Trump trial: Stormy Daniels tells (almost) all about alleged sexual encounter with Trump
Donald Trump watched Stormy Daniels testify on Day 13 of his 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.
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Jurors review evidence as Tarasoff details Cohen's invoices
As she reentered the courtroom after the mid-afternoon break, longtime Trump Organization staffer Deborah Tarasoff, who still works at the company, patted the hand of Eric Trump, who is seated in the front row of the spectators' gallery.
Tarasoff's direct examination resumed, with jurors continuing to pay close attention to her testimony.
As she walked the jury through each of Michael Cohen's invoices and the resulting ledger entries and checks -- which comprise the 34 counts of the DA's indictment -- the jury members shifted their attention between Tarasoff at the witness stand, the exhibits on the screen in front of them, and prosecutor Christopher Conroy.
Many of the jurors continued to take notes as they thoroughly examined the exhibits.
Trump, sitting at the defense table, was similarly engaged with the testimony, occasionally conferring with his lawyers and examining the evidence.
Tarasoff says 'legal expenses' label came from invoice
Trump Organization accounts payable supervisor Deborah Tarasoff walked the jurors through the process for processing the invoices and checks for Michael Cohen in 2017.
The process generally began with an email from controller Jeffrey McConney, who approved the expenses.
"Please pay. Post to same g/l as last month," McConney said in his email from March 2017.
"Please pay," McConney emailed Tarasoff in April.
Jurors then saw the invoice processed on the Trump Organization's general ledger, labeled as "legal expenses."
"Where did that come from?" prosecutor Christopher Conroy asked.
"I put that in. It came from the invoice," Tarasoff said.
For checks from the Donald J. Trump Revocable Trust, two people -- from among either Donald Trump Jr., Eric Trump, and Allen Weisselberg -- signed the check. For the checks from Donald Trump's personal account, Donald Trump had to sign the check himself.
Some of the jurors appeared to be attentive during this testimony, watching Tarasoff explain the exhibits displayed on the screen in front of them. Others sat passively, some with their arms crossed, as the testimony continued.
Tarasoff says Cohen's checks were sent to White House to be signed
Trump Organization accounts payable supervisor Deborah Tarasoff told jurors that she processed Michael Cohen's invoices in the same manner she would process any other invoice.
"The same way everything was processed," Tarasoff said, noting that she began processing the invoices once she got an approval email.
"Do you remember who you would get those emails from?" Conroy asked. .
"Jeffrey McConney," Tarasoff said.
The only change in the protocol, according to Tarasoff, was that the checks from Trump's personal account would need to be signed by Trump in Washington, D.C., so another employee would mail the check to the White House by Federal Express, Tarasoff said.
"We would send them to the White House for him to sign," Tarasoff said.
"Even when he was in DC, no one else had authority to sign the checks?" Conroy asked.
"That's right," Tarasoff said.
Trump rejected checks he didn't want to sign, Tarasoff says
Prosecutors appear to be trying to used Trump Organization accounts payable supervisor Deborah Tarasoff to portray Donald Trump as more than a passive player in the alleged scheme to hide Michael Cohen's repayments from authorities.
The defense has suggested Trump is a multi-tasker who would blindly sign stacks of checks while doing untold numbers of other things. But Tarasoff said Trump would sometimes reject checks.
"If he didn't want to sign it he didn't sign it," Tarasoff said.
"Did you ever see a time when he didn't sign a check?" prosecutor Chris Conroy asked.
"He would write void on it and send it back," Tarasoff responded, noting Trump's distinctive signature using a black Sharpie. "That's what he uses," she said, drawing on her 24 years of experience at the Trump Organization.
McConney says he worked daily with CFO Allen Weisselberg
Prosecutor Matthew Colangelo began his questioning of former Trump Organization controller Jeffrey McConney, who is testifying under subpoena. McConney said the Trump Organization is paying for his attorneys in this matter.
McConney, who oversaw the company's general ledger and managed the accounting department, told jurors that he directly reported to Allen Weisselberg, the former Trump Organization CFO, from "the day I was hired until the day he left."
McConney told jurors that he interacted with Weisselberg on a daily basis.
"Other than having lunch everyday, whenever I needed to. His office was next to mine," McConney said.