Trump trial: Cohen faces Trump team grilling over past lies, recollections
The defense questioned Trump's former lawyer on Day 18 of the 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.
Top headlines:
- No decision yet about Trump testifying
- Defense argues Cohen's lack of retainer agreement was not an issue
- Defense accuses Cohen of lying about Trump phone call
- Defense challenges Cohen on past perjury
- Cohen says Trump approved payment of $420K, paid monthly
- Jury hears secret recording of Trump discussing payment
What to know about the hush money case
READ MORE: Here's what you need to know about the historic case.
Defense highlights Cohen was never given cooperation agreement
When Michael Cohen's cross-examination resumed following the mid-morning break, defense attorney Todd Blanche established that Cohen has not received a cooperation agreement with any prosecutor's office -- not the Southern District of New York, not special counsel Robert Mueller, not the Manhattan DA.
"You were meeting with them and providing information?" Blanche asked Cohen.
"Correct," Cohen said.
"But ultimately that did not result in a cooperation agreement?" Blanche asked.
"That's correct," Cohen answered.
The tacit implication may be that none of the prosecutors thought Cohen trustworthy enough to enter into a cooperation deal with him.
Trump, asked about his lawyer's performance, gives a thumbs-up
An hour and half into Michael Cohen cross-examination, Trump has remained largely slumped in his seat at the defense table, his eyes fluttering between closed and opened. He has occasionally leaned forward, briefly squinting, but seemed unfazed by a majority of his attorney Todd Blanche's strikes at Cohen.
Meanwhile, the majority of the jury has appeared attentive to Cohen's testimony. Unlike the intense back and forth between defense attorney Susan Necheles and Stormy Daniels last week, during which jurors turned their heads with every question, they appear to be watching Cohen's cross-examination more casually. Some focus only on Blanche, while others keep their attention on Cohen.
As he exited the courtroom for the mid-morning break, Trump gave a thumbs-up to a reporter who shouted, "How's Todd doing?"
Defense challenges Cohen on pardon claims
Defense attorney Todd Blanche attempted to highlight Michael Cohen's contrasting statements about whether he wanted a pardon from then-President Trump.
Cohen told jurors that he never asked Trump for a pardon, though he asked his lawyer about the possibility.
"I never asked for it. I spoke to my attorney about it because we had seen on television President Trump talking about potentially pre-pardoning everyone and putting an end to this," Cohen said.
Cohen confirmed he talked to attorney Robert Costello about exploring the idea of getting a pardon, which he would have accepted at the time.
Blanche said that during Cohen's 2019 Congressional testimony, Cohen said, "I have never asked for, nor would I accept a pardon from President Trump."
Blanche said that Cohen later said something different during a deposition.
"And do you remember being asked the same question, about accepting a pardon ... and you said "you directed your lawyer to explore the possibility because you were 100% open to accepting it?" Blanche asked.
"Yes sir," Cohen said. "At that present moment, it was true. I wanted this nightmare to end ... I asked them, is this really something that they're talking about? Can you find out?"
Pushed by Blanche on the issue, Cohen refused to acknowledge his congressional testimony was a lie.
"That was a lie, was it?" Blanche asked.
"At the time it was accurate," Cohen said.
Defense seeks to paint Cohen as a serial liar
Defense attorney Todd Blanche continued to work to paint a picture of Michael Cohen as a proven liar who pleaded guilty to crimes associated with those lies and leveraged his cooperation as part of those plea deals to secure a shorter prison sentence.
"When you plead guilty to a crime, one of the things you get -- one of the benefits you get -- is a little time off your sentence ... correct?" Blanche asked.
Blanche then said that in the case of Cohen's guilty plea to charges that included those related to the Stormy Daniels payment, "You got that credit even though you lied."
Cohen, for his part, has claimed some responsibility for the hush money charges Donald Trump now faces -- but he has suggested that he himself should not have been charged, and that the system that charged him was "corrupt."
"Do you have any doubt in your mind that the outcome of this trial affects you personally?" Blanche asked Cohen.
"Yes," Cohen replied.
Star witness Michael Cohen expected to take the stand
Michael Cohen, who for nearly a decade was Donald Trump's trusted adviser, personal attorney, and self-described "attack dog with a law license," is scheduled to take the stand this morning as the prosecution's star witness in Trump's criminal hush money trial.
According to prosecutors, Cohen was in the room in when Trump and former National Enquirer publisher David Pecker agreed to a catch-and-kill scheme to hide negative information about Trump from 2016 voters, and Cohen himself made a $130,000 payment to Stormy Daniels to buy her silence about an alleged 2006 sexual encounter with Trump. The former president, who has denied the encounter took place, is on trial for allegedly falsifying business records related to his company's reimbursement to Cohen in 2017.
But Cohen's value to the prosecution's case could be endangered by the disbarred lawyer's credibility issues. Cohen pleaded guilty in 2018 to tax evasion, campaign finance allegations, and lying to Congress in what Cohen says was an effort to protect Trump. The former president's lawyers have also argued that Cohen perjured himself again when he testified at Trump's civil fraud trial last year, and accuse Cohen of making his livelihood off books and podcasts that antagonize Trump.
Cohen is the final key witness in the prosecution's case, after which the defense will present its case.