Cohen’s Cross-Examination to

Continue as Trump Trial Enters

Homestretch
https://www.nytimes.com/2024/05/16/nyregion/trump-trial-hush-
money-cohen.html

Defense lawyers for Donald J. Trump will try to sully the testimony of Michael D.
Cohen, who once was his lawyer and now is his nemesis.

Donald J. Trump’s criminal trial will resume on Thursday with cross-examination of

his former fixer, Michael D. Cohen.Credit...Pool photo by Justin Lane

By Michael Wilson
May 16, 2024, 3:00 a.m. ET
The eagerly anticipated cross-examination of Michael D. Cohen resumes Thursday
morning, a crucial opportunity for the defense to poke holes in his testimony and
perhaps trip up or provoke the state’s key witness. The questioning of Mr. Cohen,
who was Donald J. Trump’s former fixer, is the beginning of the end of the trial,
which began April 15 and could conclude before Memorial Day weekend.

On Tuesday, Mr. Trump’s lawyer Todd Blanche came out swinging, suggesting that
Mr. Cohen had referred to him personally on social media with a vulgarity. Mr.
Blanche went on to ask about Mr. Cohen’s longtime habit of talking to reporters, his
ignoring requests from prosecutors to stop speaking and his vitriol toward Mr.
Trump. Mr. Cohen, who puts out podcasts and TikTok videos, has suggested that Mr.
Trump belongs in a cage like an “animal” and referred to him as a “Cheeto-dusted
cartoon villain.”

In court, Mr. Cohen responded calmly and matter-of-factly, avoiding any outbursts
or gaffes that could hurt his credibility.

Mr. Cohen testified that Mr. Trump directed him to pay $130,000 in hush money to
Stormy Daniels, a porn star, to suppress her account of a sexual rendezvous with the
former president in a Lake Tahoe, Nev., hotel in 2006.

With no testimony scheduled for Friday, and Mr. Cohen expected to be the
prosecution’s final witness, closing arguments in the case could begin as soon as
Monday. The defense has not ruled out the possibility of Mr. Trump’s testifying, but
that would seem to be a long shot, and would open him up to his own potentially
damaging cross-examination.

Here’s what to know about the trial:

 Mr. Trump is charged with 34 felony counts of falsifying business records

related to the reimbursement of Mr. Cohen for the hush money, one for each
of the documents involved: 11 checks, 11 invoices and 12 ledger entries. He has
denied having had sex with Ms. Daniels and any wrongdoing related to the
records.

 Mr. Cohen testified about evidence that jurors have heard about already
regarding the methods of the $130,000 payment, including phone logs, emails
and text messages. Mr. Cohen’s testimony seemed to corroborate that of David
Pecker, the former National Enquirer publisher, establishing a deal to
suppress unflattering stories about Mr. Trump. Here are the takeaways from
Tuesday’s court session.
 The case has attracted a revolving door of Republican supporters of Mr.
Trump, many stepping outside the courthouse to do what the defendant,
bound by gag orders, cannot: rail against jurors, witnesses and Justice Juan
M. Merchan’s daughter, a political consultant who has done work for
Democrats.

Michael Wilson, who covers New York City, has been a Times reporter for more than two
decades. More about Michael Wilson
See more on: Donald Trump
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