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Items tagged with: MichaelCohen
#MichaelCohen was sentenced to 3 years in prison for all the charges. In May 2019, he reported to the medium-security fed prison in Otisville, NY, outside of NYC.
In 2020, Cohen was released on furlough during the COVID pandemic. But the Federal Bureau of Prisons sent him back after he refused to sign paperwork from #Trump AG #BillBarr barring him from publishing a book.
A judge later called his 2nd imprisonment “retaliatory” & ordered him released.
#MichaelCohen is called. Susan #Hoffinger, the head of investigations at the Manhattan DA's office, will handle the questioning for the prosecution. She was in the courtroom when Cohen testified in #Trump’s #civil #fraud trial — he did well during direct examination but not-so-much during cross.
Hoffinger starts by asking Cohen about his background, & he says he’s a descendant of Holocaust survivors. He “really didn’t want to be a lawyer,” but that his family is filled w/them.
#MichaelCohen says his grandmother wanted him to study #law. “I wanted to go to Wall Street,” Cohen says. “My grandmother was like, ‘that’s not going to happen.’”
This sort of gradual introduction of Cohen serves several purposes at once. It humanizes him for the jurors who have heard a lot of negative things about him in recent weeks. And it serves to relax Cohen on the stand before he starts into the meat of his testimony about #Trump.
#MichaelCohen is asked to identify #Trump.
Cohen says that he came into Trump’s circle by purchasing Trump properties. Then, he says, Trump himself offered him an opportunity to work at the #TrumpOrganization “as his special counsel.” He describes that transition into Trump’s world.
#Hoffinger, the prosecutor, asks #Cohen if Trump paid him for early #legal work he did at a Trump building, Trump World Tower. “No, ma’am,” he replies.
#criminal #law #TrumpTrial #conspiracy #ElectionInterference
#MichaelCohen is now testifying that he went to meet w/ #Trump on a bill about another matter. He says he was asked to meet Trump at his office. Trump asked if Cohen was happy at his “sleepy old firm,” & Cohen ultimately went to work for Trump. The bill was never paid. Trump told Cohen that he would only report to him.
Cohen got #Ivanka Trump’s old office on the 26th fl of Trump Tower when he took the job at the #TrumpOrganization.
#MichaelCohen is speaking easily now. He’s injecting some personality into his testimony. He describes negotiating w/ #Trump over his salary, he says they settled on a compromise of $375k a year. “Bonus of course was to be discussed,” Cohen adds.
“It was whatever he wanted,” Michael Cohen says when asked to describe his duties at the #TrumpOrganization. Cohen leans into the word “he.”
#criminal #law #TrumpTrial #CatchAndKill #conspiracy #ElectionInterference #HushMoney
Hoffinger, the prosecutor, is eliciting testimony from #MichaelCohen that he didn’t work in the general counsel’s office at the #TrumpOrganization -- he worked directly w/ #Trump.
One of the matters that Cohen often handled was brow-beating the #media for any negative stories about Trump. Many reporters — some in the courtroom today — received calls from Cohen in which he attacked their coverage of his boss.
#criminal #law #TrumpTrial #CatchAndKill #conspiracy #ElectionInterference #MobTactics
#MichaelCohen begins to describe the projects he began to undertake for #Trump, saying that they were “exciting” to him. Cohen was something of a Trump fanboy, & it’s easy to imagine him taking great pleasure in doing these tasks for his new boss. He reported only to Trump, he has said several times. “Just to Mr. Trump.”
#criminal #law #TrumpTrial #CatchAndKill #conspiracy #ElectionInterference #HushMoney #MobTactics
#MichaelCohen is now testifying that he “re-negotiated” certain bills #Trump felt were too high. This testimony is significant to the case: it shows Cohen directly interacting w/ Trump on #money, & Trump minutely focused on what he paid & received.
Cohen says he would keep Trump apprised of each & every task he completed. He says that it was important to him to gain credit from his new boss, & that Trump would tell him he had done a “fantastic” job.
#MichaelCohen says #Trump’s praise made him feel like “I was on top of the world.”
Cohen testifies about threatening lawsuits against people while he worked for Trump. One was a #MissUSA contestant (I assume sexual assault but it isn’t said). In other cases, Cohen said, he would be antagonistic to reporters, warning them that Trump would sue them over specific stories.
#criminal #law #TrumpTrial #CatchAndKill #conspiracy #ElectionInterference #HushMoney #MobTactics
#MichaelCohen is asked if he was “strong” or acted in a “threatening manner,” to which he replies, “I would say so,” but adds, not all the time.
#Hoffinger asks if #Cohen interacted frequently w/the press — seeking to emphasize how much #Trump cared about what was written about him, even before he ran for president. Hoffinger asks if Cohen worked to “minimize negative stories” & enhance positive ones.
#criminal #law #TrumpTrial #CatchAndKill #conspiracy #ElectionInterference #MobTactics
That’s the crux of the #conspiracy that prosecutors say #MichaelCohen, #Trump, & The #NationalEnquirer entered into during the election: suppressing negative stories about Trump to aid his chances as a candidate.
Prosecution asks about Cohen’s work negotiating on Trump’s behalf in the #TrumpUniversity case— in which Trump was sued for defrauding thousands of students & paid a $25M settlement — an example of regular people suffering as a result of a Trump business.
#MichaelCohen is now describing talking to #Trump every single day, multiple times a day, before the #2016election. It was either in person or by cell phone, Cohen testifies.
He says that if he needed to reach Trump, depending on who Trump was with, he could have reached out to #RhonaGraff, his exec asst; #KeithSchiller, Trump’s #bodyguard; #HopeHicks, his press sec, or the Trump *kids*.
#criminal #law #TrumpTrial #CatchAndKill #conspiracy #ElectionInterference
#MichaelCohen testifies that #Trump "never had an email address." He adds that this was because of a fear of creating a paper trail, potentially for prosecutors.
#Hoffinger asks Cohen to recount conversations w/Trump in which he explained why he didn't use email. "He would comment that emails are like written papers. He knows too many people who have gone down as a direct result of having emails that prosecutors can use in a case," he recalled.
#Hoffinger used #MichaelCohen to testify how #Trump didn't like leaving a written record of what he was doing, because, in Cohen's telling, he didn't want his words to get him into #legal trouble. This helps prepare the jury for a gap in the prosecution's case: that they need to rely on Cohen's word - & not a written record, like an email - to prove that Trump himself was involved in the falsification of business records.
#criminal #law #TrumpTrial #conspiracy #ElectionInterference #MobTactics
#MichaelCohen says #Trump had an open-door policy, & took visitors one at a time.
"Boss, do you have a second?" he'd ask, & then walk right in, he says. He says Trump typically directed employees to always keep him in the loop. So, Cohen said, when a mission was ongoing, he would inform Trump every step of the way.
All of this relates to the case, as Cohen will soon describe that this general practice was in effect when he paid #StormyDaniels $130k in #HushMoney.
#MichaelCohen describes his early days at the #TrumpOrganization as glory days. "It was fantastic. Working for him especially during those 10 years was" — he pauses —
"an amazing experience in many many ways." He sounds very sincere.
This reflects how Cohen actually sounded in real time as he worked there. It was not, as the jury has heard, how his colleagues always experienced him. Though Farro the banker testified to Cohen’s excitement about working for #Trump.
#MichaelCohen says he lied to people on #Trump's behalf. #Hoffinger, the prosecutor, asks him about being called Trump's "#fixer." "It's fair," Cohen replies.
Cohen describes a remarkably servile attitude towards Trump. "The only thing that was on my mind was to accomplish the task, to make him happy," he says.
#criminal #law #TrumpTrial #CatchAndKill #conspiracy #ElectionInterference #HushMoney #MobTactics
#Hoffinger, the prosecutor, is asking #MichaelCohen about when he provided phones to the DA's office for their investigation. One of the defense lawyers, Emil #Bove, has sought several times to raise questions about when Cohen's phones were handed over - & whether he may have manipulated recordings & other materials related to the investigation on them before doing so. Cohen says he handed them over late last year.
#criminal #law #TrumpTrial #CatchAndKill #conspiracy #ElectionInterference
#MichaelCohen says he had >30k contacts in his phone.
Cohen explains that part of the reason there were so many is because Trump had his own contacts synced onto Cohen's phone for ease.
Cohen describes his relationship w/ David #Pecker, the fmr publisher of The #NationalEnquirer, & the 1st witness at this trial. Pecker testified that he, Cohen & #Trump entered into a secret plan to suppress negative stories about Trump in 2015.
#MichaelCohen has corroborated some of what #Pecker said about when he first met Cohen.
Cohen says he sometimes contacted Pecker using the encrypted application #Signal - one of the small pieces of corroboration.
Prosecutors look for these opportunities to join up 2 different witnesses' testimony wherever possible.
#criminal #law #Trump #TrumpTrial #CatchAndKill #conspiracy #ElectionInterference
#MichaelCohen describes how #Trump would try to get a "good story," a phrase Trump himself often uses about coverage, including by making a charitable donation & having articles written about it.
Cohen explains in 2011 when Trump was considering a run for president, Cohen fed Trump a poll that was supportive. Cohen explains he "created for him my own website, called ShouldTrumpRun.com."
That period of time was one of intense competition between #MichaelCohen & Trump's longest-serving adviser, #RogerStone.
#Trump didn't ultimately run in the election in the following year. But he did plant the seeds for himself in the #GOP primary by vaulting to the top of the polls on the #birtherism #racist #ConspiracyTheory #lie that President Barack #Obama may not have been born in the United States.
#Trump also flirted with a run for governor of New York in 2014, but decided against it [too much work]. A year later, he began his run for president.
#MichaelCohen said Trump didn’t run because he had a lot on his plate, including another season of "Celebrity Apprentice." "You don't leave Hollywood — Hollywood leaves you," Cohen said Trump told him.
Cohen's public rep these days is as a Trump hater. But his testimony has made clear that he once adored him.
#MichaelCohen explains that he wasn't going to be a part of the 2016 presidential campaign — he was "just going to be a surrogate," he says. This is the first in what is likely to be a series of humiliations by #Trump that Cohen is expected to testify to.
Cohen says he did some activities on behalf of the campaign, like putting together a "diversity" coalition. He was also given a campaign email address.
#criminal #law #TrumpTrial #CatchAndKill #conspiracy #ElectionInterference #HushMoney
#Hoffinger, the prosecutor, asks #MichaelCohen if he ever talked to #Trump about whether he was concerned that negative personal stories would come forward. #Cohen describes a conversation before the presidential campaign kickoff, quoting Trump saying, "You know that when this comes out, meaning the announcement, just be prepared, there's going to be a lot of women coming forward."
#criminal #law #TrumpTrial #CatchAndKill #conspiracy #ElectionInterference #HushMoney #MobTactics
#MichaelCohen has now testified that he, #Trump & David #Pecker, the publisher of The #NationalEnquirer, entered into a plot to suppress negative stories about Trump. He says Pecker "would be able to help us to know in advance what was coming out" & try to stop it from doing so.
This is the #conspiracy prosecutors allege Trump participated in - 1 of the potential #crimes that transforms the charges Trump is facing into #felonies.
#criminal #law #TrumpTrial #CatchAndKill #ElectionInterference
#MichaelCohen describes the negative stories about Trump's #GOP primary rivals The #NationalEnquirer printed. Some of the smears were directed at #MarcoRubio, the #Florida senator who is currently a top contender to be #Trump's running mate.
Cohen says that he "immediately showed" such material to Trump, who would greet it with praise like "fantastic, unbelievable."
#criminal #law #TrumpTrial #CatchAndKill #ElectionInterference
#MichaelCohen understood the power of a supermarket #tabloid, which would reach #voters "at the cash register of so many supermarkets & bodegas." He testifies: "If we can place positive stories about Mr. Trump, that would be beneficial. He adds: "And if we could place negative stories about some of the other candidates, that would also be beneficial."
#criminal #law #TrumpTrial #CatchAndKill #ElectionInterference
#MichaelCohen & prosecution discuss positive stories about #Trump that Cohen helped craft for The #NationalEnquirer:
Prosecution shows email back-&-forth between Cohen, & The Enquirer. Cohen is seen in the email editing what goes in & out of a puff piece about Trump. He doesn't want them to mention that Trump used to date a "Penthouse Pet" - evidence for the jury that Cohen was diligently micromanaging reporting of Trump's history w/women.
#MichaelCohen lays out the first #CatchAndKill story that he worked on w/ The #NationalEnquirer. It was about an allegation by a #doorman at a #Trump building that Trump had fathered a child out of wedlock. Cohen describes telling Trump about it.
This is the first of the 3 #HushMoney deals that jurors have heard about. The last of them is Cohen's own $130k payment to #StormyDaniels.
#criminal #law #TrumpTrial #conspiracy #ElectionInterference #HushMoney
#MichaelCohen says he monitored the progress of the doorman's story closely, & that The #NationalEnquirer struck a deal to suppress the story. Cohen says that #Trump was very happy to hear of it - & that Cohen personally reviewed the agreement, & asked for a copy to show Trump so that he knew it was taken care of.
Cohen is describing seeking “credit" w/Trump for "accomplishing the task" of making sure the doorman's story stayed dead.
#criminal #law #TrumpTrial #conspiracy #ElectionInterference
#MichaelCohen moved on to the 2nd #CatchAndKill deal, which involved #KarenMcDougal, who said she had an affair w/ #Trump. Cohen says he mentioned McDougal to Trump, & his response was:
"She's really beautiful." Cohen says he warned Trump that McDougal was shopping her story, & Trump told him to "make sure it doesn't get released."
#criminal #law #TrumpTrial #conspiracy #ElectionInterference
#MichaelCohen is asked how he monitored the progress of the deal w/ #KarenMcDougal, & says he did so by text, phone & the app Signal. The prosecutor doesn't dwell on it, but that is documented evidence, & jurors heard from other witnesses, especially David #Pecker, just how much Cohen contacted the parties during that period in 2016.
#criminal #law #Trump #TrumpTrial #CatchAndKill #conspiracy #ElectionInterference #HushMoney
#MichaelCohen's testimony is incredibly important. The witnesses who took the stand so far didn't have direct contact w/ #Trump. Rather, they spoke to Cohen. Cohen has already testified about multiple relevant conversations w/Trump himself.
Having told the jury earlier that he checked in w/Trump on every little thing, Cohen is able to testify that he kept Trump attuned to every little piece of minor news regarding the #KarenMcDougal deal.
#Evidence is displayed in the courtroom, including texts about the deal.
The text message exchanges we're seeing are dated June 16, 2016, one month before the #RNC, when #Trump formally accepted the #Republican Party's nomination. While behind the scenes, his fixer, #MichaelCohen, was frantically trying to ensure that Playboy model #KarenMcDougal would not go public w/her story about having had sex w/Trump.
#criminal #law #TrumpTrial #CatchAndKill #conspiracy #ElectionInterference
#MichaelCohen goes through his text messages w/ #DylanHoward, editor of The #NationalEnquirer, about #KarenMcDougal.
"I've got this locked down for you," Howard tells Cohen of the McDougal story. "I won't let it out of my grasp."
Cohen is asked about having been present for a conversation that #Trump had w/ David #Pecker about a week after those texts were sent. Cohen says Trump asked Pecker "how things were going," & Pecker said they had it under control.
#MichaelCohen describes a call when that David #Pecker said that it would take $150k to "control the story," referring to #KarenMcDougal's claims. Cohen testifies that #Trump said "no problem — I'll take care of it," meaning, Cohen says, that Trump would pay him back.
This demonstrate just how desperate Trump was to keep these stories suppressed: A lot of evidence has been entered about how frugal he was. (Though Trump never paid Pecker back for McDougal's story.)
#MichaelCohen reads more text exchanges w/ #NationalEnquirer’s #DylanHoward.
Jurors have already heard a recording, secretly made by Cohen as he talked to #Trump about #KarenMcDougal, corroborating this part Cohen's testimony.
Cohen said that #Pecker had told him the agreement w/McDougal was “bulletproof." That is exactly the same word that Pecker told the #jury that he had used w/Cohen.
#Hoffinger asks how #Trump received the news about the agreement.
"Fantastic," #MichaelCohen says.
Members of Trump's entourage have been live-posting from court. Eric Trump, posted about Cohen's testimony: "I have never seen anything more rehearsed!"
Senator #JDVance of #Ohio, who is in contention to be Trump's running mate, posted that it's "absurd" to criticize Trump for falling asleep in court. Vance writes: "I'm 39 years old & I've been here for 26 minutes & I'm about to fall asleep"
