Michael Cohen Admits He Stole $30,000 From Trump: Will the Jury Still Believe His Account of Paying Off a Porn Star on Trump’s Orders?

Tuesday may be the last day of testimony in President Trump’s hush-money trial. In their closing arguments, expected to take place next week, attorneys for both sides will have to work magic to repair the damage brought on by their own witnesses. And Mr. Trump could throw more wood into the fire, if he decides to testify. On Monday, the most dramatic day yet in the ongoing saga of the hush-money trial, the prosecution’s key witness, Michael Cohen, admitted under cross-examination to stealing tens of thousands of dollars from Mr. Trump. If that wasn’t bad enough, an hour or so later, a key witness for the defense, Robert Costello, almost got himself thrown off the witness stand for “staring down” the presiding judge, Juan Merchan. Mr. Trump’s growing court entourage on Monday – he describes them as surrogates – featured over a dozen “red tie angels,” as The Daily Mail described the politicians. They were dressed in matching blue suits and red ties and had flown in to observe the courtroom spectacle and show their fealty to Mr. Trump. Among them were Rep. Andrew Clyde of Georgia, South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson, Rep. Eric Burlison of Missouri and Rep. Keith Self of Texas. New York’s former police commissioner, Bernard Kerik, was also there to show his support for Mr. Trump, who had granted him a presidential pardon on a tax fraud conviction in 2020. Not following the dress code was Mr. Trump’s close ally, Kash Patel, who wore a hinged arm brace, as well as the legal scholars Alan Dershowitz and Jonathan Turley, and last but not least, the actor Chuck Zito, a former president of the New York’s chapter of the Hells Angels who served six years in prison on a drug charge. Mr. Zito, who appeared in “Carlito’s Way,” “The Rock” and “True Lies” among many other films, wore a pinstripe suit and a diamond studded ring on his finger. President Trump and his attorneys Todd Blanche (L) and Emil Bove (R) appear in court during his trial for allegedly covering up hush money payments at Manhattan Criminal Court on May 20, 2024 in New York City. Steven Hirsch-Pool/Getty ImagesDefense attorney Todd Blanche resumed his cross-examination of the star witness, Cohen, Mr. Trump’s former personal lawyer and current archenemy. Cohen’s testimony is at the heart of the case the Manhattan district attorney, Alvin Bragg, has brought against Mr. Trump. Cohen claims that Mr. Trump directed him to make a $130,000 hush-money payment to the adult film star, Stormy Daniels, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford, on the eve of the 2016 presidential election to keep her from publicizing a one-time sexual encounter she claims to have had with Mr. Trump at a celebrity golf tournament at Lake Tahoe in 2006. The prosecution alleges that Mr. Trump reimbursed Cohen the following year but disguised the payment as legal expenses. Mr. Trump denies ever having had sex with Ms. Clifford, denies instructing Cohen to pay her, and denies paying Cohen for anything other than legal work. As evidence, the prosecution had shown the jury phone records which proved Cohen called Mr. Trump’s longtime bodyguard, Keith Schiller, who was usually with Mr. Trump and would pass the phone to him, around the same time as he wired the $130,000 to Ms. Clifford’s attorney. Cohen testified that he called Mr. Schiller’s phone to discuss the payment with Mr. Trump. But last week, the defense established that Cohen and Mr. Schiller had other matters to discuss as well, such as a 14-year old prank caller, who kept bothering Cohen. Text messages unveiled by the defense showed Mr. Cohen threatening to turn the Secret Service on the 14-year old, who panicked.On Monday, one of the defense attorney’s Todd Blanche, picked up this line of argument, adding more issues that could have given Cohen reasons to contact his former boss, such as an “extortion” attempt involving Mr. Trump’s younger daughter, Tiffany Trump, who was 23 at the time. Michael Cohen leaves his apartment at New York, Monday, May 20, 2024. AP Photo/Seth Wenig“You recall on October 25th, you recall her communicating with you concerns about somebody trying to blackmail her?” Mr. Blanche asked and Cohen agreed, saying he communicated with the former publisher of the National Enquirer, David Pecker, about handling Tiffany’s blackmail, which involved photographs. “So was fixing Tiffany Trump’s situation important to you?” Mr. Blanche pressed the witness. “It was important, I take care of things but it was not personally important to me,” Cohen replied. “Wouldn’t that be something you updated her father about when you spoke the next morning?” Mr. Blanche insisted.President Trump, far left, watches as defense attorney Emil Bove questions Robert Costello, right, with Judge Juan Merchan presiding in Manhattan criminal court, Monday, May 20, 2024, at New York. Elizabeth Williams via AP“No sir,” Cohen said. But Mr. Blanche brought up yet another event, which took place the same day that Cohen wired the hush-money payment: the opening ceremony for Mr. Trump’s new hotel in Washington D.C. on October 26, which was marked by a ribbon cutting and Mr. Trump and his four adult children sitting down with George Stephanopoulos for an interview on “Good Morning America.” During this interview, Tiffany said she was interested in joining the family business, although her half-sister, Ivanka, did most of the talking. Cohen said he didn’t remember the Stephanopoulos interview.“My recollection is that I was speaking to him about Stormy Daniels because that’s what he tasked me to take care of,” Cohen testified about his interactions with Mr. Trump that day, 12 days before the election.Actor Chuck Zito returns from a break during President Trump’s trial for allegedly covering up hush money payments at Manhattan Criminal Court on May 20, 2024 at New York City. Mr. Zito is a former president of the New York chapter of the Hells Angels. Steven Hirsch-Pool/Getty ImagesAttempting to further debunk the prosecution’s case, Mr. Blanche attacked Cohen’s allegation that Mr. Trump disguised the reimbursement to Cohen as a legal expense. As Mr. Trump’s personal attorney, a role Cohen had testified he assumed after Mr. Trump became president, the defense argued, Cohen took care of various issues, for which he was paid. One curious example that Mr. Blanche gave was a contract Cohen reviewed between Mr. Trump’s third wife, Melania, and Madame Tussauds, which was preparing a waxwork figure of the then-First Lady. Cohen had previously confirmed that he communicated and met with Mrs. Trump on multiple occasions, including about her waxwork.The first Madame Tussauds Melania Trump figure at the launch of the ‘Give Melania A Voice’ Experience at Madame Tussauds on April 25, 2018 at New York City. Cindy Ord/Getty Images for Madame TussaudsBut Mr. Blanch’s biggest revelation about the alleged reimbursement was that Cohen had used the opportunity to pocket some money. Handwritten notes on the wire statement, shown to the jury last week, showed the breakdown of the monthly payments Cohen received in the year 2017, which would comprise his reimbursement for the hush-money payment, among other monies. One of the items listed was a $50,000 payment which, Cohen said, he requested after he hired and paid for IT services from a company called Red Finch to rig a CNBC poll ranking the most influential businessmen in the last 50 years. Mr. Trump had, according to Cohen, asked him to adjust the poll so that he would be number one on that list. But Cohen testified that he only paid the IT company $20,000. He detailed how he went to his bank and took out cash over the course of several days, and then stuffed the bills into a brown paper bag and handed it to a Red Finch executive, who had come to pick up his payment at Cohen’s office at Trump Tower. “You stole from the Trump Organization, correct?” Mr. Blanche asked.“Yes, sir,” Cohen replied without shame. “Did you ever have to plead guilty to larceny?” Mr. Blanche pressed, raising his voice in utter shock. Stormy Daniels leaves Manhattan Criminal Court on May 09, 2024 at New York City. Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images“No sir,” Cohen said calmly.At the defense table, Mr. Trump could be seen shaking his head. “Did you ever pay back the Trump Organization for the money you stole from them?” Mr. Blanche asked again. “No, sir,” Cohen said.President Trump attends his trial at Manhattan Criminal Court on May 20, 2024 at New York City. Mark Peterson-Pool/Getty ImagesMr. Blanche further questioned Cohen about lucrative work assignments he received in 2017 thanks to Mr. Trump’s contacts and connections. Cohen admitted that he was paid $600,000 for consulting work he did for AT&T in 2017, $100,000 per month from Novartis, another $100,000 per month from an aerospace company, and $150,000 a month from a bank. He also earned $50,000 from a company that he helped restart a nuclear power plant formerly run by the Tennessee Valley Authority.“Going after President Trump, that’s your name recognition?” Mr. Blanche asked, after Cohen had further admitted that he is planning to run for Congress. “My name recognition is because of the journey I’ve been on,” Cohen told the jury. “It is affiliated to Mr. Trump — yes — not because of Mr. Trump.”“Your journey includes near-daily attacks on President Trump?” Mr. Blanche asked. Cohen agreed. Judge Juan Merchan in his chambers at New York, March 14, 2024. AP Photo/Seth WenigConcluding his cross-examination, Mr. Blanche asked Cohen, “Is it true that you will lie out of loyalty?” After a long pause, Cohen said, “Yes, sir.” Mr. Blanche then asked if Cohen remained firm in his testimony that he had phone conversations with Mr. Trump about the hush-money payment to Ms. Clifford. “No doubt in my mind,” Cohen said and repeated himself. “No doubt in my mind.” Kash Patel speaks to reporters in a park across the street from President Trump’s criminal trial at New York, Monday, May 20, 2024. AP Photo/Seth WenigThen prosecutor Susan Hoffinger stepped up to the lectern to question her witness in what is called a redirect examination. Mr. Hoffinger showed the jury a photograph of Mr. Trump and his bodyguard, Mr. Schiller, together at a rally on the day Cohen said he spoke to Mr. Trump about the alleged hush-money payment. But a photograph does not prove the content of the phone conversation, it merely shows that Mr. Trump was indeed with Mr. Schiller on the day Cohen called him. Ms. Hoffinger also gave Cohen a chance to provide some background on the stealing incident. Cohen first explained in detail why he had sought out the IT company. “Red Finch,” Cohen testified, “is a technology company that I had asked to assist in a CNBC poll, and the poll was regarding the most famous businessmen in, like, the last century… Mr. Trump’s name was on that list and at the beginning of this poll he was polling toward the very bottom. It upset him, so he had me come to his office and he provided me with a sheet of paper.”Former NYC police commissioner Bernie Kerik, attorney Alan Dershowitz, Eric Trump, Kash Patel and other supporters listen as President Trump speaks to the media during his trial for allegedly covering up hush money payments at Manhattan Criminal Court on May 20, 2024 at New York City. Mark Peterson-Pool/Getty Images“I reached out to Red Finch,” Cohen continued, saying he had a friend at the company “who told me he was able to create an algorithm to ensure that Mr. Trump would rise and rise significantly in this poll. We talked about what number Mr. Trump wanted to finish,” Cohen said.Mr. Trump appeared to come in at No. 9 but he refused to pay Red Finch because CNBC still wasn’t publicly including him in its top ten finishers, Cohen said. That’s why Cohen ended up paying them, as he told the jury earlier, in cash stuffed into a brown paper bag. “You felt some pressure to make some payment to your friend?” Ms. Hoffinger asked. “Yes,” Cohen replied and explained he had told Mr. Trump about the $50,000 payment “for a long time.” When Mr. Trump was ready to reimburse him, Cohen failed to mention he had only paid the Red Finch executive $20,000, because he was upset that his yearly bonus had been reduced. “I was angered because of the reduction in the bonus, and so I just felt it was almost like self help.”President Trump with attorney Todd Blanche speaks to the media during his trial for allegedly covering up hush money payments at Manhattan Criminal Court on May 20, 2024 at New York City. Mark Peterson-Pool/Getty Images“I wasn’t going to let him have the benefit this way as well,” Cohen said, admitting that it was wrong.The fact that Cohen stole money remained undisputed. After Cohen was excused, the prosecution rested its case. That’s when the defense called the attorney Robert Costello, whom Cohen had consulted in 2018 after the FBI searched his apartment, his office, and the hotel room, where he was temporarily staying due to a flood in his apartment. At the time, Mr. Cohen’s life was collapsing around him as he found himself in the crosshairs of Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s Russia investigation, which had made a criminal referral to the FBI about the Stormy Daniels affair and other violations, such as tax evasion. Mr. Costello served as a conduit between Cohen and the White House, which was also dealing with Mr. Mueller. The relationship between the two men soon soured when Cohen, feeling abandoned by Mr. Trump, flipped on his former boss and hired a different lawyer.Judge Juan Merchan, left, castigates witness Robert Costello about his “decorum” in the courtroom in Manhattan criminal court, Monday, May 20, 2024, in New York. Elizabeth Williams via AP)Since then, Mr. Costello has been a prominent antagonist of Cohen, calling him an inveterate liar. Last week, he testified on Capitol Hill before the House Select Subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government, during which he sought to undermine Cohen’s account of the hush-money payment and reimbursement. On Monday, he set out to do the same thing at New York, on the witness stand. At first Mr. Costello further tarnished Cohen’s image, describing him as a “maniac,” pacing around his hotel room, telling Mr. Costello he had gone up to the roof the night before and had been ready to throw himself off the building. Cohen said, “My life is shattered, my family’s life is shattered,” Mr. Costello testified.“I really want you to explain what my options are. What’s my escape route?” Mr. Costello said Cohen told him. President Trump appears in court during his trial for allegedly covering up hush money payments at Manhattan Criminal Court on May 20, 2024 at New York City. Sarah Yenesel-Pool/Getty ImagesMr. Costello then explained that “his entire legal problem… would be resolved by the end of the week if he had truthful information about Donald Trump and cooperated with the Southern District of New York.”Mr. Costello insisted that Cohen said more than once, “I swear to God, Bob, I don’t have anything on Donald Trump.”“Did the topic of Stormy Daniels come up?” another defense attorney, Emil Bove, asked Mr. Costello.Mr. Costello said it did, with Cohen telling him, “I don’t understand why they’re trying to put me in jail for some f—— NDAs.”Attorney Bob Costello talks to reporters after testifying before a grand jury investigating Donald Trump at New York, March 20, 2023. AP/Seth WenigBut as Mr. Bove kept on questioning Mr. Costello, the prosecution kept on interrupting with objections, and Mr. Costello grew impatient and began rolling his eyes at the judge and making annoyed comments, like “Jeez” as the judge kept sustaining the objections. When Mr. Costello, an experienced former federal prosecutor, asked to strike his own testimony from the record, something out of bounds for a witness, the judge had had enough. He sent the jury and the reporters out of the courtroom, after which he told Mr. Costello, according to the court transcript, “I’m putting you on notice that your conduct is contemptuous … If you try to stare me down one more time, I will remove you from the stand.”“The fact that I had to clear the courtroom and that the court officers, including the captain, had great difficulty clearing the courtroom, and that there were arguments back and forth between the press and including counsel for the press, goes to why I had to clear the courtroom in the first place,” Judge Merchan told Mr. Costello. “And that is, sir, your conduct is contemptuous right now.”Mr. Costello’s testimony will resume on Tuesday. He could be the last witness for the defense. Unless Mr. Trump decides to testify. Members of the media go back to the courtroom after briefing being dismissed during Former President Trump’s trial for allegedly covering up hush money payments at Manhattan Criminal Court on May 20, 2024 at New York City. Sarah Yenesel-Pool/Getty ImagesThe last time Mr. Trump publicly commented on whether or not he would testify was on May 7, when he told Spectrum News’ Anthony DaBruzzi that he “would like to.” On Monday, one of his attorneys, Alina Habba, told Fox News outside the Manhattan criminal courthouse that, “We know Trump wants to testify. He’s willing, he is able, he’s got nothing to hide it all. He’s absolutely ready to tell the truth.” But Ms. Habba added that Mr. Trump “has to listen to his attorneys.”These attorneys are believed to be strongly advising Mr. Trump not to testify. His decision to testify in January in the writer E. Jean Carroll’s defamation suit may have contributed to that jury awarding her $83.3 million in damages.At the every end of this dramatic day, after the witness had been excused, Mr. Blanche, in a fiery speech, asked the judge to dismiss the case. President Trump with attorney Todd Blanche return from a break during his trial for allegedly covering up hush money payments at Manhattan Criminal Court on May 20, 2024 at New York City. Steven Hirsch-Pool/Getty Images“There is no way that the court should let this case go to the jury with Cohen’s testimony,” Mr. Blanche told the judge, after he went through the entire case, charge by charge, arguing that each allegation was baseless, almost as if he was making his closing arguments. Late Monday night, Mr. Trump took to his social media platform, Truth Social, and urged Judge Merchan to dismiss the case.“Judge Juan Merchan who has thus far been the exact Conflicted Democrat Operative his Comrades expected has a chance to take a real step toward rehabilitating both his Reputation and the Justice System of New York by dismissing the Biden Election Interference Witch Hunt brought by Soros funded D.A. Alvin Bragg,” he wrote.The Judge said he would rule on the motion for dismissal on Tuesday.

Michael Cohen Admits He Stole $30,000 From Trump: Will the Jury Still Believe His Account of Paying Off a Porn Star on Trump’s Orders?

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