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Trump trial updates: Appeals court denies defense's bid for judge's recusal

The defense rested its case Tuesday without testimony from Donald Trump.

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.


What to know about the hush money case

READ MORE: Here's what you need to know about the historic case.


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Cohen details consulting work he did in 2017

Defense attorney Todd Blanche asked Cohen about the large sums of money he made through his consulting work with other companies in 2017 -- an apparent effort to legitimize the money Cohen made from Trump as the being the result of legal work.

Cohen testified he was paid $600,000 by AT&T in 2017, communicating with them just 20 times.

"And there's nothing wrong with that?" Blanche asked.

"I don't believe so," Cohen said.

Cohen said he was paid $100,000 per month from Novartis, $100,000 per month from an aerospace company, and $150,000 a month from a bank.

Cohen was also paid $50,000 by a company in 2017 to help restart a nuclear power plant formerly run by the Tennessee Valley Authority.

On direct examination, Cohen had testified he did less than 10 hours of work or Trump in 2017 -- an attempt by prosecutors to cast doubt on the fact that the payments Cohen received were for any legitimate legal work.

Blanche appears to be trying to rebut those assertions by painting Trump's payments as just another one of Cohen's lucrative consulting jobs, in which he made hundreds of thousands of dollars while doing little work for his clients.


Defense says Cohen's repayment was for legitimate legal expense

Throughout his cross-examination this morning, defense attorney Todd Blanche has attempted to legitimize the repayment arrangement between Trump and Cohen in 2017.

Prosecutors have argued that Trump falsified business records by describing a reimbursement for the Stormy Daniels payment and other expenses as payment for legal services pursuant to a retainer agreement, even though Cohen never had a retainer agreement with Trump.

Blanche emphasized all the legal work that Cohen did for Trump and his family in 2017. He also showed the jury an email from Allen Weisselberg, where he requested Cohen to "please prepare the agreement we discussed so we can pay you monthly."

Amid frequent objections, Blanche has referenced the "agreement" mentioned above as a "retainer agreement," though Cohen never had a formal retainer agreement with Trump.

Pursuant to the "agreement," Cohen said he received nine checks directly from Trump in 2017.

"That would have been nine checks -- 35,000 a piece," Cohen said.


Defense asks Cohen about taking job as president's attorney

Defense attorney Todd Blanche entered another email into evidence, and it was displayed on the courtroom monitors.

It's Cohen's good-bye email to the Trump Organization on Jan. 27, 2017, announcing he will be "personal attorney to potus." "I cannot express how difficult it is for me to write this farewell e-mail," it begins.

In the email, Cohen said he is starting "a new journey," and that he is "truly excited" to begin new position as personal attorney to Trump as president. He reminisced about first taking the job there and moving into Ivanka's old office.

Blanche asked Cohen about his effort to spread the word about his new role as Trump's personal attorney.

"You told everybody that was happening, correct?" Blanche said.

"Not everybody, but I certainly was proud of the role and I announced it," Cohen said.

"You told TMZ?" Blanche asked.

"Yes, sir," Cohen said.

"You told the New York Times?" Blanche asked.

"Yes, sir," Cohen said.

"You actually gave them a little scoop on it?" Blanche asked.

"Yes, sir," Cohen said.

"You went on TV and told Sean Hannity about it?" Blanche asked.

"Yes, sir," Cohen said.


Jury sees chummy email between Cohen, Weisselberg

Jurors saw a chummy email between Michael Cohen and then-Trump Organization CFO Allen Weisselberg in January 2017 in which Cohen and Weisselberg discussed the Stormy Daniels repayment arrangement.

"Thank you. You never stopped on [sic] for a bro hug," Weisselberg wrote to Cohen.

"Anyway please prepare the agreement we discussed so we can pay you monthly."

Trump, at the defense table, hunched forward and examined the email as it was displayed on his monitor.


Defense moves for dismissal of case

The defense made a motion for the dismissal of the case, with defense attorney Todd Blanche telling Judge Merchan, "There's absolutely no evidence the filings were false, the business records were false."

When the invoices for Cohen's payment were sent to the Trump Organization there's no evidence they were entered improperly, Blanche said. "At the start, there is absolutely no false business filings. They're accurate business filings," he said.

Trump looked directly at Blanche as the attorney addressed Merchan.

"There's no evidence that there's any intent to defraud by Mr. Trump in connection to these filings," Blanche argued.

"There are no other crimes," defense attorney Todd Blanche argued about the legal standard in the case -- that Trump falsified business records in furtherance of another crime. "There is no evidence that any one was thinking about a campaign finance charge in 2016 when this payment was made to Ms. Daniels."

"The prosecutors have talked in their opening statement and in papers about some sort of conspiracy to influence the election but as the court knows there has to be something illegal about this effort," Blanche said. "There's no evidence from any of the witnesses who testified of any criminal intent."

"There is no way that the court should let this case go to jury relying on Mr. Cohen's testimony," Blanche said "Without Mr. Cohen, there is no case."

Judge Merchan asked if Blanche was calling for him to rule that Cohen's testimony is "not credible as a matter of law."

"Absolutely, that's exactly what we're calling on the court to do," Blanche replied. "He testified, and he lied under oath -- in this courtroom."