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.
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.
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Defense suggests Daniels profited off the publicity
Prosecutors sought to paint Stormy Daniels as someone who profited off the publicity she generated from her alleged sexual encounter with Donald Trump -- pressing her on a CNN interview, a book deal, a strip tour using a pun on Trump's infamous political slogan, a reality TV show.
Defense attorney Susan Necheles said the encounter “generated a ton of publicity” for Daniels.
“Lots of bad publicity,” Daniels retorted.
“The centerpiece of your book is your story about supposedly having sex with President Trump?” Necheles asked.
“No,” she said, before acknowledging, “Sadly, I thought it was what people would turn to first.”
Daniels asked about 'Make America Horny Again' tour
Defense attorney Susan Necheles asked Daniels about a tour of clubs she did in 2018, which one club dubbed the "Make America Horny Again" tour.
"I did not name that tour and I fought it tooth and nail," Daniels said. "I never used that headline -- I hated it."
Daniels pushed back against Necheles suggesting that she marketed the tour by stoking animosity towards Trump. In her book, she noted how the crowds at the tour included supportive fans who opposed Trump's presidency.
"The climate in the clubs absolutely changed, but I was not selling myself to a particular demographic," Daniels said. "I just did the same job I always did."
In the courtroom, attorneys displayed an advertisement for the tour. Trump had been sitting back in his chair before the advertisement was displayed, eyes seemingly closed, but he leaned forward and stared into the monitor when it was displayed.
Defense presses Daniels on 2018 denial
Defense attorney Susan Necheles tried to distance Donald Trump from efforts to hide the Stormy Daniels story from voters by highlighting the efforts to keep it hidden in 2018.
"And he wanted you to deny it, correct?" Necheles asked about Trump in 2018.
"Yes," Daniels said.
"And he wasn't running for election in 2018?" Necheles asked.
"No," Daniels said.
"He was concerned about his family, correct?" Necheles asked.
"I was never mentioned anything about his family," Daniels responded.
"But there was nothing about his election going on then?" Necheles asked.
"No," Daniels said.
"And you understand President Trump has a brand?" Necheles followed up.
"Yes," Daniels responded.
Defense asks Daniels about her 2018 denial
Defense attorney Susan Necheles asked Stormy Daniels about her January 2018 denial of the sexual encounter with Trump, showing her the statement she signed that has been prepared by her then-attorney.
“To be clear, I did not write this statement,” Daniels said. “I was told I had to sign it.”
"I signed it, but I did not write it," Daniels continued. "It was given to me and I was told I had to sign it."
Necheles then asked Daniels a series of questions about legal language in her nondisclosure agreement.
Jurors appeared to remain engaged -- but not to the extent that they were previously, when the testimony was more riveting.
One juror was sipping a glass of water, another was rubbing his eyes. Most were still jotting down notes or looking toward the witness stand.
Checks for Trump to sign were sent to bodyguard's home
As questioning of the Trump Organization's bookkeeper continued, Trump, sitting at the defense table, continued to appear to give instructions to his attorneys.
Trump wrote down a note on a yellow legal bad and passed it to attorney Susan Necheles, who read it and then looked up at Trump and nodded in agreement. She then went back to her own notepad and took down a note.
Bookkeeper Rebecca Manochio is testifying as a custodian of records for the Trump Organization, as prosecutors have entered into evidence a series of emails and Fedex records.
The jury sees FedEx invoices for checks Manochio says she sent to Washington for Trump to sign while he was president. They have seen two instances where Manochio mailed checks to the home of Trump's bodyguard, Keith Schiller, instead of directly to the White House.
Schiller also mailed the checks back, according to Manochio.
Asked who directed her to mail the checks to Schiller, Manochio said that either then-CFO Allen Weisselberg or Trump assistant Rhona Graff told her to do so.
By September 2017, Manochio said she began mailing the checks to Trump's then-body man John McEntee, who would later became the director of the White House personnel office and one of Donald Trump's most trusted aides.
"I will need the boss's personal checks mailed to me," McEntee said in an email to Rhona Graff.
"Who is John McEntee?" the prosecutor asked Manochio.
"Couldn't tell you," Manochio said.