NEW YORK (AP) – Prosecutors' hush money suit donald trump As the trial nears its end, defense attorneys will press former attorney Michael Cohen on Thursday about his criminal history and past lies, hoping to convince jurors not to believe the star witness' pivotal testimony. And so.
Cohen was in his third day of testimony as defense teams painted Trump's fixer-turned-foe as a disgraced former employee who would say anything to keep the Republican presidential nominee behind bars. I returned to the hot seat.
What you need to know about Trump's hush money trial:
Mr. Cohen is, at least for now, the last witness for prosecutors trying to prove that President Trump conspired to cover up what he feared were damaging reports. His 2016 presidential campaign will be ruined He then falsified business records to hide it. Cohen's cross-examination is a pivotal moment for the Trump campaign as it seeks to undermine his credibility, and the incident could decide his fate.
Under questioning from defense attorney Todd Blanche, Cohen admitted that he lied under oath when he pleaded guilty in 2018 to federal charges, including tax evasion. lie to parliament About the work he did on President Trump's real estate deals in Russia.
“Was that a lie? Right?” Mr. Blanche lied to Mr. Cohen, telling the late U.S. District Judge William H. Pauley III during a court hearing that he had not been pressured to plead guilty. I asked if it was.
“That's right,” Mr. Cohen said.
For several days on the witness stand, Cohen centered directly on Trump about an alleged plot to suppress negative articles to avoid damage to his bid for the White House. Cohen told jurors that Trump has promised to repay the money he advanced and kept him updated on efforts to silence women who have alleged sexual relationships with him. President Trump denies the women's claims.
President Trump has argued that the charges are an effort to damage his campaign to retake the White House, and that the payments to Cohen were properly classified as legal expenses because he was a lawyer. It is claimed that Defense attorneys have suggested that by suppressing false and vile claims, he was trying to protect his family rather than his campaign.
“I don't think they're going to do this,” he told reporters Thursday before entering the courtroom surrounded by a group of congressional allies, including Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) and Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-Colo.). “The fact that we are filing a lawsuit is a crime.” , and Rep. Bob Good (R-Va.), chairman of the far-right House Freedom Caucus.
The former president has drawn crowds of conservative supporters to the court in recent days, including some seen as potential vice presidential candidates and others eyeing a future role in the administration. Speaker of the House Mike Johnson It showed up on Tuesday.
after gates The photo has been posted A picture of Trump standing behind him in court was posted on social media with the words: “Mr. President, stand back and wait.” This is the first time since President Trump that the Proud Boys, an extremist group whose leaders were convicted of seditious conspiracy after the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol, participated in a 2020 election debate. It's a phrase I've been using. Please stand back and wait. ”
Defense attorneys did not focus on the hush-money scheme or the criminal charges at issue during Cohen's cross-examination. Instead, they bombard Mr. Cohen with questions about his own wrongdoing and his new persona as a fierce critic of President Trump, attacking his credibility and motives.
Blanche confronted Cohen about profane social media posts, podcasts and a book he wrote about the former president, forcing him to admit that he made millions of dollars criticizing Trump. . In one video played in court Thursday, Cohen can be heard using an expletive and saying, “I really hope this guy goes to jail.”
“It won't bring back the years I lost or the damage I did to my family. But revenge is best eaten cold,” Cohen was heard saying. “You better believe I want to dethrone this guy.”
Cohen admitted that he continued to attack Trump during the trial.
In social media posts cited by the defense, Cohen called Trump an “orange-skinned ignoramus,” an alliterative and explicit nickname. Asked if he had used the phrase, Mr. Cohen replied, “That's correct.”
In earlier testimony, Mr. Cohen told jurors how his life and relationship with Mr. Trump changed forever after the FBI searched his office, apartment and hotel room in 2018. Ta. Trump initially showered Cohen with love on social media, predicting that Cohen would “not flip out.” Months later, when Cohen spoke, Trump's tone changed. Pleaded guilty to federal campaign finance charges and involved him in the hush money scheme. Trump has not been charged with any crime related to the federal investigation.
Cohen also described a meeting he had with Trump. Allen Weisselbergformer Trump Organization chief financial officer, what happened to reimbursement of $130,000 in hush money to Mr. Cohen? porn actor stormy daniels Legal services are paid in monthly installments. This is important because prosecutors claim that the payments were incorrectly recorded as legal expenses to hide the true purpose of the payments.
Defense attorneys are scheduled to question Cohen until the end of Thursday. Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg's office has said it will suspend the case once Trump's testimony is complete, although there is a possibility that Trump's defense team will have the opportunity to call rebuttal witnesses if they present their own witnesses. Stated.
The defense is not required to call witnesses, and it is unclear whether the lawyers will call any witnesses. Blanche told Judge Juan M. Marchand on Tuesday that the defense may call one expert witness, but he has not yet decided whether Trump will take the stand.
In any event, the trial will be adjourned on Friday so President Trump can attend the high school graduation of his youngest son, Barron.
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Richer reported from Washington. Associated Press writers Jill Colvin, Jake Offenharts and Lisa Mascaro contributed to this report.
