It was a heck of a day in New York as Trump’s attorneys continued their cross-examination of Michael Cohen.
Former President Trump’s criminal trial resumed Monday with Michael Cohen taking the stand for the third day of cross-examination by defense attorneys. Cohen, who was Trump’s lawyer and called himself the former president’s “fixer,” will testify again at 9:30 a.m. in Lower Manhattan.
Cohen is Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s key witness. He first testified last week, answering questions from New York prosecutors who are trying to build a case against Trump. The prosecutors aimed to prove that Trump falsified business records 34 times to hide a $130,000 payment to Stormy Daniels, an adult film actress, before the 2016 election. They allege that the payment was meant to silence Daniels about an alleged affair with Trump in 2006.
Trump has denied all charges and maintains his innocence. “I didn’t violate any law,” Trump said after court on Thursday. “This is a scam.”
Trump’s defense attorney, Todd Blanche, began cross-examining Cohen on May 21, which continued through Thursday. The court did not meet on Friday to allow Trump to attend his youngest son Barron’s high school graduation in Palm Beach, Florida.
Cohen has testified that he personally made the $130,000 payment to Daniels using a home equity line of credit to keep the payment hidden from his wife. He stated that Trump told him to “handle it” to prevent a negative story from coming out before the election.
However, during cross examination two big bombshells were dropped.
First, Cohen revealed that he spent dozens of hours with prosecutors preparing and practicing his testimony. He said he met with the Manhattan DA’s team as many as 20 times before testifying. Each meeting lasted over one to two hours, during which prosecutors asked him many of the same questions they posed in court.
Cohen is the star witness for the prosecutors and was the final witness they called to the stand. Trump faces 34 counts of falsifying business records in connection to the alleged hush money payments to Stormy Daniels. Daniels also testified earlier in the trial.
Then, in a surprising admission, Cohen confessed to stealing thousands of dollars from the Trump Organization. Under cross-examination by Trump’s attorney, Todd Blanche, Cohen admitted to taking $20,000 from a bank and placing it in a small brown paper bag. He claimed he was supposed to give $50,000 to the tech company Red Finch but never handed over the full amount because the company did not press him for it. Despite not paying the full amount, Cohen was reimbursed by the Trump Organization as if he had.
BREAKING: Crime Finally Found in Trump Trial after Michael Cohen admits to committing one. https://t.co/wS04QdqkjZ
— ALX (@alx) May 20, 2024
You could hear the air come out of CNN’s sails.
CNN on Cohen Admitting to stealing from Trump while working for him: “This is significant… they appear to have caught Cohen in another lie”
— ALX (@alx) May 20, 2024
So what are the odds Bragg or law enforcement will charge Cohen after he admitted that he stole thousands of dollars.
