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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Jurors see example of Trump approving personal expenses
Jurors saw an example of Donald Trump individually approving an expense. Prosecutors showed the jury a handwritten note on Trump's bill for the Winged Foot Golf Club. The bill totaled approximately $7,000.
"PAY," the note said. "ASAP OK."
"Whose handwriting is that?" prosecutor Becky Mangold asked Trump White House aide Madeleine Westerhout.
"That's the president's," Westerhout said, referring to Trump. "That looks to be a Sharpie or another felt tip pen."
Westerhout testifies about Trump's check signing process
Trump White House aide Madeleine Westerhout testified that Trump would sometimes receive a stack of checks to sign from the Trump Organization that was sometime "maybe half an inch thick."
"It was consistent -- maybe twice a month," she said about the frequency of receiving a package of checks.
Asked about the number of checks in each package, Westerhout said, "Sometimes there was one. Sometimes there was a stack -- maybe half an inch thick. I never counted them."
From the times when Westerhout saw Trump signing checks, she recounted that Trump signed the checks individually using a felt-tip pen.
Once he was done signing, "He would give the folder back to me, and I would put it in a pre-labeled Fedex envelope and send it back to the Trump Organization."
If Trump had a question about any of the checks, Westerhout said Trump would call then-CFO Allen Weisselberg.
Westerhout says she brought checks for Trump to sign
Prosecutor Becky Mangold asked Trump White House aide Madeleine Westerhout about a series of exhibits, including an email with Michael Cohen coordinating an in-person meeting with Donald Trump in February 2017, as well as correspondence with then-Trump Organization CFO Allen Weisselberg.
"I understood them to be close," she said of Trump's relationship with Weisselberg.
The conversation with Westerhout then turned to then-President Trump's personal expenses.
"It's my understanding they were handled by checks," Westerhout said. "Checks were sent from the Trump Organization to an employee at the White House and I brought them in for the president to sign."
At first, the checks were sent to Keith Schiller, "and then later they were sent to me," Westerhout said.
"The checks came in a FedEx envelope. Inside was a manila folder with a stack of checks and I brought the manila folder into the president," testified Westerhout, who said there were invoices attached to some of the checks.
Westerhout had list of people who got patched through to Trump
Prosecutors showed jurors a contact list for Trump that Trump Organization executive assistant Rhona Graff passed along to White House aide Madeleine Westerhout in 2017.
Among the names listed were Tom Brady, Bret Baier, Sean Hannity, Jerry Falwell, Bill O'Reilly, and Joe Scarborough.
Michael Cohen, David Pecker, and Allen Weisselberg were also included on the list.
Westerhout said the list included the names of people Trump spoke to often or might want to speak with.
Westerhout said if someone called the White House who was included on the list, she would try to patch them through to Trump directly.
Judge suggests Weisselberg could testify
With the jury out of the courtroom, defense lawyer Emil Bove argued that Judge Merchan should not allow former Trump Organization CFO Allen Weisselberg's severance agreement with the company to get into evidence.
Weisselberg, who is currently serving a five-month sentence on New York's Rikers Island for committing perjury during Trump's civil fraud trial, he received a $2 million severance agreement from the Trump Organization.
Prosecutor Christopher Conroy argued the separation agreement "offers a real explanation for why he is not going to be here in this trial."
"We just respectfully disagree with that," Bove responded, saying Weisselberg is not testifying because the district attorney's office pursued a perjury case against him.
Judge Merchan did not issue a ruling on the matter but suggested the parties might have "jumped the gun" by suggesting Weisselberg can't testify "without making an effort to get him here."
As an alternative, Merchan suggested that Weisselberg could testify outside the presence of the jury before determining the appropriate next step.