Name: Summations Scheduled as Trump Trial Nears End
Uploaded: 2024-05-16T21:02:29.000Z
Description: Former President Donald Trump's "hush money" trial continues in New York on May 16.

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Former President Donald Trump's "hush money" trial continues in New York on May 16.

<em>Follow here for the live updates:</em>
<h2>Summations Scheduled for Tuesday</h2>
Mr. Blanche said any rebuttal witnesses they seek to call will be short testimonies. He said the decision to call President Trump to the witness stand was one "we need to think through."

Prosecutors have said Mr. Cohen is their last witness, and his testimony will finish up on Monday.

Justice Merchan told the parties to prepare to begin summations on Tuesday.
<h2>Attorneys Discuss Witnesses for Next Week, Interpretation of Law</h2>
Attorneys met with the judge to discuss expert testimony by defense witnesses.

"We would touch on basic statutory definitions, and then there are some phrases within those definitions that we think it’s important the jury get some guidance on," said defense attorney Emil Bove.

"'For the purpose of influencing any election for federal office'—that's a statutory phrase," Mr. Bove said. "The term 'expenditure,' and the term 'coordinating expenditure' are what we think would be the focus."

The expert witness would describe a set of facts to give the jury an objective test for what "for the purpose of influencing an election" means, and "give the jury a sense of situations where the FEC has applied those terms," Mr. Bove explained.

Another term the defense wanted an expert to define was "irrespective of a candidate's campaign."

"No hypotheticals, but to give the jury a sense of the applications" by providing other sets of facts where the FEC has used this term, Mr. Bove said.

He said the last thing they wanted to cover was "the press exemption."

Justice Merchan asked, "so you believe the biggest impetus for this is that we have two competing sets of instructions, not that the facts of the case have changed?"

Mr. Bove said he wanted to clarify that he didn't want the expert witness's testimony to seem at conflict with the judge's instructions.

Prosecutors disagreed, and prosecuting attorney Matthew Colangelo said what Mr. Bove "just described flies in the face of your honor's very clear instructions."

Mr. Colangelo argued that the expert "would testify that the way the defense is interpreting these issues is inconsistent with how the agency is applying them."

"Then you would have three people telling the jury what the law it," Mr. Colangelo said. "The very fact is that this is a contested legal issue is even more reason why this should be resolved through argument, your honor, in a pre-charge conference, not in testimony."

Prosecutors argued the defense was now broadening the scope of their witness's testimony.

Justice Merchan referred to his previous ruling limiting the expert witness's testimony as to the general application of campaign finance laws, and not to offer opinions on whether this case constituted a FICA violation. He had allowed for explanation of general definitions and terms. The judge said he would read through the new submissions but his ruling has not changed.
<h2>Cohen Testifies About Denial Statement</h2>
Common Cause had filed a complaint with federal agencies arguing that Mr. Cohen’s payment to Ms. Clifford violated campaign finance law.

Mr. Cohen confirmed he shared the complaint with attorneys before it was public.

“You were very angry that the complaint had been filed?” Mr. Blanche asked. “And at that point you were sick of having to defend yourself from these frivolous allegations.”

Mr. Cohen then issued a statement where he said “just because something is untrue doesn’t mean it can’t cause you harm or damage,” to explain why he had entered into an agreement for a story President Trump maintained was false.

“I wanted them to believe it was true,” Mr. Cohen said of his statement. “I called and told them [reporters] it was true.”

“But your testimony is that you were lying when you told them that,” Mr. Blanche asked.

“Yes sir,” Mr. Cohen said. He had recorded some of those calls he made to reporters, but said he did not recall why he did so. He said he would characterize his statement as “deceptive.”

Mr. Cohen stepped down from the witness stand.
<h2>Cohen Never Had Retainer Agreement</h2>
Mr. Cohen confirmed he had done work for the Trump family, but was officially an employee of The Trump Organization.

“And you never had a retainer agreement with those individuals, did you?” Mr. Blanche asked.

“You didn’t need one because you worked for The Trump Organization, and you knew you were going to get paid,” Mr. Blanche said.

“You testified multiple times on Tuesday that when you were President Trump’s personal attorney in 2017, you had no retainer,” Mr. Blanche said. “But the whole truth is the entire time you worked for The Trump Organization, you never had a retainer agreement?”

“No sir,” Mr. Cohen said. “I was an employee of The Trump Organization. Nothing unethical.”
<h2>Cohen Says ABC Wanted to Buy Stormy Daniels Story</h2>
After a short break, Mr. Blanche asked Mr. Cohen about the Stormy Daniels nondisclosure agreement.

Mr. Cohen said he had learned from Mr. Davidson that ABC and the Daily Beast were interested in buying it.

Mr. Cohen said he spoke to John Santucci of ABC News.

“He contacted me and asked me whether or not I was responsible, or we were responsible, for them not paying for the story. John Santucci used to come to the office quite a bit,” Mr. Cohen said.

“First I was a little shocked that John Santucci actually did it. Meaning, he had spent quite a bit of time following the Trump campaign, and then of course he denied that they were involved,” Mr. Cohen said.

“Do you recall Mr. Santucci asking whether you were able to kill that story, because Ms. Daniels had ‘gone dark?'” Mr. Blanche asked.

“Yes, that’s what I was saying before,” Mr. Cohen said.

“Do you recall saying that you believed Ms. Daniels was engaging in extortion?” Mr. Blanche asked. The judge allowed it over the prosecution’s objection.

“Yes, I recall saying that she was extorting Mr. Trump,” Mr. Cohen said.

He confirmed he put off paying the agreement for several weeks.

Mr. Blanche said Mr. Cohen testified that it was “payoff” when questioned by prosecutors.

“This was a completely legal contract, correct?” Mr. Blanche asked.

“What I mean by that is, an NDA, a settlement between two parties, happens all the time, right?” Mr. Blanche asked.

“Yes,” Mr. Cohen said.
<h2>Defense Scrutinizes Secret Recording of Trump</h2>
Mr. Blanche asked about the secret recording Mr. Cohen made in Mr. Trump’s office. Mr. Cohen confirmed he picked up a call from Capital One Bank in the middle of the conversation, and the phone call was picked up on the recording.

Mr. Cohen also confirmed he used encrypted apps to keep conversations confidential, but sent NDAs through email/[/epoch_component]
<h2>Cohen Questioned About Motives Behind 2 NDAs</h2>
Mr. Blanche questioned Mr. Cohen about the story former Trump building doorman Dino Sajudin shopped around alleging Mr. Trump fathered a child out of wedlock. The story was purchased and Mr. Sajudin signed a nondisclosure agreement and the story was later confirmed false.

“You previously told law enforcement that he [President Trump] told you that he was concerned about the story because it involved people that still worked for him, and work for him, correct?” Mr. Blanche asked.

“And so it was important for him to keep from getting out,” Mr. Blanche said. “Yes, sir,” Mr. Cohen responded.

Mr. Blanche asked about the Karen McDougal story, saying Mr. Cohen “testified that you believed the story would have a significant impact on the campaign.”

“And my simple question to you is, President Trump didn’t initially think it would hurt him?” Mr. Blanche asked.

Mr. Blanche also asked about specific phone calls had in 2016, asking whether Mr. Cohen recalled specific calls out of the some 14,000 calls that Mr. Cohen estimates he received or was on that year. Mr. Cohen said he could recall them based on reviewing related evidence that jogged his memory.
<h2>Cohen Made Nearly 100 Secret Recordings</h2>
“There were 95 secret recordings on your iPhone,” Mr. Blanche said, referring to conversations Mr. Cohen recorded without the other party’s knowledge.

“Who else were you recording?” Mr. Blanche asked.

“I recorded, off the top of my head I can’t tell you, Jeff Silver on one event, Mr. Trump at another event, and a series of other reporters,” Mr. Cohen said.

“You understand that it’s not ethical for a lawyer to record a conversation with their client, correct?” Mr. Blanche asked.

“That’s correct,” Mr. Cohen said, affirming that he was a member of the New York bar when he secretly recorded Mr. Trump.

“Just so I understand, you surreptitiously recorded your client, so that you could play a recording between your client to a third party?” Mr. Blanche asked.

“That’s correct,” Mr. Cohen said.
<h2>Cohen Testifies About New York Times Reporter</h2>
Mr. Cohen said he met New York Times reporter Maggie Haberman more than 20 years ago.

“You asked her to write positive stories about you?” Mr. Blanche asked.

“You asked her to write a story saying how good it was that you had that role from President Trump?” Mr. Blanche asked.

“And in exchange for that, you would give tips to Ms. Haberman,” Mr. Blanche said.

“Not in exchange. I would give tips to Ms. Haberman if I believed it was something the New York Times would run, and if not I would go to a different publication,” Mr. Cohen said.

“You recorded a lot of conversations you had with reporters, right?” Mr. Blanche asked.

“No, sir, I would not characterize it as ‘a lot,'” Mr. Cohen said.

Mr. Cohen said he recorded conversations “as a form of note taking.” He said he would go back and listen to the conversations to figure out the best response to give when he was on a televised interview.

He said he later stopped this practice, after the presidential election in 2016.

Mr. Cohen affirmed that in February 2018, he shared a recording he made with Ms. Haberman for a story.

Mr. Cohen confirmed he texted reporters via encrypted apps as well.
<h2>Cohen Recounts Publicity Work for Trump</h2>
Mr. Cohen confirmed that he created the website ShouldTrumpRun.com and worked with the National Enquirer to get the story out.

“How do you go about getting a reporter or a newspaper or an interviewer to say positive things about you or about the Trump Organization?” Mr. Blanche asked.

“So I know many of the reporters and journalists at the various newspapers, and I have a longstanding relationship with many of them,” Mr. Cohen said. “I would reach out to them and I would ask them if they would be interested in doing an article about a specific topic, and I would give them the exclusive on it.”

Mr. Blanche asked about the opposite. “If you knew a newspaper was going to run something negative about you or President Trump or the Trump Organization, what steps would you take?”

“A journalist would call me and say, we’re writing a story about whatever the topic may be and we would like you to comment on the topic,” Mr. Cohen said. “I would go to to Mr. Trump’s office and discuss the topic with him, and reached back out to the reporter.”

“You never reached back out to a reporter, ever, without first checking with President Trump?” Mr. Blanche asked.

“It was my routine, always, to discuss it with Mr. Trump,” Mr. Cohen said. “Because if our response out was not the way he wanted it to be, he would one, blow up, and two, it would probably be the end of my job.”

“Generally what would happen is, after one newspaper puts out a story, somebody else tends to follow it. So we just mimic the response to the next newspaper or the next magazine,” Mr. Cohen said. “I would always get a comment or something in line with the conversation that we had on that specific topic. Again, if I did that, and he didn’t like the response, it would probably cost me my job.”

“So your testimony is that the frustration didn’t come from President Trump, it came from the campaign staffers,” Mr. Blanche said.

Mr. Cohen confirmed he had also used the possibility of litigation to get stories taken down.
<h2>Attorneys Argue Over Perceived Impropriety</h2>
Mr. Blanche prepared documents for Justice Merchan, letting him know how he was planning to ask again questions about Mr. Cohen being informed of the indictment.

Prosecuting attorney Joshua Steinglass argued it would be better for the judge to “clarify the record and remove any suggestion that there was some sort of impropriety. I think the questions were entirely proper.”

“The detective said they told the New York Times before they told you, ‘nevertheless it’s done,'” Mr. Blanche said. “So I wasn’t doing anything other than trying to elicit the fact, which is entirely probative, that a detective saw fit to tell the witness that it’s ‘done.'”

Justice Merchan said that there was nothing improper about the question, but it left the jury with an “improper impression.”

Mr. Cohen affirmed that he did not have any evidence that the district attorney’s office improperly leaked information about the indictment.

Texts exchanged between Mr. Cohen and the caller harassing him were also entered into evidence.
<h2>Defense Disputes Cohen–Schiller Call Was Conversation With Trump</h2>
Mr. Blanche questioned Mr. Cohen about conversations in 2016. Mr. Cohen confirmed he had called bodyguard Keith Schiller because he wanted to speak to President Trump on Oct. 24, 2016, but did not recall if he told prosecutors this date.

Mr. Blanche referred to notes from that meeting and prosecutors objected.

Mr. Blanche referred to an incident where Mr. Cohen got a series of harassing calls, and Mr. Cohen texted the number back. The caller tried to apologize and Mr. Cohen wrote, “you’re going to have to explain that to the Secret Service,” to which the anonymous caller texted back “I didn’t do it. I’m 14. Please don’t do this.”

Mr. Cohen confirmed he called Mr. Schiller after the incident, and texted him the number of the anonymous caller. Timestamps put these exchanges just minutes after 8 p.m.

On Tuesday, Mr. Cohen had testified that this phone call to Mr. Schiller was a way to speak with Mr. Trump to update him about Stormy Daniels.

“That was a lie, you did not talk to President Trump on that night, you talked to Keith Schiller,” Mr. Blanche said.

“Based upon the records that I was able to review, in light of everything that was going on, I believe I also spoke to President Trump about the Stormy Daniels matter and thought it was going to be resolved,” Mr. Cohen said.

“We are not asking for your belief. The jury doesn’t want to hear what you think happened-,” Mr. Blanche said, before prosecutors objected to Mr. Blanche getting too aggressive.

Mr. Cohen confirmed prosecutors had not shown him the texts between him and Mr. Schiiler.

“So you were not basing the testimony on Tuesday on your memory, you were basing it on documents that the people showed you in prep?” Mr. Blanche asked. “Mr. Cohen, you just said that you don’t recall a phone call back in 2016. That is not what you testified Tuesday.”

The judge sustained the prosecution’s objection.

The court took a break for lunch.
<h2>Cohen Used AI to Make Up Legal Cases in Arguing for Early Release</h2>
Mr. Cohen admitted he had used AI to make up cases to argue his case for early release.

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