Trump trial: Cohen faces Trump team grilling over past lies, recollections
The defense questioned Trump's former lawyer on Day 18 of the hush money trial.
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.
Top headlines:
- No decision yet about Trump testifying
- Defense argues Cohen's lack of retainer agreement was not an issue
- Defense accuses Cohen of lying about Trump phone call
- Defense challenges Cohen on past perjury
- Cohen says Trump approved payment of $420K, paid monthly
- Jury hears secret recording of Trump discussing payment
What to know about the hush money case
READ MORE: Here's what you need to know about the historic case.
'Worst day of my life,' Cohen says of 2018 guilty plea
Michael Cohen told the jury about his 2018 guilty plea for campaign finance violations related to the Stormy Daniels payment, as well as other tax evasion charges.
"What was that day like for you?" prosecutor Susan Hoffinger asked.
"Worst day of my life," Cohen said.
The jury then saw the tweets that then-President Trump posted in August 2018 following Cohen's guilty pleas.
"If anyone is looking for a good lawyer, I would strongly suggest that you don't retain the services of Michael Cohen!" one said.
"It caused a lot of angst, anxiety," Cohen said about the tweets.
Asked to describe his understanding of Trump's message, Cohen said, "Certainly displeasure. That I no longer was important to the fold."
Trump, at the defense table, leaned forward to read his own tweets as they appeared on the monitor.
Cohen told jurors that he reported to federal prison on May 6, 2019. He told the jury he was sentenced to three years in prison, followed by three years of supervised release.
"I apologized to Congress, I apologized to the country, I apologized to my family" in congressional testimony in February 2019 before he reported to prison, because "the citizenry had a right to know in order to make a determination about the individual who was seeking the highest office in the land," he said.
Cohen says hush payments were to ensure Trump's election
"Did you admit that you paid that money to Stormy Daniels in order to influence Mr. Trump's electoral prospects?" Susan Hoffinger asked Cohen after he finished testifying about his decision to plead guilty to campaign finance and related charges in 2018.
Defense attorney Todd Blanche objected, prompting a sidebar. Judge Merchan sustained the objection.
Cohen reiterated that he paid Stormy Daniels "on behalf of Mr. Trump" to influence the election.
"To ensure that the story would not come out -- would not affect Mr. Trump's chances of becoming president of the United States," Cohen said.
"Why did you work with AMI to pay off Karen McDougal?" Hoffinger asked.
"In order to ensure that the possibility of Mr. Trump succeeded in the election -- that this would not be a hindrance," Cohen said.
'I would not lie for President Trump any longer,' Cohen testifies
Michael Cohen testified that in the summer of 2018, then-President Trump carried out a "pressure campaign" on him through Cohen's then-attorney Robert Costello.
"You are making a very big mistake if you believe the stories these 'journalists' are writing about you. They want you to cave. They want you to fail. They do not want you to preserve and succeed," Costello wrote in an email to Cohen that was shown to the jury. "If you really believe you are not being supported properly by your former boss, then you should make your position known."
Cohen summarized Trump's message as "Don't flip. Don't speak. Don't cooperate."
Cohen testified that he "didn't trust" Costello.
"I believed based upon all of our conversations that he would immediately run back to Mr. Giuliani and that communication would be divulged to Mr. Trump," he said.
"My family -- my wife, my daughter, my son -- all said to me, 'Why are you holding onto this loyalty? What are you doing? We're supposed to be your first loyalty," Cohen testified.
"So what decision did you make?" asked prosecutor Susan Hoffinger.
"That it was about time to listen to them," Cohen said. "To my wife, my son, my daughter, to the country," Cohen said in emotional testimony.
Cohen testified that he pleaded guilty to federal charges in August 2018.
"I would not lie for President Trump any longer," Cohen said.
Cohen says he didn't want info getting back to Trump
Jurors saw an April 21, 2018, email where Michael Cohen's attorney at the time, Robert Costello, told Cohen, "Sleep well tonight, you have friends in high places."
"The friend in high places was President Trump," Cohen testified.
"It let me know that I was still important to the team, and stay the course, that the president had my back," Cohen said about Costello's emails.
Jurors then saw another email from Costello dated June 13, 2018.
"Since you jumped off the phone rather abruptly, I did not get a chance to tell you that my friend has communicated to me that he is meeting with his client this evening and he added that if there was anything you wanted to convey, you should tell me and my friend will bring it up for discussion this evening," Costello wrote.
According to Cohen, the aforementioned client was Donald Trump.
Asked about the vagueness of the email, Cohen testified that it was "sort of to be covert -- it is all back channel. Sort of eye spy-ish. Didn't want to put anybody's name."
Jurors then saw a June 2018 email between Cohen and Costello that suggested their relationship had begun to fray.
"I must tell you quite frankly that I am not used to listening to abuse like today's conversation," Costello wrote, referencing an "unfortunate outburst" by Cohen.
"Please remember if you want or need to communicate something, please let me know and I will see that it gets done. I hope I am not wrong but it seems to both Jeff and I that perhaps we have been played here," Costello wrote, referencing the back channel to Trump.
Cohen told the jury he was concerned about his communications with Costello making their way to Trump, and he began looking for other lawyers.
Cohen said Costello was "again pressuring me as he had done with constant calls and sending me emails and so on. He wanted to absolutely be retained to represent me in this matter. He was angered that I was willing to sit down with another attorney but not sit down with them, so I had enough."
Defense accuses Cohen of lying about Trump phone call
Defense attorney Todd Blanche accused Michael Cohen of lying about a phone call Cohen testified he had with Donald Trump on Oct. 24, 2016.
Blanche read texts between Cohen and Trump aide Keith Schiller on that date, in which Cohen asked Schiller, "Who can I speak to about harassing calls to my phone and office?"
According to Blanche, Schiller asked Cohen to call him at 8:02 p.m.
"This is the call that you testified about on Tuesday that you had a conversation with President Trump?" Blanche said.
Cohen, who testified on Tuesday that he had called Schiller to speak with Trump, agreed.
Nearly shouting, Blanche alleged that Cohen lied during his testimony on Tuesday.
"That was a lie," said Blanche, adding that Cohen texted Schiller the phone number of the 14-year-old prank caller at 8:04 p.m.
"Part of it was the 14-year-old, but I knew that Keith was with Trump at the time," Cohen responded.
"That was a lie. You did not talk to President Trump that night," Blanche said, raising his voice. "You can admit it."
"No sir, I can't," Cohen said. "Because I'm not sure that's accurate."
"This jury doesn't want to hear what you think happened," Blanche said.
Trump, at the defense table, appeared engaged and furrowed his eyebrows.
The jury was then shown text messages from that evening between Cohen and Schiller, which Blanche suggested prosecutors omitted from their exhibit.
"Mr. Cohen, you just said that you don't recall a phone call ... on Tuesday you testified that you remembered the phone call," Blanche shouted, again growing animated and speaking quickly.
Cohen stood by his testimony, saying he spoke to both Trump and Schiller.
"Based upon what was going on and based upon the other messages regarding the Stormy Daniels matter, yes I believe I was telling the truth," Cohen said.
Judge Merchan subsequently recessed the court for lunch.