Trump trial: Judge rebukes Michael Cohen ahead of expected testimony Monday

Former President Trump was in court on Day 15 of his criminal trial in New York.

Last Updated: May 10, 2024, 1:54 PM EDT

Former President Donald Trump is on trial in New York City, where he is facing felony charges related to a 2016 hush money payment to adult film actress Stormy Daniels. It marks the first time in history that a former U.S. president has been tried on criminal charges.

Trump last April pleaded not guilty to a 34-count indictment charging him with falsifying business records in connection with a hush money payment his then-attorney Michael Cohen made to Daniels in order to boost his electoral prospects in the 2016 presidential election.

Apr 22, 5:51 am

What to know about the hush money case

May 10, 2024, 12:21 PM EDT

Custodial witness testifies about phone call exhibits

Prosecutors next called Jaden Jarmel-Schneider, another paralegal with the Manhattan district attorney's office.

Jarmel-Schneider testified that he prepared exhibits to summarize the phone calls between relevant witnesses in the case.

Using the phone records, Jarmel-Schneider said he removed extraneous calls, standardized the time zones, and created charts to act as a "roadmap" so jurors could easily see the witnesses' relevant communications.

These charts are likely to be used during Michael Cohen's testimony, which is scheduled to start Monday, and the jury will have access to the records during their deliberations.

May 10, 2024, 11:42 AM EDT

Witness reviews text messages with Daniels' allegations

After reviewing a series of Trump's tweets about Michael Cohen, custodial witness Georgia Longstreet read into evidence several 2016 text messages between Stormy Daniels' agent Gina Rodriguez and Dylan Howard of the National Enquirer.

"Stormy Daniels ... I have her," Rodriguez wrote in one text.

"Is she ready to talk," Howard asked. "I thought she denounced it previously."

"She said she would do it under two conditions," Rodriguez wrote. "She doesn't want to go on record about it but will tell the story through a source," Rodriguez said.

"She's had sex with him. She wants 100K," Rodriguez wrote.

Jurors also saw the text exchange where Howard and Rodriguez set the price of the story at $120,000, before Daniels’ lawyer Keith Davidson added his $10,000 fee to bring the amount to $130.000.

In addition, the jury saw text messages from when the deal initially fell through in early October 2016. Keith Davidson testified earlier that he retracted the offer after Cohen offered multiple “excuses” for not paying the $130,000.

Longstreet stepped off the stand following a brief cross-examination.

May 10, 2024, 11:35 AM EDT

Witness reviews Trump tweets about Michael Cohen

Custodial witness Georgia Longstreet read into evidence a series of 2018 tweets by Trump.

"The New York Times and a third rate reporter named Maggie Haberman, known as a Crooked H flunkie who I don't speak to and have nothing to do with, are going out of their way to destroy Michael Cohen and his relationship with me in the hope that he will 'flip,'" one tweet said.

"If anyone is looking for a good lawyer, I would strongly suggest that you don't retain the services of Michael Cohen!" read another tweet.

Prospectors are introducing these posts to demonstrate what they argue is a "pressure campaign" by Trump to prevent Michael Cohen's cooperation with authorities.

PHOTO: Former President Donald Trump watches as former Director of Oval Office Operations Madeleine Westerhout is cross-examined during Trump's criminal trial in Manhattan state court in New York City,  May 10, 2024, in this courtroom sketch.
Former President Donald Trump watches as former Director of Oval Office Operations Madeleine Westerhout is cross-examined by defense attorney Susan Necheles during Trump's criminal trial in Manhattan state court in New York City, May 10, 2024, in this courtroom sketch.
Jane Rosenberg via Reuters

Jurors also read a 2018 tweet from Trump where he denied an affair with Daniels but defended the nondisclosure arrangement between them as a "private" agreement.

Trump, marking up papers at the defense table, stopped as Longstreet read some of his tweets into the record. He stared at the tweets displayed on the monitor in front of him, then resumed writing.

May 10, 2024, 11:26 AM EDT

Prosecutors call back paralegal from DA's office

Prosecutors have called back to the stand Georgia Longstreet, a paralegal for the Manhattan district attorney's office.

Longstreet testified last week to introduce some of Trump's social media posts into evidence.

Trump, sitting at the defense table, has been working diligently -- scribbling notes and thumbing through a stack of papers, marking some of them, and then placing them in another pile.

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