Disbarred lawyer Michael Cohen completed his testimony in a New York criminal court, as the case against his boss, former US President Donald Trump, nears its likely end.
Monday marked Cohen's fourth and final day on the witness stand. His words were the last testimony of a witness that the prosecution called before ending the case.
Now, the trial turns to the defense as it seeks to refute allegations that Trump falsified business records to conceal a payment to a former adult film actress to conceal her silence, thereby bolstering his chances in the 2016 presidential election. .
In October 2016, Cohen transferred $130,000 to adult film actress Stormy Daniels to buy her silence about an affair she allegedly had with then-candidate Trump.
Cohen has maintained that he made the payment at Trump's direction, and that Trump then repaid the payment through surreptitious means, presenting it as “legal expenses.”
But on Cohen's last day on the stand, the defense attempted to disprove that narrative, attacking Cohen's credibility by calling attention to cases in which he lied and stole.
The defense has consistently maintained that Trump had nothing to do with the payment. Trump himself has denied any wrongdoing and refuted Daniels' accusation of having an affair.
Day 19 of the hush money trial in New York also marked the beginning of a short week. Not only is the defense witness list expected to be relatively short, but the court is scheduled to recess early this week to accommodate the U.S. Memorial Day holiday.
Trump faces 34 felony counts of falsifying business records in the case. Here are the takeaways from Cohen's final day of testimony.
Cohen admits stealing from Trump Organization
Before ending its cross-examination of Cohen on Monday, the defense dealt a blow to his credibility, forcing him to admit that he had stolen $30,000 from Trump's eponymous company.
Defense attorney Todd Blanche asked Cohen directly: “You stole from the Trump Organization, right?”
Cohen offered his usual response: “Yes, sir.”
The theft came after Cohen hired technology company Red Finch to help boost Trump's numbers in a CNBC online survey, which ranks the best entrepreneurs of the last half-century.
Cohen testified that Trump was “upset” about being placed at the bottom of the poll. By hiring Red Finch, Cohen explained that he and Trump could manipulate the poll: The tech company would cast fake votes on Trump's behalf using different IP addresses.
Red Finch was originally scheduled to be paid $50,000 for his services, Cohen said.
But he told jurors that he instead paid Red Finch $20,000 to “appease” his owner and then pocketed the rest after Trump decided to reduce his vacation bonus.
“I got angry about the bonus reduction, so I felt like it was self-help,” Cohen said.
Blanche pressed the issue during her interrogation: “Have you returned the money you stole from them to the Trump Organization?”
“No, sir,” Cohen said.
Trump's entourage in the courtroom took the admission as a major blow to his defense.
“This just got interesting: Michael Cohen now admits to stealing money from our company,” Trump's second son Eric posted on social media.
Kash Patel, a Trump administration official, told reporters outside the courtroom that “we finally have a crime.”
“We also have a victim,” he added. “That victim is Donald J. Trump.”
The defense has long maintained that Trump himself is not guilty of falsifying business records, but that figures like Cohen and former Trump Organization chief financial officer Allen Weisselberg were responsible for any wrongdoing.
As the defense team concluded its cross-examination of Cohen, it sought to paint a portrait of Cohen's alleged greed, highlighting the ways he benefited from his association with Trump.
Cohen testified that after Trump was elected president in 2016, he made about $4 million from consulting contracts, including with AT&T, a telecommunications company that was seeking a merger at the time.
However, in 2018, Cohen pleaded guilty to campaign finance violations and other federal crimes, including lying to Congress. As a result, he was sentenced to prison.
But when he was moved to house arrest in 2020, he took on an increasingly public role as a Trump critic. Cohen testified that, as of 2020, he earned approximately $4.4 million from tell-all books and podcast appearances.
The defense also asked Cohen about a reality show called The Fixer that he had been shopping for networks, although he said no studio had picked it up yet.
Cohen cross-examination ends, prosecution rests
In the final minutes of Cohen's cross-examination, the defense tried to convince the jury that there were gaps in the former lawyer's testimony.
While Cohen has maintained that the hush payments were falsely recorded as “legal expenses,” the defense has argued that the label is accurate, as Cohen was, in fact, Trump's personal attorney.
The defense also questioned whether Cohen could accurately remember his conversations with Trump from October 2016, the month the hush payment was made.
“Despite everything you've said over the years, do you specifically remember having conversations with then-candidate Donald J. Trump about the Stormy Daniels affair?” -Asked Blanche, the defense lawyer.
Cohen responded with his usual “yes, sir.”
“Don't you have any doubts?” Blanca asked again. “Without a doubt,” Cohen responded.
Cross-examination ended shortly afterward and the prosecution briefly adjourned to question Cohen one last time.
Prosecutor Susan Hoffinger took the opportunity to point out that Trump's actions were on trial, not Cohen's.
“I know you might feel like you're being judged here after cross-examination, but are you really being judged here?” —He asked Cohen.
“No, ma’am,” he replied.
Prosecutors also asked Cohen to reflect on what it cost him to speak out against Trump.
“My entire life has been turned upside down as a direct result,” Cohen responded, citing a decline in his family's well-being as well as his career prospects.
“I lost my law license, my businesses, my financial security, which fortunately I was able to obtain early enough.”
With that, the prosecution concluded its case.
Defense calls its first witnesses, including fighter Costello
With the prosecution's case over, it was time for the defense to take its turn calling witnesses.
The first was a paralegal named Daniel Sitko, who works for Blanche, the defense attorney.
Sitko presented a graphic that provides an overview of phone calls between Cohen and Robert Costello, a lawyer who previously offered to relay messages between Cohen and Trump.
The defense only questioned Sitko long enough to establish that Cohen's communications with Costello were frequent, particularly in 2018, when he faced legal problems.
Then the defense's second witness took the stand: Costello himself.
The decision to call Costello was not without controversy. The prosecution objected to his inclusion: Cohen admitted to lying to Costello, and for his part, Costello has taken a prominent public role in questioning Cohen's credibility.
Costello was also a late addition to the list of possible defense witnesses, and Judge Juan Merchán was forced to quickly decide how much Costello testimony he would allow.
Merchan said Costello could “offer some rebuttal” to Cohen's testimony, but the judge added that he would not allow the situation to become a “trial within a trial.”
But immediately, Costello's appearance on the witness stand was tense: The lawyer audibly reacted when the prosecution raised objections to his testimony, saying “God” and calling the situation “ridiculous.”
It was enough to earn a stern reprimand from Judge Merchan, who briefly cleared the courtroom to address Costello directly.
“Mr. Costello, I want to talk about proper decorum in my courtroom. When there is a witness on the stand, if you don't like my decision, you don't say 'God,'” Merchan said. “You don't look at me sideways and you don't roll your eyes.”
Costello was eventually allowed to resume his testimony, which focused on allegations that Cohen lied about Trump's knowledge of the hush payments.
“Michael Cohen said on numerous occasions that President Trump knew nothing about those payments, that he did it on his own, and he repeated it on numerous occasions,” Costello said.
Trump's court entourage includes Hells Angels
The day ended with Costello's fiery appearance on the witness stand and the prospect of more questioning by prosecutors on Tuesday.
While much of the court's attention was focused on the trial's final witnesses, members of Trump's entourage also drew media attention.
Sitting in Trump's inner circle was Chuck Zito, former president of the New York chapter of the Hells Angels motorcycle club.
Now an actor, Zito faced his own criminal charges and served a prison sentence from 1985 to 1991.
Also in the audience were members of Congress such as Representative Andrew Clyde of Georgia.
“What needs to happen is that this particular court-type system needs to be defunded,” Clyde said, calling for federal funding to be cut for Manhattan courts.
Trump himself spoke to reporters outside the courtroom, revisiting familiar themes that the prosecution was politically motivated and complaining about the “icy” atmosphere.
“They have no case. They have no crime,” Trump said, adding that the judge was “corrupt” and “interfering with an election.”
Trump is expected to face President Joe Biden, a Democrat, in November's presidential race.
