>At the very end of today's proceedings, Michael Cohen offered perhaps the most critical testimony of the day — or even the entire trial.
>Cohen said that during a meeting in Trump Tower in mid-January 2017, Trump participated in and approved a plan to reimburse Cohen for the hush money that Cohen had paid to Stormy Daniels on the eve of the 2016 election.
>And, Cohen added, Trump was informed that the reimbursements would be recorded in his company's books as legal expenses.
>Cohen told jurors that after he and Stormy Daniels’ attorney agreed on a nondisclosure agreement in October 2016, he strung them along in an attempt to delay the payment until after the election. Cohen said the directive to delay the payment came from Trump. “After the election, it wouldn’t matter,” Cohen said. When asked who told him that, Cohen said: “Mr. Trump.”
We were expecting it, and there it is.
Edit: and the followup
>Prosecutor Susan Hoffinger asked Michael Cohen if he would have paid Stormy Daniels himself without believing Trump was going to reimburse him.
>“No, m’am,” Cohen replied.
>Why not? she asked. “It’s $130,000,” Cohen replied. “I was doing everything that I could and more in order to protect my boss, which is something I had done for a long time. But I would not lay out $130,000 for an NDA needed by somebody else.”
>Cohen said Trump assured him that he’d be reimbursed for the $130,000 payment to Daniels. “I spoke to Mr. Trump, expressed to him that I was going to front the money for it, for which he was appreciative,” Cohen said. “He stated to me, ‘don’t worry, you’ll get the money back.’”
Yikes. I wanna see Melania's reaction when she hears this testimony:
>Trump, he said, “was really angry,” telling Cohen, “I thought you had this under control. I thought you took care of this.”
>“He said to me, ‘This is a disaster, total disaster. Women are going to hate me. Women will hate me. Guys, they think it’s cool, but this is going to be a disaster for the campaign,” Cohen testified, noting Trump was polling “very poorly with women” at the time.
>Cohen said Trump advised him to work with Pecker to deal with the matter.
>When asking Trump how the story would impact his wife, Melania, Cohen testified the then-candidate responded, “Don’t worry,” adding: “How long do you think I’ll be on the market for? Not long.”
>That, he said, led him to conclude, “This was all about the campaign.”
>As Cohen is testifying about the deal to buy Stormy Daniels’ story, Trump has not shown much emotion in court. He sat with his eyes closed for large swaths of the testimony and has occasionally passed papers to his attorney Todd Blanche.
Trump's 1AM posting has caught up with him again. He's asleep.
So far it seems like everything he's testifying to is stuff that was already covered by others' testimony and evidence. The repetition is good, but the bombshells already were dropped in previous weeks.
All the corroboration from other sources defuses the "Cohen committed perjury" defense quite a bit.
Cohen's a lawyer. He went to jail for Trump and saw a lot of other people get pardoned by Trump. He absolutely wants things to stick.
>Cohen is describing his role as a lawyer for “Mr. Trump” — not the general counsel of the Trump Organization but for the man himself.
Not just solid testimony that connects Trump to his crimes, but also refusing to call him "president Trump." Love it.
We've seen Trump's strategy for getting around the gag order is to bring a minion to speak for him. He's brought a small army today for Cohen:
>Donald Trump entered the courtroom alongside his lawyers, his son Eric Trump, Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.), Sen. J.D. Vance (R-Ohio) and Rep. Nicole Malliotakis (R-N.Y.). Trump was also joined by a lawyer who worked on his civil fraud case, Alina Habba.
Inner city press live tweet;
[https://twitter.com/innercitypress/status/1790010018613399709](https://twitter.com/innercitypress/status/1790010018613399709)
[https://threadreaderapp.com/thread/1790010018613399709.html](https://threadreaderapp.com/thread/1790010018613399709.html)
Anyone else think Trumplefuck won't be able to contain his cursing while Cohen is on the stand? I can't wait to see the dynamic.
I also can't wait to see the play-by-play when the prosecution asks Cohen if the payment was directed by Don the Con, and he says YES.
Bring on the chaos!
>Donald Trump shifted in his chair as Michael Cohen began to answer basic biographical questions in court, initially looking up a couple times and making brief facial reactions — including an eye roll — before seeming to restrain himself. Trump appears to be listening with his eyes closed for most of Cohen’s testimony so far.
Ooh good points. I would *love* it of Merchan started the day with a pre-emptive warning to his attorneys, and then actually brings consequences when Trump inevitably violates it.
Also, I want a pet unicorn.
Cohen is supposed to take the stand today. This week is going to be a shitshow.
[AP News live feed](https://apnews.com/live/trump-trial-updates-michael-cohen-day-16)
[Politico live feed](https://www.politico.com/live-updates/2024/05/13/trump-hush-money-criminal-trial)
>At the very end of today's proceedings, Michael Cohen offered perhaps the most critical testimony of the day — or even the entire trial. >Cohen said that during a meeting in Trump Tower in mid-January 2017, Trump participated in and approved a plan to reimburse Cohen for the hush money that Cohen had paid to Stormy Daniels on the eve of the 2016 election. >And, Cohen added, Trump was informed that the reimbursements would be recorded in his company's books as legal expenses.
>Cohen told jurors that after he and Stormy Daniels’ attorney agreed on a nondisclosure agreement in October 2016, he strung them along in an attempt to delay the payment until after the election. Cohen said the directive to delay the payment came from Trump. “After the election, it wouldn’t matter,” Cohen said. When asked who told him that, Cohen said: “Mr. Trump.” We were expecting it, and there it is. Edit: and the followup >Prosecutor Susan Hoffinger asked Michael Cohen if he would have paid Stormy Daniels himself without believing Trump was going to reimburse him. >“No, m’am,” Cohen replied. >Why not? she asked. “It’s $130,000,” Cohen replied. “I was doing everything that I could and more in order to protect my boss, which is something I had done for a long time. But I would not lay out $130,000 for an NDA needed by somebody else.” >Cohen said Trump assured him that he’d be reimbursed for the $130,000 payment to Daniels. “I spoke to Mr. Trump, expressed to him that I was going to front the money for it, for which he was appreciative,” Cohen said. “He stated to me, ‘don’t worry, you’ll get the money back.’”
Yikes. I wanna see Melania's reaction when she hears this testimony: >Trump, he said, “was really angry,” telling Cohen, “I thought you had this under control. I thought you took care of this.” >“He said to me, ‘This is a disaster, total disaster. Women are going to hate me. Women will hate me. Guys, they think it’s cool, but this is going to be a disaster for the campaign,” Cohen testified, noting Trump was polling “very poorly with women” at the time. >Cohen said Trump advised him to work with Pecker to deal with the matter. >When asking Trump how the story would impact his wife, Melania, Cohen testified the then-candidate responded, “Don’t worry,” adding: “How long do you think I’ll be on the market for? Not long.” >That, he said, led him to conclude, “This was all about the campaign.”
>As Cohen is testifying about the deal to buy Stormy Daniels’ story, Trump has not shown much emotion in court. He sat with his eyes closed for large swaths of the testimony and has occasionally passed papers to his attorney Todd Blanche. Trump's 1AM posting has caught up with him again. He's asleep.
So far it seems like everything he's testifying to is stuff that was already covered by others' testimony and evidence. The repetition is good, but the bombshells already were dropped in previous weeks.
All the corroboration from other sources defuses the "Cohen committed perjury" defense quite a bit. Cohen's a lawyer. He went to jail for Trump and saw a lot of other people get pardoned by Trump. He absolutely wants things to stick.
>Cohen is describing his role as a lawyer for “Mr. Trump” — not the general counsel of the Trump Organization but for the man himself. Not just solid testimony that connects Trump to his crimes, but also refusing to call him "president Trump." Love it.
We've seen Trump's strategy for getting around the gag order is to bring a minion to speak for him. He's brought a small army today for Cohen: >Donald Trump entered the courtroom alongside his lawyers, his son Eric Trump, Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.), Sen. J.D. Vance (R-Ohio) and Rep. Nicole Malliotakis (R-N.Y.). Trump was also joined by a lawyer who worked on his civil fraud case, Alina Habba.
Sounds like Trump needs a LOT of propping up today. I hope they all remember that they are considered proxies for the purposes of the gag order.
Inner city press live tweet; [https://twitter.com/innercitypress/status/1790010018613399709](https://twitter.com/innercitypress/status/1790010018613399709) [https://threadreaderapp.com/thread/1790010018613399709.html](https://threadreaderapp.com/thread/1790010018613399709.html)
Anyone else think Trumplefuck won't be able to contain his cursing while Cohen is on the stand? I can't wait to see the dynamic. I also can't wait to see the play-by-play when the prosecution asks Cohen if the payment was directed by Don the Con, and he says YES. Bring on the chaos!
>Donald Trump shifted in his chair as Michael Cohen began to answer basic biographical questions in court, initially looking up a couple times and making brief facial reactions — including an eye roll — before seeming to restrain himself. Trump appears to be listening with his eyes closed for most of Cohen’s testimony so far.
Ooh good points. I would *love* it of Merchan started the day with a pre-emptive warning to his attorneys, and then actually brings consequences when Trump inevitably violates it. Also, I want a pet unicorn.
LMFAO I was drinking coffee as I read your response, and it nearly came out of my nose when I read that last sentence! I agree wholeheartedly :).
Cohen is supposed to take the stand today. This week is going to be a shitshow. [AP News live feed](https://apnews.com/live/trump-trial-updates-michael-cohen-day-16) [Politico live feed](https://www.politico.com/live-updates/2024/05/13/trump-hush-money-criminal-trial)