The State of New York rested today in Donald Trump’s first criminal trial.
The day began with lead defense attorney Todd Blanche continuing cross-examination of former Trump attorney Michael Cohen. Blanche’s questioning, as on previous days, involved many short clusters of questions, bouncing back and forth in time and zinging from one topic to another.
If Blanche meant to rattle Cohen, it didn’t seem to work as Trump’s former fixer remained collected through his final day on the stand, answering most questions with little more than “yes, sir.”
Blanche spent most of the day trying to show that payments made to Cohen were not reimbursement for the money he sent to adult film star Stormy Daniels, but payments for legal services Cohen provided to Trump and his family. Cohen steadfastly denied this idea. Blanche also pressed Cohen over keeping $30,000 that had been intended for a firm that maintained it could boost Trump’s performance in online polls. Trump’s defense seemed caught between accusing Cohen of stealing, or claiming the money was part of his legal payments.
When the defense finished its cross-examination just after the morning break, prosecutor Susan Hoffinger conducted a re-direct. She led Cohen skillfully and quickly past a series of questions that largely resolved any confusion created by Blanche.
Near the end of re-direct, prosecutors sought to enter into evidence a still frame from a C-Span video that appeared to confirm Cohen’s contention that bodyguard Keith Schiller had been with Trump when Cohen spoke with both during an October 2016 phone call. Admission of the image generated a lengthy squabble, sending the jury to lunch early and keeping them out of the room another 30 minutes after they were due to return.
At one point, it seemed that the prosecution was going to have to fly in a witness from out of state to confirm the validity of the image, but an eventual consensus was reached and the prosecution made use of the image when Hoffinger resumed questioning Cohen after lunch. Using the image, recordings, and transcripts, Hoffinger confirmed several of claims Cohen had made about his many phone calls involving protecting Trump in the fall of 2016.
After a brief re-cross from Blanche, the state rested its case.
There had been some question as to whether the defense would call any witnesses to provide rebuttal testimony, but after the state ended its case, Blanche called his own paralegal to testify to some documents, than called attorney Bob Costello, who had tried to get Cohen to hire him when he was seeking protection following an FBI raid of his office.
