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#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 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 & 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
#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
Andrew Giuliani, another #Trump ally & the son of his fmr lawyer #RudyGiuliani, is also posting from the courtroom, calling #MichaelCohen a "serial liar" & smearing the Manhattan DA's office, which brought the case.
Cohen is asked how he communicated w/ #KeithDavidson, a lawyer for both #KarenMcDougal & #StormyDaniels, says "phone, email, text.”
#criminal #law #Trump #TrumpTrial #CatchAndKill #conspiracy #ElectionInterference #HushMoney #MobTactics
#MichaelCohen is now recalling David #Pecker applying pressure to get reimbursed for paying off #KarenMcDougal. "It was too much money for him to hide from the CEO of the parent company," he says. He adds that he had several conversations w/ #Trump about that fact. The jury is likely to again hear the recording that was played earlier.
#criminal #law #DeadBeat #TrumpTrial #CatchAndKill #conspiracy #ElectionInterference #HushMoney #MobTactics
#Pecker's mounting frustration about paying to kill stories on #Trump's behalf & not getting repaid is what leads to Pecker refusing to pay for #StormyDaniels story, & #MichaelCohen taking over as the funder of the #CatchAndKill operations.
Cohen testifies about recording #Trump directing him to pay David #Pecker back in cash — the jury has heard this recording.
#criminal #law #DeadBeat #TrumpTrial #conspiracy #ElectionInterference #HushMoney #MobTactics
It fits w/ #MichaelCohen's narrative that he was often updating #Trump on the progress of the #KarenMcDougal #HushMoney deal - on the recording, Cohen only has to mention Pecker's name & it seems as if Trump knows that he's referring to that deal.
Cohen claims that this was the only conversation w/ Trump that he ever taped, & that he did it so that Pecker could hear that Trump planned to pay him back, thus retaining Pecker's loyalty.
#criminal #law #TrumpTrial #conspiracy #ElectionInterference
Big picture:
#Trump currently has senior #elected officials, including a possible future VP nominee, sitting in the courtroom listening to a recording of him, as a candidate, talking w/his lawyer about paying for material from The #NationalEnquirer. Trump has completely got the party under his boot.
#Pathetic #Deplorables #criminal #law #TrumpTrial #CatchAndKill #conspiracy #ElectionInterference #HushMoney #MobTactics #NodFarter #StormyDaniels #KarenMcDougal
Apologies for my late start
#TrumpTrial 🧵
Monday May 13
#MichaelCohen is on the stand today
#criminal #law #Trump #CatchAndKill #conspiracy #ElectionInterference #HushMoney #MobTactics #NodFarter #GagOrder #StormyDaniels #KarenMcDougal
The people called the first #witness & #DavidPecker was sworn in.
#Pecker of The National Enquirer, was part of the #CatchAndKill #conspiracy that #Colangelo described in his opening statement, w/ #Trump & #MichaelCohen.
Prosecutor Joshua #Steinglass questioned Pecker. He began by asking him basic biographical information.
At that point, #Merchan stopped testimony, to ask jurors if they'd like writing materials to take notes. At least 10 raise their hands.
Questioning resumed.
#Pecker says of his time at The #NationalEnquirer: "We used checkbook #journalism, & we paid for stories.”
#Steinglass asked him whether he had "final say" over editorial decisions. Pecker said anything >$10k had to be approved by him.
Pecker said in his experience, the only thing that's important "is the cover" of a magazine.
#criminal #law #Trump #TrumpTrial #CatchAndKill #conspiracy #ElectionInterference #HushMoney
#Steinglass asked #Pecker to recount his work cell phone number at the time.
That may seem small but it's important — it's a good bet that those numbers will come up when #evidence is presented.
#Trump leaned forward on the defense table as he listened to Pecker's testimony. As Pecker spoke about editor meetings, Trump passed notes to 2 of his lawyers before reportedly “glaring” at Pecker on the stand.
#criminal #law #TrumpTrial #CatchAndKill #conspiracy #ElectionInterference #HushMoney
#Pecker described the types of people #tabloids typically use as sources: hotel workers, limo drivers, lawyers, etc.
#Trump's lawyers have tried to depict the ##NationalEnquirer #tabloid as a media company like any other. But Pecker's testimony that they practiced “#CheckbookJournalism," & his description of their editorial practices, undermines that argument.
#criminal #law #Trump #TrumpTrial #CatchAndKill #conspiracy #ElectionInterference #HushMoney
After a short #testimony, #Pecker was dismissed from the stand. He’ll be back tomorrow.
Justice #Merchan told jurors about the schedule & asked them not to discuss the case w/ anyone & not to read about it. He asked them to put it out of their minds.
[signing off]
#criminal #law #Trump #TrumpTrial #CatchAndKill #conspiracy #ElectionInterference #HushMoney
Here’s a sampling of #NationalEnquirer covers leading up to the 2016 presidential election:
Remember the twitter #TrumpLovesPecker hashtag?
#criminal #law #Trump #TrumpTrial #CatchAndKill #conspiracy #ElectionInterference #HushMoney
#GiftArticle ICYMI: #LachlanCartwright’s “What I Saw Working at The #NationalEnquirer During Donald #Trump’s Rise”
“…reading the indictment was like stepping through the looking glass,
#criminal #law #Trump #TrumpTrial #CatchAndKill #conspiracy #ElectionInterference #HushMoney
https://www.nytimes.com/2024/04/03/magazine/national-enquirer-trump-lachlan-cartwright.html?unlocked_article_code=1.mU0.Bo8c.tkQySLkdTTR2&smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare&sgrp=c-cb
At the bench conference Judge #Merchan appeared to be speaking firmly to #Blanche.
The result of the conversation — Blanche may not be allowed to accuse #MichaelCohen of #perjury directly. But he may say that Cohen lied under oath. A #legal distinction.
Blanche suggested to the #jury there was a monetary motivation for Cohen's testimony, saying his livelihood relies on #Trump being destroyed.
#criminal #law #TrumpTrial #CatchAndKill #conspiracy #ElectionInterference #HushMoney
#Blanche made it clear that the #defense will continue to deny that #Trump had sex w/ #StormyDaniels.
Blanche called #MichaelCohen a "#criminal." [no duh. Criminals deal w/other criminals, yet point?]
Blanche continued: "He's obsessed w/President Trump even to this day.”
Blanche said Cohen demonstrated that obsession in his public interviews, & “his desire to see President Trump go to prison."
#law #TrumpTrial #CatchAndKill #conspiracy #ElectionInterference #HushMoney
Prosecutors objected 3X during Blanche's opening statement. Justice #Merchan called them to the bench & prosecution won the objection.
Blanche loses a bit of his opening. He had to say instead that there is "nothing illegal" about entering a #NDA.
He said that companies use NDAs all the time & people who are wealthy & famous use them regularly, stressing there is nothing illegal about the practice.
#criminal #law #Trump #TrumpTrial #CatchAndKill #conspiracy #ElectionInterference #HushMoney
"I have a spoiler alert: There's nothing wrong w/trying to influence an election," #Blanche says. "It's called democracy." [not the charge. The charge is falsifying business records, the #MensRea is to influence. Besides which, influencing an election through illegal means is duh illegal]
"They put something sinsiter on this idea as if it were a crime," he continued. "You'll learn it's not."
#criminal #law #Trump #TrumpTrial #CatchAndKill #conspiracy #ElectionInterference #HushMoney
It seems like #Blanche will seek to convince the jury that everything was appropriate & done by the book, not even worthy of notice. That #Cohen was #Trump's lawyer, & he was paid for #legal services. But he'll also seek to distance his client from the matter: "President Trump had nothing to do w/the invoice," he said.
#criminal #law #TrumpTrial #CatchAndKill #conspiracy #ElectionInterference #HushMoney
#Blanche said #Trump put up "a wall" between himself & his company when he became president. We know from the civil #fraud ruling that isn’t true.
Trump always seems to get his lawyers to basically testify about how *successful* the #TrumpOrganization, has been. - Blanche went off on this success narrative for a while.
#criminal #law #TrumpTrial #CatchAndKill #conspiracy #ElectionInterference #HushMoney
#Colangelo encourages #jurors to "tune out the noise" & "focus on the facts" during the course of the #TrumpTrial. He summarizes the evidence again, & says after all the evidence is in, Joshua Steinglass, another prosecutor, will do the closing argument.
He ends by saying there is "only one conclusion: Donald Trump is guilty of 34 counts of falsifying business records in the first degree."
#criminal #law #Trump #CatchAndKill #conspiracy #ElectionInterference #HushMoney
#Colangelo depicted #MichaelCohen as a flawed man who has lied before, saying he lied about the payment to #StormyDaniels initially "to protect his boss."
"This case is about a #criminal #conspiracy & a #coverup," Colangelo says, st the start of his conclusion of his opening statement, adding that at the end of the case, jurors will have no #ReasonableDoubt about #Trump's #guilt.
#criminal #law #TrumpTrial #CatchAndKill #ElectionInterference #HushMoney
#Colangelo says #Trump's willingness to go to the trouble of the convoluted repayment scheme to #Cohen “shows just how important it was to him to hide the true nature of Cohen's illegal payment to Ms. Daniels & the overall #election #conspiracy that they had launched."
#MichaelCohen is a key witness. Colangelo explained the litany of problems w/Cohen to get ahead of defense’s attempt to discredit him - something Trump's lawyers can't do, their client won't let them: admit mistakes were made.
Finished w/describing the series of payoffs, #Colangelo details the part the #criminal charges stem from. He is describing the paperwork arrangement to reimburse #MichaelCohen for the #HushMoney payment he made to #StormyDaniels, & how #Trump & #AllenWeisselberg, sought to “disguise” the repayment.
There were chuckles in the courtroom as Colangelo says Trump was a "very frugal businessman" who watched all the spending at his empire.
Reportedly, #Trump pursed his lips at ↑ that & wrote a note which he passed to his atty Todd Blanche, then whispered to atty, Emil Bove.
#Colangelo described a communication from Keith Davidson, the lawyer for #KarenMcDougal, to Dylan Howard, a #NationalEnquirer editor, as it became clear Trump was winning the #election: "What have we done," he said.
#criminal #law #TrumpTrial #CatchAndKill #conspiracy #ElectionInterference #HushMoney
#Colangelo says #Pecker will testify that $150k was more than The #NationalEnquirer would typically have paid for such a deal, & that Pecker had trouble being reimbursed. Crucially, Colangelo says, Pecker will testify that he spoke to #Trump about it.
Colangelo mentions an audio #recording #Cohen made between himself & Trump discussing the #McDougal deal.
#criminal #law #Trump #TrumpTrial #CatchAndKill #conspiracy #ElectionInterference #HushMoney
Colangelo is now describing the 2nd “#CatchAndKill” deal in question, relating to #KarenMcDougal, a fmr #PlayboyModel who said she had an affair w/ #Trump. #Colangelo says evidence will show that Trump “desperately” didn’t want that info public. “Before the meeting, during the meeting, after the meeting,” Colangelo says, #NationalEnquirer publisher was in touch w/ #MichaelCohen, putting this deal right at Trump’s doorstep.
#criminal #law #TrumpTrial #conspiracy #ElectionInterference #HushMoney
Prosecutors to highlight 3 hush-money deals: #Trump & co-conspirators paid off the #PornStar, the #PlayboyModel & the #doorman.
#Colangelo emphasizes it was the 1st time ever that #DavidPecker, #NationalEnquirer, paid for info relating to Trump.
key: every one of these acts involving #HushMoney sprang from the meeting at which the #conspiracy was hatched.
IOW, prosecutors are accusing Trump of using The NE to do for Trump what Trump constantly says others do against him: promote “#FakeNews.”
As #Colangelo says that #Trump orchestrated a #criminal scheme to #corrupt the 2016 presidential election, Trump shook his head.
Trump has attacked Colangelo on Truth Social repeatedly. #StochasticTerrorism
Colangelo has outlined the #crime, & is on to the #GrandJury #indictment of Trump last year. His opening is expected to take >1 hr.
#law #TrumpTrial #CatchAndKill #conspiracy #ElectionInterference #HushMoney
#TrumpTrial #criminal #ElectionInterference opening statements have begun.
Matthew #Colangelo, one of the Manhattan DA’s prosecutors, up.
Per Jonah Bromwich:
“Colangelo is known for his writing, but he has very little experience in Manhattan criminal court — I’ve never heard him give an opening before. He begins by telling the jury that #Trump lied “over & over & over” again by disguising business records.”
