Trump trial key witness Michael Cohen expected to testify Monday
get the free app
Former President Donald Trump's criminal trial in New York is expected to see its key witness, ex-attorney Michael Cohen, testify Monday.
Now six years removed from being a key confidante to Trump, Cohen has emerged as the Republican presidential candidate's de facto arch nemesis. In books, podcasts and on social media, he has become among Trump's most ardent critics. The withering criticism has chafed Trump, who has violated a gag order in the case to lash out at Cohen — and repeatedly asked the judge to allow him to do so.
Prosecutors have reached the home stretch of their case, nearly a month after this trial began. They said in court Friday that they could rest their case by the end of next week.
Cohen's role is to tell the court that Trump understood that records related to reimbursement checks to Cohen would be falsified in order to cover up the fact that they were tied to the purchase of Stormy Daniels' story.
As proceedings came to a close Friday, Trump attorney Todd Blanche complained that Cohen has continued to talk about the case and Trump — even as recently as Wednesday on TikTok, Blanche said.
Witnesses are asked not to discuss the case, but they're not subject to the gag order imposed on Trump. Judge Juan Merchan instructed prosecutors to tell Cohen to stop talking.
This week's testimony seesawed between sex and bookkeeping. Thursday saw the conclusion of a furious back and forth between prosecutors and Trump's lawyers, who dueled with adult film star Stormy Daniels on the stand for a second day.
Friday was less explosive, with former White House executive assistant Madeleine Westerhout returning to the stand to be questioned by the defense. In her testimony, Westerhout portrayed her time working for Trump as positive and discussed his closeness to his family.
Trump attorney Susan Necheles also established that Trump did not call all of the people on the list Westerhout received from Rhona Graff, Trump's assistant at the Trump Organization. Graff testified earlier that the list contained the contact information for Daniels and Karen McDougal, the two women who have said they had affairs with Trump. Trump has denied both claims.
The jurors were also shown a document illustrating the records Trump is accused of falsifying in the case. It listed 11 invoices, 12 vouchers and 11 checks, a total of 34 documents corresponding to 34 counts — all allegedly connected to the reimbursement payments to Cohen.
Here's how the trial unfolded Friday:
Michael Cohen expected to testify in Trump trial Monday
The key witness against former President Donald Trump, his former lawyer Michael Cohen, is expected to be called to the stand Monday, sources tell CBS News.
Cohen's testimony marks the home stretch of the prosecution's case, nearly a month after this trial began. Cohen is expected to testify that Trump understood that records related to reimbursement checks to Cohen would be falsified in order to cover up the fact that they were tied to the purchase of Daniels' story.
Many of the exhibits and witnesses called by prosecutors were geared toward bolstering Cohen before Trump's attorneys attack his credibility. Defense attorneys are expected to paint Cohen as a scorned former employee who has previously lied under oath.
Madeleine Westerhout returns to the stand
Trump attorney Susan Necheles was in the middle of questioning Westerhout Thursday when proceedings drew to a close.
Necheles asked Westerhout about her experience working for Trump, who Westerhout called, "a really good boss."
That's a tactic the defense team has taken with several of Trump's former employees, eliciting often glowing testimony of their time working for the defendant.
"He never made me feel like I didn't belong there," Westerhout said.
Necheles also continued a defense theme of eliciting testimony from former employees about Trump's relationship with family members. Westerhout said he's "very close" to them.
Westerhout seemed cheerful this morning, smiling frequently. It was quite a contrast from her tearful testimony yesterday, when she broke down on the stand and choked up as she answered questions.
Necheles established that Trump did not call all of the people on the list Westerhout received from Rhona Graff, Trump's assistant at the Trump Organization. In particular, Westerhout didn't specifically recall any phone calls with Allen Weisselberg, the Trump Organization's chief financial officer who is accused of orchestrating the scheme to funnel the "hush money" reimbursements to Cohen.
"He spoke to so many people," Westerhout said.
Graff testified earlier in the trial that she maintained a list of Trump's contacts, which included entries for Karen McDougal and Daniels. She also said she had a "vague recollection" of seeing Daniels "waiting in the reception area of the 26th floor" of Trump Tower.
Necheles also questioned Westerhout about the plan to send checks and personal items for Donald and Melania Trump by Federal Express to Keith Schiller, John McEntee and then later, Westerhout, rather than to the White House. Westerhout testified that they bypassed the White House mail system because it was slow and things would get lost.
Westerhout also said that she had seen Trump signing things without reviewing them.
When the story about Stormy Daniels broke in 2018, Westerhout said Trump was "very upset by it."
"My understanding is that he knew it would be hurtful to his family," she said. "I don't believe he specifically said that," she conceded, "but I could just tell that the whole situation was very unpleasant."
Graham Kates, Katrina Kaufman
Merchan rejects Trump attempt to subpoena New York prosecutor
Judge Juan Merchan has rejected Trump's effort to subpoena former prosecutor Mark Pomerantz, granting a motion to quash it.
Pomerantz worked on the Trump investigation in New York before writing a memoir criticizing Manhattan D.A. Alvin Bragg. Merchan ruled that Trump's subpoena was "far too broad" and said it amounted "to an improper fishing expedition."
Trump is in the courtroom
Before the court was in session, Trump was speaking in an animated manner with his lawyer, Todd Blanche, and looking at papers with him that appeared to show printouts of tweets or Truth Social posts.
The former president was pointing things out on the papers to Blanche, as they whispered intently. Then, he put them down and sharply straightened the front of his navy suit. Trump is also wearing a red tie and white shirt. He looks glum this morning.
AT&T employee briefly takes the stand to testify about Cohen phone records
Daniel Dixon, an AT&T compliance officer, was called to the stand to introduce phone records subpoenaed by prosecutors.
They're call and data logs tied to at least one of Cohen's phones.
On cross examination, Trump attorney Emil Bove, continued an effort he began earlier in this trial seeking to undermine the credibility of evidence seized from Cohen's phones.
"There's a lot of data here, but the data also has limits, right," Bove asked shortly before concluding his cross-examination.
Verizon employee testifies about Weisselberg, Davidson phone records
Jenny Tomalin was called to introduce phone records that related to, among others, Allen Weisselberg and Keith Davidson.
Bove again raised questions about their usefulness as evidence.
"Phone numbers can shift from person to person, phone to phone, right?" Bove asked.
As Trump left the room for a mid-morning break he spotted Fox News host Jeanine Pirro in the gallery. He smiled, leaned over, and patted her on the shoulder.
Judge bars 1999 Larry King interview
Prosecutors wanted to introduce as evidence a 1999 Larry King interview in which Trump said he was familiar with campaign finance laws.
The defense protested, and Merchan sided with Trump.
"You're asking the jurors to speculate that because he knew the laws in 1999, he knew it in 2017," Merchan said.
D.A. paralegal Georgia Longstreet testifies on social media posts, text messages
Georgia Longstreet, a paralegal for Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, was called to the stand for the second time.
Longstreet previously introduced evidence related to social media posts made by Trump. She introduced a few more posts Friday, as well as phone and text records.
Bragg, who runs one of the busiest city prosecutors' offices in the country, has not frequently been in the courtroom. But he has attended every time one of his staff has been called to the stand to introduce records.
Trump, who was writing notes on the stack of papers he brought into the courtroom, turned his attention to Longstreet and exhibits of his tweets she was reading from.
One of the tweets shown was about Maggie Haberman, a reporter at the New York Times, who Trump referred to as a "Crooked H flunkie who I don't speak to."
Longstreet also introduced a long series of text messages sent between Gina Rodriguez, who in 2016 represented Stormy Daniels in negotiations around her story, and former National Enquirer editor Dylan Howard. The text messages showed Rodriguez shopping Daniels' story in mid-2016, and closer to the election, updating Howard on negotiations around it.
Jury sees what exactly this case is about
Another paralegal for Bragg's office, Jaden Jarmel-Schneider, introduced a set of exhibits that includes logs of calls between many of the key players in the case: Cohen, Daniels' former lawyer Keith Davidson, former White House aide Hope Hicks, ex-Trump Organization CFO Allen Weisselberg and Trump himself.
He also introduced a graphic breaking down exactly what the counts are against Trump. It's the first time the jury has had this laid out for them in this way.
They could be seen leaning toward their screens, studying the graphic.
In three horizontal rows it depicted three types of allegedly falsified records connected to Trump's reimbursements to Cohen. For instance, one box listed an invoice from April 13, 2017, for $35,000, describing it as "Count #8."
The document listed 11 invoices, 12 vouchers and 11 checks, a total of 34 documents corresponding to 34 counts. (Invoices and checks for reimbursements in January and February 2017 were combined, according to prosecutors, but corresponded to separate vouchers.)
Prosecutor Joshua Steinglass: "It's entirely possible that we will rest by the end of next week"
Prosecutor Joshua Steinglass said that the D.A. has two remaining witnesses. Cohen is expected to be called Monday.
"It's entirely possible that we will rest by the end of next week," Steinglass said.
Judge Merchan said the two sides may begin making submissions to him related to special instructions they think he should give to the jury before they begin their deliberations.
Judge tells prosecutors to instruct Cohen not to talk about case
As proceedings came to a close for the day, Trump attorney Todd Blanche complained that Michael Cohen has continued to talk about the case and Trump — as recently as Wednesday on TikTok, Blanche said.
Prosecutor Joshua Steinglass said, "We've repeatedly, repeatedly asked the witnesses not to do that."
"The fact of the matter is, these witnesses are not subject to the gag order and we have no remedy if they engage in those activities," Steinglass said.
Merchan stopped short of issuing a gag order, instead instructing prosecutors to tell Cohen to stop talking.
"I will direct the people to direct to Mr. Cohen that the judge is asking him to refrain from making any more statements about this case or Mr. Trump...that comes from the bench and you are communicating that on behalf of the bench," Merchan said.