after leaving a message for him. “He told me, ‘Don’t worry, I’m the president of the United States.’ There’s nothing here. Everything’s going to be okay. Stay tough. It’s going to be okay.'” That’s when the two talked. Cohen said it was the last time he had done so.
After that, he said he felt a lot of pressure to retain a lawyer named Robert Costello. Costello continued to emphasize how close he is to Rudy Giuliani. He said it was clear that Mr. Cohen was trying to establish a back channel to Mr. Trump through Mr. Giuliani.
Although Cohen did not hire Costello, Costello continued to convey a message that Cohen interpreted to be loyal. “I spoke to Rudy. He’s very, very positive. You are loved. Give me a call and I’ll give you the details… Mr. Rudy said we have to maintain this communication channel. He “Sleep well tonight, you have friends in high places,” Costello said in an email to Cohen, saying that was important.
Cohen said the whole thing was very covert and spy-like.
At the same time, Trump tweeted support for Cohen, which Cohen took as a signal to remain loyal.
“There were things about him that were really sketchy and wrong,” Cohen said of Costello. Cohen said he came in on a retainer contract, but he told Costello he wasn’t going to sign right away.
“I never intended to reveal anything to anyone I didn’t know or would be difficult to reach,” Cohen said. “When he started talking about his incredibly close relationship with Rudy, I also wondered if everything I said to him would be told to Rudy Giuliani and passed on to Rudy Giuliani. I was worried, understandably because Rudy Giuliani was so close to me at the time, Mr. Trump, President Trump, anything I said would come back to him.”
