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.


What to know about the hush money case

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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.


Bookkeeper testifies she mailed checks for Trump to sign

For their next witness, prosectors have called Rebecca Manochio, a Trump Organization employee.

Manochio, on the stand, said she has worked for the Trump Organization for 11 years, including working as former CFO Allen Weissleberg's assistant for eight years. She now works as a junior bookkeeper at the company.

She said that she is testifying pursuant to a subpoena. "I was compelled to testify," she said.

Manochio testified she was the one who personally mailed the checks for Michael Cohen to Donald Trump in Washington, D.C., while he was president, for him to sign.

"How frequently did you have to FedEx checks to Mr. Trump?" she was asked.

"About once a week," she responded.

"Deb would give me the checks in a manilla folder, and I would put them in a FedEx envelope with a return," she testified.

Manochio said she would send Trump a bundle of checks weekly via Federal Express.

Asked about how many checks she sent at one time, she said, "Maybe between 10 and 20. I am not sure though."

Manochio said she would normally receive the signed checks back within a few days.

"Did you always check to make sure they were signed once you got them back?," she was asked.

"Yes," she affirmed.

"Who's signature was on them?" she was asked.

"Mr. Trump's," she said.


Stormy Daniels concludes testimony

During her redirect examination, Stormy Daniels suggested Trump targeted her in a Truth Social post.

"IF YOU GO AFTER ME, I'M COMING AFTER YOU," Trump wrote in August 2023.

Daniels said that Trump made the post shortly after he sued her for legal fees in Florida.

"I wasn't sure, but I thought it was me," Daniels said about the subject of the post.

Prosecutors previously told Judge Merchan that they planned to introduce social media posts to demonstrate a pressure campaign by Trump against known witnesses in the case.

On recross examination, defense attorney Susan Necheles suggested that the post likely referenced Trump's attitude toward a Republican political action committee, not Daniels' conduct.

With her testimony complete, Daniels stepped off the witness stand and departed the courthouse.


Daniels says she's been telling 'the truth' about Trump

"Have you been telling lies about Mr. Trump or the truth about Mr. Trump?" prosecutor Susan Hoffinger asked Stormy Daniels.

Daniels answered, "The truth," and she said it has cost her.

"I've had to hire security, take extra precautions for my daughter, move my daughter to a safe place to live, move a couple times," she said.

Hoffinger concluded her redirect examination with this question: "On balance, has your publicly telling the truth about your experiences with Mr. Trump been net positive, or net negative?"

"Negative," Daniels answered.


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.