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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No one sat closer to Trump in White House, Westerhout says
Jurors saw a map of the West Wing of the White House to demonstrate where Madeleine Westerhout's desk was in relation to the Oval Office.
"That is the area known as the outer oval office -- that is where the presidential secretaries or assistants sat," Westerhout told the jurors, highlighting the location of her desk.
Westerhout said she sat near John McEntee, Hope Hicks, and Keith Schiller, but no one sat closer to Trump's desk in the Oval Office than she did in the early days of the Trump administration.
"Who was the focus of your job?" prosecutor Becky Mangold asked.
"The president," Westerhout responded.
Westerhout testifies about 'Access Hollywood' fallout
Before she worked in the White House, witness Madeleine Westerhout worked at the Republican National Committee.
On the stand, she testified about the aftermath of the release of the infamous "Access Hollywood" tape.
"It was a tape of Mr. Trump and Billy Bush," she said. "At the time I recall it rattling RNC leadership."
Prosecutor Becky Mangold asked, "Did the RNC consider replacing Mr. Trump as a candidate?"
Westerhout told the jury, "It's my recollection there were conversations how it would be possible to replace him as the candidate if it came to that."
Westerhout testified that after Trump won the election, she helped with the presidential transition.
She said she earned the nickname "Greeter Girl" in the media after she helped coordinate meetings at Trump Tower, appearing in videos and photos accompanying potential Trump appointees in the Trump Tower lobby.
Prosecutors call White House aide Madeleine Westerhout
Prosecutors have called their next big witness: Madeleine Westerhout, who was Trump's director of Oval Office operations in the White House.
Westerhout was subpoenaed to testify.
Asked if she is nervous to testify, she responded, "I am now." This is her first time in a courtroom, she said.
Trump leaned forward in her chair, watching her intently.
Jury hears quotes from Trump on his management approach
The prosecution has next called Tracy Menzies, a senior vice president at HarperCollins.
She is testifying about Donald Trump and Bill Zanker's 2007 book, "Think Big: Make It Happen in Business and Life."
Trump, at the defense table, tilted his head up at the large screen at the front of the courtroom and then leaned toward his monitor at the defense table as his image appeared on the cover jacket for the book.
Menzies testified about passages from the book, quoting Trump's approach to business and people management.
"As a matter of fact, I value loyalty above everything else -- more than brains, more than drive, more than energy," Trump wrote in one portion of the book, read aloud by Menzies. Another portion of the book noted that loyalty has become "part of the corporate culture of the Trump Organization."
"My motto is: Always get even. When somebody screws you, screw them back in spades," read another quote.
"When you are wronged, go after those people because it is a good feeling and because other people will see you doing it."
Also: "Get the best people and don't trust them."
Jury hears secretly recorded call between Daniels' lawyer and Cohen
Jurors heard a surreptitiously recorded phone call between then-Trump attorney Michael Cohen and Stormy Daniels' then-attorney, Keith Davidson.
"I just didn't want you to get caught off guard, and I wanted to let you know what was going on behind the scenes," Davidson says on the recording. "And I would not be the least bit surprised if, I wouldn't be the least bit surprised if you see in the next couple of days that Gina Rodriguez's boyfriend goes out in the media and tells the story that Stormy Daniels, you know, in the weeks prior to the election was basically yelling and screaming, and calling me a p----."
"Can I, can I ask you a question? Right," says Cohen.
"No, hold on one second," says Davidson. "I wouldn't be the least bit surprised if he comes out and says, you know what, Stormy Daniels, she wanted this money more than you can ever imagine. I remember hearing her on the phone saying, you f------ Keith Davidson. You better settle this goddamn story. Because if he loses this election, and he's going to lose, if he loses this election we lose all f------ leverage this case is worth zero. And if that happens, I'm going to sue you because you lost this opportunity. So settle this f------ case. That's a far cry, that's a far cry from far cry from being, you know, bullied and pushed into settling a case."
Trump, sitting at the defense table, appeared highly pleased with this testimony -- he hunched forward over the table in leaned into the monitor on his table that displayed the transcript of the call, firmly nodding is head yes in agreement repeatedly when the tape said "we lose all f------ leverage."
Trump then looked directly at the witness stand when Daniels responded to the tape, saying she never yelled at Davison.