Live Thread: Trump's hush money trial begins in NYC

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This is a stupid question, but how is ANY of this, is ANY of this rehashing old news, connected to a mislabeled book-keeping entry?

[corbe]

   Since we're asking Stupid Questions.  If the Stormy/Karen affairs had come out after the Nomination/Convention and before the Election 'Would Ryan/McConnell/Priebus paid a Visit to NYC/Trump Tower to address the Crisis in the GOP'?

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This testimony is Devastating.  Cohen shows real gravitas he has this jury enthralled.

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a few seconds ago
NY Rep. Malliotakis, Ohio Sen. Vance back in court to support Trump

New York Rep. Nicole Malliotakis and Ohio Sen. JD Vance were spotted walking into the courtroom shortly after Trump returned from the lunch break at about 1:54 p.m.

The two pols and other Republicans have been in court to support the presumptive GOP presidential nominee and held a press conference earlier bashing the prosecution's star witness, Michael Cohen.

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a few seconds ago
Cohen has resumed his testimony

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Michael Cohen walks jurors through how he set-up Daniels payment
Following the lunch break, prosecutors are having Cohen walk jurors through how he slow-walked the Stormy Daniels deal but ultimately set up a bank account and a shell company to make the $130,000 payment.

The jurors have already seen many of exhibits that prosecutors are pulling up, which include emails and texts Cohen sent or received.

— Zach Schonfeld

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Jury sees Melania Trump’s text to Cohen
The jury saw a text from Melania Trump, the former president’s wife, to Cohen on the morning of Oct. 18, 2016.

“Good morning Michael, can you pls call DT on his cell. Thanks,” Melania Trump wrote.

“Of course,” Cohen responded moments later.

Cohen said he left a voicemail for Trump the prior night indicating that Stormy Daniels was looking to pull out of the hush money deal, because she hadn’t received her $130,000 payment yet.

Cohen testified that he told Trump he no longer believed they could stall things past the election.

— Zach Schonfeld

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Cohen says he used home equity line of credit to avoid wife’s suspicions


Cohen used his home equity line of credit (HELOC) to fund the $130,000 payment to Daniels.

On the stand, Cohen said he couldn’t pull the money directly from his bank account because he owned it jointly with his wife, who would raise suspicions, but Cohen stressed that he couldn’t tell her about the deal.

“My wife was the CEO of the household,” Cohen said.

— Zach Schonfeld

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3 minutes ago
Cohen asked David Pecker to cover Daniels' hush money payment, but was denied

Cohen testified that, fearful that Daniels would sell her story to the Daily Mail, he asked David Pecker to pay the $130,000 to Daniels to keep the porn star's story quiet.

"I figured, why not ask?" Cohen testified, drawing some chuckles in the room.

But Pecker, who had already paid Karen McDougal $150,000, blanched at paying Daniels as well.

"Not a chance," Pecker told Cohen, Cohen recalled.

11 minutes ago
Weisselberg wanted to generate $130K through golf memberships, bar mitzvah at Trump properties: Cohen
By Kyle Schnitzer

Michael Cohen testified that Allen Weisselberg, the former chief financial officer of the Trump Organization, talked about possibly generating $130,000 through golf memberships or holding a wedding at one of Trump’s facilities.

The conversation happened when Cohen was scrambling to find a way to fund the LLC account to pay off Daniels, when Weiselberg suggested that he should see if someone wanted to buy a membership at one of Trump’s golf clubs.

Other options included finding someone to host a wedding or bar mitzvah, Cohen said.

He testified that it “wasn’t a possibility because each of those entities have a Trump name” attached to it and he wanted to keep it away from Donald Trump’s name.

22 minutes ago
Cohen used Yom Kippur as excuse to delay Stormy Daniels hush money payment
By Ben Kochman

Michael Cohen testified that Donald Trump told him to delay paying Stormy Daniels the $130,000 until after the election.

As part of this plan, Cohen emailed Daniels' lawyer Keith Davidson on Oct. 12, 2016, that he couldn't talk on the Jewish holiday of Yom Kippur -- but it was just part of their ruse to stiff Daniels, Cohen testified.

Trump believed that if they could merely push off the payment until after the election, "it would not matter," Cohen told jurors.

Yom Kippur is the most sacred day on the Jewish calendar, and is intended to be used for atonement and repentance.

29 minutes ago
Cohen said he had to change LLC name because it had same name as friend's company
By Kyle Schnitzer

Michael Cohen admitted he had to change the name of the LLC for hush money payments because it had the same name as his friend's company.

“I realized during the process but I couldn’t realize why we called it Resolution Consultants," Cohen testified.

"It’s actually the name of a company of someone that I know who is out of state, and I don’t think he’d appreciate using the same name as his company."

Cohen said he changed the name to "Essential Consultants LLC."

Cohen then testified he lied on paperwork filing out the form to say it was a management consulting company because he wasn't sure if it would go through knowing it was money for a porn star.

"I'm not sure if they would've opened it if it stated 'to pay off an adult film star for a nondisclosure agreement,'" Cohen said.

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2 minutes ago
Cohen had two phone calls with Trump before executing hush money payment: testimony
By Kyle Schnitzer

Michael Cohen testified that he had two phone calls with Donald Trump right before he walked to a bank to make the payment to Stormy Daniels' lawyer, Keith Davidson.

The jury was shown a call log from October 26, 2016, which showed Cohen had two calls with Trump around 8:30 a.m.

Explaining the situation, Cohen said: "I wanted to ensure that once again he approved what I was doing because I require approval from him on all of this."

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13:52
Cohen tells the jury he decided to fund $130,000 himself from a home equity loan

Cohen told the jury he decided to fund the $130,000 himself from his HELOC, or home equity loan, to keep it away from his wife.

He said: ‘My wife as chief executive of the household would not understand if there was $130,000 missing from out joint bank account

‘That would have been a problem for me. Once I received the money back from Mr Trump I would deposit it and nobody would be the wiser’

[240B]

Keep in mind during all of this 'testimony' that this is Cohen's last chance. He will be fighting like a trapped animal and will lie about anything as freely as a prisoner under torture. Cohen has no choice.

Cohen will never work again as any kind of lawyer or consultant. His employed life is over, unless he can get some anti-Trump gig with CNN or MSNBC. He is done. He is finished when this trial ends. So he is flailing about throwing anything and everything at Trump because he has nothing to lose.

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a minute ago
Cohen says he paid off Daniels with Trump's approval - and a promise he'd be repaid
By Ben Kochman

Prosecutor Susan Hoffinger asked Cohen whether he would have paid Daniels the hush money without Trump approving it first.

“Everything required Mr. Trump’s sign off,” Cohen testified.

Cohen added that he wanted to let Trump know about the payoff in advance to ensure he'd be paid back.

“On top of that, I wanted the money back," he testified.

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a few seconds ago
Michael Cohen, an ex-con who's served prison time

Michael Cohen pleaded guilty in two separate federal cases in 2018 and did prison time for the crimes.

Cohen first copped to tax evasion, making false statements to a bank and to campaign finance violations in August 2018 in connection to the hush money payments he arranged to be paid to porn star Stormy Daniels and to Playboy model Karen McDougal on President Trump's behalf.

He then pleaded guilty in November 2018 for lying to Congress about his efforts during the presidential campaign to seek approvals and financing from the Russian government for a Trump development project in Moscow. Cohen said he lied to match his story with Trump's "political messaging."

Then in December, Cohen was sentenced to three years behind bars but he was released to home confinement after just over a year in May 2020 in an effort to reduce the spread of COVID in prisons.

Cohen was freed from home confinement in November 2021.

He previously testified against Trump at a civil fraud trial last year, where Trump's team sought to discount his testimony based on the fact he's a convict and admitted liar. Trump's lawyers will likely also attack Cohen's credibility at the current trial.

5 minutes ago
Cohen says he 'wanted credit for myself' after Stormy Daniels deal was done
By Post Staff

Michael Cohen told jurors he immediately told Donald Trump that the Stormy Daniels deal was done on Oct. 27, 2016 -- two weeks before the presidential election -- because he wanted "credit" from his then-boss.

“The task he gave to me was finished, accomplished and done,” Cohen testified, adding he sent Trump the update “to take credit for myself so that he knew I had done it and finished it, because this was important.”

7 minutes ago
Court takes an afternoon break

We will be back soon.

8 minutes ago
Cohen says he spoke with Hope Hicks, David Pecker after learning about WSJ story
By Kyle Schnitzer

Michael Cohen said he spoke with Donald Trump's communications chief Hope Hicks and National Enquirer publisher David Pecker to plan a defense after learning that a Wall Street Journal story set to be published would not only mention Playboy model Karen McDougal but also would mention Stormy Daniels.

Jurors were shown a call log of Cohen’s calls, which he confirmed and then explained the situation.

He said he spoke with the pair “so that we could all coalesce around this issue in an attempt to again quell the potential effects of an article like this."

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a few seconds ago
Trump listed as 'David Dennison' and Daniels as 'Peggy Peterson' in hush money contract shown to jurors

Jurors took another look this afternoon at a copy of a hush money contract struck between Cohen and Daniels that used fake names to describe Trump and Daniels.

Daniels' name was marked down as "Peggy Peterson," while Trump's was "David Dennison," the document shows.

Cohen also said he falsely called the $130,000 a "retainer" on a wire transfer form, when it was really a hush money payment.

A year later, Trump's company falsely marked the reimbursements to Cohen as "legal services" on filings throughout 2017, trial evidence shows.

[rustynail]

"Peggy Peterson,"?  That name could give a look into Cohen's proclivities.

[mystery-ak]

2 minutes ago
Prosecutors to continue questioning Cohen on Tuesday

The DA's office said just now that they expect their questioning of Cohen to go into at least part of Tuesday. That means Trump's lawyers won't be able to start what's expected to be a fiery cross-examination until at least tomorrow

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14:17
Michael Cohen's crisis response to Wall Street Journal's McDougal bombshell: blame 'Clinton machine'

Cohen testified about how key figures responded to a Wall Street Journal report that blew open the Karen McDougal story, after spending hours speaking about his role in 'catch and kill' matters.

Hope Hicks, who testified earlier, emailed Cohen with some proposed responses, which Cohen tersely described as an effort to 'deny.' She called the story 'false' and wanted to call out a 'publicity hungry individual.'

'We have nothing to do with this final attempt by the liberal elite to disparage Donald Trump and stop this historic movement,' was one of HIcks' proposed responses, just hours before the election.

Cohen wrote back with his preferred language

'Instead, say these accusations are completely untrue and just the latest despicable attempt by the liberal media and the Clinton machine to distract the public …' Cohen advised.

Asked if Trump was angry during this frantic period of damage control that could surface the Stormy Daniels story, Cohen said 'Yes. Because there was a negative story that could impact the campaign as a result of women.'

MOL

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a minute ago
Cohen disappointed Trump didn't consider him for Chief of Staff position

Michael Cohen said he was disappointed that Donald Trump didn't consider him for his Chief of Staff role in the White House.

Trump didn't offer him the position, and Cohen even admitted he didn't "believe" the role was the right fit, but he just wanted his name included with other candidates.

“I had other ideas for myself that I wanted but I wanted to be considered. It was more about my ego than anything," Cohen said.

[mystery-ak]

Testimony a little boring today...cross should be good...lol

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3 minutes ago
How Cohen tried sweet-talking Trump into making him 'personal attorney to the president'
By Kyle Schnitzer

Cohen said he pitched Trump on being the personal attorney to the president, and even brought in another lawyer to help sweet talk Trump into giving him the role.

“He went through this pitch explaining the importance and necessity of having a personal attorney for his own protection and why I fit exactly that role," Cohen testified.

Trump had his eyes closed during Cohen's speech, as he has several times throughout his former attorney's testimony.

Cohen said he didn't not "expect to be compensated" for the role and did not discuss compensation.

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2 minutes ago
'Pissed off': How Cohen reacted to Trump cutting his bonus in 2016

Michael Cohen explained how Trump dished out annual bonuses around the office — and how he reacted having his bonus cut by two-thirds in 2016.

"I used quite a few expletives," Cohen said recalling a conversation with Allen Weisselberg about his skinny bonus.

Cohen said he used "colorful language about how truly pissed off and angry I was."

Trump would have Rhona Graff, his personal assistant, walk around the office and give employees a Christmas card signed by Trump and others, Cohen testified — explaining that inside the card would be a check for the bonus that year.

“Rhona came and delivered the envelope and the Christmas card," Cohen said about the 2016 year.

Cohen said he was "angry – beyond angry. Cut my bonus by two-thirds.”

He said he was personally insulted by Trump cutting his bonus after he laid out "$130,000 on his behalf to protect him."

“I was truly insulted, personally hurt. I didn’t understand it, made no sense, after all I had gone through – the campaign, things at the Trump Organization," Cohen testified.

"Laying out 130K on his behalf to protect him – it was insulting the gratitude shown back to me was to cut a bonus by two-thirds."

Trump took a few scratches to his neck during Cohen's testimony.

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🇺🇸Travis🇺🇸
@Travis_4_Trump
JUST IN:  The prosecution is currently making a great case, against Michael Cohen.  So far, every piece of evidence has been conversation between Cohen and others.  The only thing Cohen has against Trump is his word.   Conveniently, the really damaging evidence was on an encrypted messaging app, so it can’t be recovered. 

It’s becoming increasingly apparent that Cohen acted of his own free will doing things to please Trump because he worshipped him.   He’s yet to say Trump demanded he do anything, only that he felt pressured because he was afraid. 

Why is this loser even allowed to testify?  He’s a coward and a sellout

[mystery-ak]

a minute ago
Cohen texted 'Taxi King' Gene Friedman gloating about becoming 'personal counsel' to Trump

A text shown to jurors sent by Michael Cohen to Gene Friedman shows Cohen telling the "Taxi King" that he was going to be "personal counsel to Pres Trump."

The text, dated January 17, 2017, shows Cohen texted Friedman, who he identified as the "operator of yellow cabs" he owned, writing: Thank u. I leave tomorrow for DC and just between us, I will be personal counsel to Pres Trump."

Friedman was stripped of 800 medallions by the Taxi & Limousine Commission in 2017 shortly before his arrest for tax fraud.

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3 minutes ago
Michael Cohen to resume testimony on Tuesday
By Ben Kochman

We’re done for the day. We’ll be back tomorrow at 9:30 a.m. with more testimony from Trump’s fixer-turned foe, Michael Cohen.

4 minutes ago
Here's how Trump's business reimbursed Cohen for the hush money payout, per trial evidence
By Ben Kochman

Then-Trump Organization CFO Allen Weisselberg wrote down notes explaining the scheme to reimburse Michael Cohen for his $130,000 payout to Stormy Daniels, trial evidence shows.

Weisselberg scrawled messy notes explaining the scheme on a copy of a bank statement for Cohen's shell company that was used to make the Daniels payout, Essential Consultants LLC.

Here's how it worked:

-- They started with a $130,000 payment to reimburse Cohen for paying the Daniels hush money.                 

-- They then added $50,000 owed to Cohen to reimburse him for paying an IT firm called "Red Finch," which Cohen testified he hired to rig online polls in favor of Trump in 2015.                                                     

-- Then they doubled $180,000 to $360,000 to make up for the roughly 50% taxes the Midtown Manhattan resident would have to pay because he was in a high tax bracket.

-- They then added an extra $60,000 as a "bonus" to make up for Trump apparently stiffing Cohen on a bonus the previous year.

-- Weisselberg told Cohen that the new total of $420,000 would be paid out in 12 installments of $35,000 throughout 2017.

7 minutes ago
Trial is done for day, back tomorrow at 9:30 a.m

We're done for the day. We'll be back tomorrow with more testimony from Trump's fixer-turned foe, Michael Cohen.