SwigAg11 said:

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I guess Eric Trump is not going to be called as a witness by the defense then if he's at the trial in person?

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Michael Cohen said "it's fair" to describe him as having been Donald Trump's "fixer."
When asked if he's been called Trump's fixer, "yes some have described me as that."
Trump's eyes have been mostly closed through Cohen's testimony so far.

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Prosecutors are now going over cell phones and land lines that Michael Cohen used while at Trump Organization.
Donald Trump is still sitting back in his chair. His eyes are either closed or looking down.
Cohen says he consented to a request from the district attorney's office to turn over his cell phones.

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Prosecutor Susan Hoffinger asks Michael Cohen if he would sometimes bully people.
"Yes," Cohen says. "The only thing that was on my mind," was to accomplish the task "to make him happy," he says, in reference to Donald Trump.

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aggiehawg said:

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SwigAg11 said:

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I guess Eric Trump is not going to be called as a witness by the defense then if he's at the trial in person?

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That is my assumption.

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I guess there's still Don Jr.?

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Michael Cohen explains how he had more than 30,000 contacts on his cellphone, which came up during earlier testimony.
He says he was "spending a significant amount of time with Mr. Trump, and we ultimately decided, he agreed, to have his contact numbers synced to my cell number, to my account as well."
When they were traveling and Donald Trump wanted to speak to somebody, Cohen had the number, he explains.

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Michael Cohen is now being asked about David Pecker, the former National Enquirer boss.
"Do you know someone named David Pecker?" the prosecutor asks.
"I do," Cohen says.
Cohen says he knew Pecker before he knew Trump they had mutual friends and met at a function on Long Island.
Cohen says sometimes they communicated using the Signal encrypted app.

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"Depending upon the matter. Sometimes we thought that encryption and not having the event traceable would be beneficial," he says.

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Michael Cohen is asked about AMI, the publisher of the "National Enquirer," and its so-called "catch and kill" practice.

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"Prior to Mr. Trump announcing his run for the presidency, are you aware of AMI ever paying to suppress stories?" prosecutor Susan Hoffinger asks.
"No, ma'am," Cohen says.

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Remember: David Pecker, the first witness in the trial, testified about the secret practice, which was buying exclusive rights to a story for the express purpose of never publishing the information.

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Michael Cohen is speaking about his relationship with former American Media Inc. chairman David Pecker.
When asked if he would say he had a good relationship with Pecker, Cohen said "I would, yes."
"I spoke with everybody by phone, email and in person," Cohen said. (edited)
Cohen said he also communicated with Dylan Howard, who worked for Pecker.
Cohen says that Howard "worked for Mr. Pecker, to the same extent I worked for Mr Trump."

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Michael Cohen is recalling Donald Trump's announcement at Trump Tower in June 2015.
Cohen explained how he didn't have a formal role on the 2016 campiagn.

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Michael Cohen appeared relaxed on the witness stand as he gives his high-stakes testimony Monday morning.
Initially, Cohen sat with his hands close to his body, almost as if he was sitting on them. But as he continued his testimony, he placed them at his side on the arms of the chair.
He also spoke slowly in a very measured tone, occasionally chuckling to himself as he recounted some stories. Cohen's demeanor and pacing indicates that he has been prepped by the prosecution to wait for the question and answer only that question.

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Michael Cohen says Donald Trump worried about stories about his personal life as he weighed a run for president.
"Did he express to you any concern about negative stories about his personal life that might effect his candidacy?' prosecutor Susan Hoffinger asks. "Yes," Cohen said.
The former fixer says Trump told him:

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"You know that when this comes out, meaning the announcement, just be prepared there's going to be a lot of women coming forward."

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Michael Cohen is now testifying about the 2015 meeting with David Pecker and Donald Trump.
"Yes ma'am," Cohen said when asked about whether they met in 2015. They met in "Mr. Trump's office on the 26th floor."

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"What was discussed was the power of the National Enquirer in terms of being located at the cash register of so many supermarkets and bodegas that if we can place positive stories about Mr. Trump that would be beneficial," Cohen said.

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"And if we can place negative stories about some of the other candidates that would also be beneficial," Cohen added.
Prosecutor Susan Hoffinger asked whether Pecker offered anything else. "What he said was that he could keep an eye out for anything negative about Mr Trump, and that he would be able to help us to know in advance what was coming out and try to stop it from coming out," Cohen says.
Hoffinger confirmed with Cohen that Pecker via American Media Inc. executed that plan.

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Michael Cohen confirmed to the prosecution that he would leverage his press contacts for Trump's 2016 campaign.
Cohen says "I would frequently provide comment to press regarding different matters that kept popping up. "
Cohen added that he would go on TV, on MSNBC, CNN and ABC, on Trump's behalf.
Cohen explains how he didn't have a formal role on the 2016 campaign.
"I wasn't going to be part of it. I was going to be a surrogate," Cohen said

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Michael Cohen confirms he previewed some National Enquirer stories about Donald Trump's political opponents.

Among them he says, "Hillary Clinton wearing very thick glasses, some allegations she had some brain injury."

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Michael Cohen has confirmed that American Media Inc. (AMI) would sometimes send over covers to him before they published. Cohen says he would "immediately show it to Mr. Trump."
"So that he would see that David (Pecker) was loyal, on board, was doing everything that he said he was going to do in that August meeting he was actually doing it," Cohen says.
Cohen has put glasses on to now read an email displayed on the monitor.

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Michael Cohen says when he'd show Donald Trump the National Enquirer coverage, his boss would be pleased and call it "fantastic."

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Michael Cohen has not yet looked at the jury. He is answering questions and looking directly at prosecutor Susan Hoffinger.

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Prosecutors are showing an email from Michael Cohen to AMI's Barry Levine and Dylan Howard from January 2016.
Levine wrote:
"As our readers can't get enough of Mr. Trump, we are repackaging and repurposing past material from our files and adding additional material -- of course, also of a positive nature."
In a January 2016 email, Cohen responded to AMI with specific edits:
"Yes. Take out the part of the penthouse pet Sandra as it offers nothing. Also, I would like to reword the part about Atlantic City. Let's speak tomorrow."

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Prosecutors are now showing the jury the National Enquirer cover of the headline, "The Donald Trump Nobody Knows!"
Cohen said he learned about the doorman story circulating about Trump having fathered "a love child."
"I spoke I went to him immediately to advise him that there was a story because it was a negative story for him and to get his direction on what he wanted me to do," Cohen said.
"He told me to make sure that the story doesn't get out 'you handle it,'" Cohen testified that Trump said.

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Michael Cohen says the National Enquirer was going to pay $30,000 for the doorman story.
"They were executing an agreement with the doorman in order to obtain the life rights to the story," he says.
Cohen says he was in contact with David Pecker and Dylan Howard about the story. When he got updates from them, he would tell Trump immediately, he says.
"Was he grateful," prosecutor Susan Hoffinger asks of Trump. "Absolutely," Cohen says.
He confirms the strategy was to take the story "off the market."

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Michael Cohen says he saw the National Enquirer deal with the doorman as it was being finalized.

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"I reviewed it to ensure that Mr. Trump was fully protected. I also asked them to send it to me so I could show Mr. Trump it was being taken care of."

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He emphasized the word "show" as he said this.
Cohen says that he advised AMI to add the $1 million penalty for any violation of the agreement and he recommended removing the end date to "make it in perpetuity," meaning it lasted forever.
Cohen turns to the jury and explains: "That means it's forever. They own the story forever. It can never come out."
On December 19, 2015, Dylan Howard of the National Enquirer emailed Cohen confirming he added the liquidated damages clause. The email was shown in court.

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degreedy said:

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why doesn't the defense object to some of this testimony? what relevance does it have to the case at hand?

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Prosecutors are now showing Michael Cohen the amendment to the agreement with the doorman that includes the $1 million liquidation clause and the perpetuity clause.
"AMI bought the life rights as part of what Mr. (David) Pecker had agreed to at the Trump Tower meeting with you and Mr. Trump in August 2015," prosecutor Susan Hoffinger asks.
"Yes," Cohen says.
Cohen says that he went to Trump to tell him the agreement was completed, as well as to get credit for executing it. He told Trump, "in order to get credit for accomplishing the task."
According to Cohen, Trump responded at that time, "That's great."

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Prosecutor Susan Hoffinger is now asking about former Playboy model Karen McDougal, who alleged she had an affair with the former president.
Cohen says he again received a call from either Dylan Howard or David Pecker about the story.
Asked what impact the story would have had on Trump's presidential campaign, Cohen says, "significant."

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The jury is now seeing texts between Michael Cohen and former National Enquirer editor Dylan Howard in June 2016.
Cohen is now reading through the texts.

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On June 16, 2016, Howard texted Cohen: "Meeting will be on Monday -per their terms. Dylan."
"Understood Thank you for everything," Cohen responded.

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"This is about meeting with Karen McDougal and her people," Cohen says, explaining the texts.

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Michael Cohen says he used the Signal app to communicate about Karen McDougal, "because of the nature of the issue to make sure that it remained private."
Cohen says that he would communicate with David Pecker by "phone, text, email, app." He confirms that "app" referred to Signal.
Cohen said he updated Donald Trump frequently.

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Jurors are now being shown a series of texts between Michael Cohen and Trump's longtime bodyguard Keith Schiller on the same day, June 16, 2016. Cohen says the conversation was regarding "the Karen McDougal matter."
"I thought it was important," Cohen says.
Here's the series of texts:

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"Can we speak? I need you," Cohen texts Schiller.
Cohen: "You there?"
Schiller: "On Dallas"
Cohen: "Where's the boss?"

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Cohen testifies, "Which of course references to Mr. Trump"

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Schiller: "Next to me"
Cohen: "Is he free to speak?"

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Susan Hoffinger is now showing call records that Donald Trump and Michael Cohen spoke by phone for 2 minutes, 31 seconds on June 16, 2016.

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bobbranco said:

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Probably objections but the transcriber disregards to facilitate coherent updates.

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Then-National Enquirer editor Dylan Howard texted Cohen on June 20.
"I am about to meet her. Her name is Karen McDougal. Former Playboy Playmate," the message said.
"Ok. We need to speak," Cohen responded.

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After the meeting with Karen McDougal, Dylan Howard texted Michael Cohen:
"Spoke to DP. We just broke. I'm wrapping up with them. And then we will convene a three way call between us all to sort this out. Understand I've got this locked down for you. I won't let it out of my grasp." (DP is a reference to David Pecker.)
Prosecutor Susan Hoffinger asks Cohen whether he insisted on having a call with Howard, right after he met with McDougal.
"Yes, ma'am," Cohen says. "Because I needed to get an update so I could provide it for Mr. Trump."
Judge Juan Merchan sustains an objection to Hoffinger's question about whether Howard expressed to Cohen whether he thought McDougal's story was true.

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Foreverconservative said:

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So is there no longer any thing called attorney client privilege anymore? Cohen is violating every aspect of attorney client privilege regardless if he's no longer an attorney or not it still applies!!!! Somebody on the defense team needs to object multiple times to at least get it on the record for appeal purposes

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aggiehawg said:

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bobbranco said:

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Probably objections but the transcriber disregards to facilitate coherent updates.

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No. Merchan requires sidebars for objections. the CNN feed documents that sidebars are occurring when they are.

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Foreverconservative said:

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So is there no longer any thing called attorney client privilege anymore? Cohen is violating every aspect of attorney client privilege regardless if he's no longer an attorney or not it still applies!!!! Somebody on the defense team needs to object multiple times to at least get it on the record for appeal purposes

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Prosecutor: In June 2016 did you become aware of Karen McDouglas?
Cohen: Yes, from AMI. I told Mr. Trump, did he know who Karen McDougal was? He said, She's really beautiful.
Prosecutor: Did you draw any conclusion?
Blanche: Objection.
Justice Merchan: Sustained

— Inner City Press (@innercitypress) May 13, 2024

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Michael Cohen says he was in Trump's office when the former president had a call with David Pecker about the Karen McDougal matter.

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"He had the call put through and he had a speaker box on his desk." Cohen says he used the speaker box instead of picking up the phone and so Cohen could hear the conversation.

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Cohen says of Trump during the call, "He asked him how things were going with the matter."
"David said, 'He had this under control, and we'll take care of this,'" Cohen says of Pecker during the phone conversation with Trump.

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Michael Cohen is reading more texts he sent to National Enquirer editor Dylan Howard.
In one text, Howard said he had "not heard back from our guy yet, so no update."
Cohen said this was a reference to Keith Davidson, Karen McDougal's attorney.

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While discussing the Karen McDougal story, Michael Cohen says he told Donald Trump it would cost $150,000 to "control the story."
Trump replied, "No problem, I'll take care of it," Cohen testifies.
Cohen says that meant that Trump was going to pay him back though he says it was not discussed on the call how that might occur.
After the call with Trump, Cohen says he followed up with David Pecker in another call to confirm the details.

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Michael Cohen is reading more texts he sent to National Enquirer editor Dylan Howard.
In one text, Howard said he had "not heard back from our guy yet, so no update."
Cohen said this was a reference to Keith Davidson, Karen McDougal's attorney.
Howard told Cohen in a text on July 28, 2016, that "They rejected the offer. I told them to come back to me by EOD with a realistic number. He agreed to do that. He fears she's been convinced to tell her story to ABC, and really wants to. I implored my guy to GET IT DONE. He's getting back to me."
Cohen said they had a "concern that the story was going to find its way to ABC, meaning ABC News."

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Michael Cohen said he learned from David Pecker that the Karen McDougal deal was finalized.

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"That they got it. That this is locked down. We prevented the story from being released on ABC News and effectively the story has now been caught," Cohen explained in court.

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Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg is sitting 2 rows behind the prosecutors.

He's just sitting listening and watching.

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Michael Cohen said he first worked with Karen McDougal's lawyer Keith Davidson to get the 2011 thedirty.com story about Stormy Daniels and Trump taken down.

Cohen called Davidson on August 5, 2016, at his request, after the McDougal matter was resolved. Cohen says he told Davidson that the boss was very pleased.

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Donald Trump was delighted when the Karen McDougal deal was finalized, according to Michael Cohen.

"Fantastic. Great job," was his reaction when Cohen told him, his former fixer testifies.

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Judge Juan Merchan sustained an objection to a follow-up question from Manhattan prosecutor Susan Hoffinger when she asked: "What was your understanding of why Keith Davidson reached out to you" after the deal was signed.

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Michael Cohen is now describing his concern about the files that AMI had on Donald Trump. Cohen says at the time, Pecker was being considered CEO of Time Inc.
"One of the concerns that I had that I expressed to Mr. Trump was if he goes there's a series of papers there that relate to you," he testifies.
"I didn't know what those stories were, nobody was discussing with me. But they would be open for use," Cohen says.

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Michael Cohen said he spoke with David Pecker about the reimbursement for the Karen McDougal story.
"He needed to get the $150,000. He wanted the $150,000 back because it was too much money for him to hide from the CEO of the parent company, and he had also just laid out $30,000 previous," Cohen says. "So he was putting pressure on me to speak to Mr Trump to get the money back."
Pecker "insisted" that he get reimbursed. When asked if the National Enquirer publisher was upset, Cohen testifies "very."
They followed up with lunch at Pecker's favorite Italian restaurant. "Again he expressed his anger," Cohen says.
When he relayed the message to Donald Trump, Cohen says he responded, "Don't worry. I'll take care of it."
Trump is still leaning back in the chair. His eyes appear to be closed.

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In 2018, Michael Cohen released an audio recording from 2016 in which he and Donald Trump can be heard discussing how they would buy the rights to former Playboy model Karen McDougal's story about an alleged affair she had with Trump years earlier, which the former president denies.
The recording offered the public a glimpse at the confidential discussions between Trump and Cohen, and it confirmed Trump had contemporaneous knowledge of a proposal to buy the rights to the story of McDougal.
Cohen told Trump about his plans to set up a company and finance the purchase of the rights from American Media, which publishes the National Enquirer. The recording captured what appeared to be a routine business conversation of several matters on their agenda.
The audio is muddled and the meaning of Trump's use of the word "cash" is disputed by the two sides.

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Michael Cohen said he recorded the September 6, 2016 call with Donald Trump and that it was the only time he recorded a call in 10 years of working for him.
"It was so I could show it to David Pecker and that way he would hear the conversation, that he would know that we're going to be paid, Mr. Trump is going to be paying him back," Cohen said.
"I also wanted him to remain loyal to Mr. Trump," Cohen said.
Cohen said he had his cell phone in his hand and hit record while he had the conversation with Trump. He says he was on the opposite side of Trump's desk.
Prosecutor Susan Hoffinger asked, "To your knowledge was mr trump aware that you were recording this conversation?"
"No ma'am," Cohen said.

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Michael Cohen is now describing in generalities what was discussed in the recorded conversation.
The audio is being played to the jury.
A copy of the transcript is displayed on the monitors in front of them.

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aggiehawg said:

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Prosecutor Susan Hoffinger is now asking about former Playboy model Karen McDougal, who alleged she had an affair with the former president.
Cohen says he again received a call from either Dylan Howard or David Pecker about the story.
Asked what impact the story would have had on Trump's presidential campaign, Cohen says, "significant."

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