Stat Monitor Repairman said:

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Clark said before Stormy even arrived in the Big Apple on Sunday "she cried herself to sleep and "was paralyzed with fear."

He noted that she was not nervous about taking the stand and telling her story," but "what might some nut might do to her."

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If this jury convicts, Stormy may get a bronze statue as a physical testament to the strength of women overcoming toxic masculinity.

Also wild that stormy feared a nut.

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Fear not...she'll definitely get what she deserves in the end.

aggiehawg said:

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Michael Cohen is describing how Trump was paying his legal fees still at this point in April 2018, which he felt confirmed he was still under Trump's protection.
He was also still a part of the joint defense agreement.

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Court is taking a morning break. Trump and his entourage are leaving the courtroom for the break.

Michael Cohen, who has been testifying this morning, audibly exhaled as he left the courtroom.

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Thank you judge!

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I'm sure it's exhausting spewing that much hot air

TexAg1987 said:

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Still nothing about this is illegal, yes?

It becomes illegal when it is recorded in the ledger, correct? And he didn't do that or direct any of that, correct?

Sorry, having a hard time with all the smoke and mirrors.

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Accountants and bookkeepers make mistakes posting to different ledgers. AJE's can and are frequently made - adjusting journal entries to reclassify properly.

Okay, let's start with conventional wisdom that defense attorneys are always looking the needle in the haystack that they hear on direct and seize upon during cross.

Base upon the reported testimony from this morning thus far, sticking their hand into Cohen's verbal haystack, withdrawing would look as if it were a pin cushion there would be so many.

Now I'm his personal attorney, now I'm not, now I'm in contact wih him and advising him but not as his lawyer, except when I was, my constant contacts with other lawyers and participation in the joint defense team were not legal services, just his loyalty to and protection of Trump but no, not acting as his lawyer because he wasn't actively billing him?

That's on Cohen if he is not billing. Lawyers are not being paid everyday but they still have to represent their clients. Being paid alone does not render it legal services and hence legal expenses.

Too many holes in his testimony to keep count of. And the introduction of the February 2018 letter from Cohen's counsel to the FEC is a problem. Cohen testified he was very involved in drafting that letter and intentionally made it "misleading." And just like the glory hound he is, went back to Trump to tell him what he did and get an Atta boy! But now the jury knows about the FEC investigation into all of this.

If the jury was wondering why so many people did not like having to work with nor deal with Cohen, they know now. He's damn near certifiable in his various rationales for what he did, which keep changing.

And for the two lawyers on the jury, listening to how Cohen lied to everybody, including his clients, was sloppy and lackadaisical about billing practices, etc. have to be appalled at what they are hearing.

One last thing that I heard Jeanine Pirro say earlier after she had been in the courtroom in days past. She watched the jury coming and going from the courtroom. This jury has been together for four weeks now. They have down time. They usually develop some friendships, exchange courtesies and smile and look at each other.

But not this jury. No cohesion among members at all that she could see. No cliques, no groupings, barely even look at one another walking in and out of the courtroom. Does that mean anything momentous? Maybe not but if they are not that comfortable with each other after four weeks, the possibility of a hung jury increases exponentiality, in my view.

TexAg1987 said:

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Still nothing about this is illegal, yes?

It becomes illegal when it is recorded in the ledger, correct? And he didn't do that or direct any of that, correct?

Sorry, having a hard time with all the smoke and mirrors.

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Yes, there's already been testimony that the employee that recorded that received no direction on how to record and anything from a lawyer was recorded as legal expenses. Trump had no part in that.


I'm sure somehow they'll argue at the end Trump without saying anything was coercing it to be recorded that way by having Cohen send a misleading invoice even though it's already been said Trump also gave no direction on how that Invoice be sent.

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Judge Juan Merchan is back on the bench, and court is back in session after the break.

Michael Cohen is back in the witness box, and the jury is being called in.

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Prosecutor Susan Hoffinger is back at the podium to resume questioning of key witness Michael Cohen.
"Are you familiar with an attorney by the name of Robert Costello?" Hoffinger asked.
"I was introduced to Robert Costello by another lawyer, Jeffrey Citron," Cohen said.
"He told me that he was a criminal defense attorney and that he was incredibly close to Rudy Giuliani," Cohen said.
Cohen let out audible sigh before questioning began again.

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Michael Cohen said he met with criminal defense attorney Robert Costello in a conference room in the Lowes Regency hotel where he was staying in the spring of 2018.
Cohen said his emotional state at that point was: "Distraught, nervous, concerned."
Cohen is looking at the jury as he's explaining his relationship with Costello.
Cohen recalled, "they said there are certain things that you need to know. First, is that you have to obviously try to remember what might be in any of those boxes" referring to what was taken in the FBI raid.

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Michael Cohen says that at the meeting, Robert Costello told him "this would be a great way to have a back-channel communication to the president in order to ensure that you're still good and you're still secure."
Cohen says he wasn't sure about Costello at the time.
He says, "there was something really sketchy and wrong about him," noting that was because of Costello's close relationship with Rudy Giuliani.
Cohen says that he did not disclose everything that happened at that meeting, because he believed anything that he said would be "spoken and told to Rudy Giuliani."

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Prosecutor Susan Hoffinger introduces emails between Robert Costello and Michael Cohen into evidence.
"I am sure you saw the news that Rudy is joining the Trump legal team. I told you my relationship with Rudy which could be very very useful for you," Costello wrote on April 19, 2018.
Cohen said he took this as a message from Costello "again to reinforce the whole concept of the back channel."
"The back channel was Bob Costello to Rudy, Rudy to President Trump," Cohen explained.

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Michael Cohen detailed this morning how he tried to control the Stormy Daniels story in the media and how the 2018 FBI raid went down.
Here are the highlights of his testimony:
Stormy Daniels in the media: The prosecution spent time outlining more about the $130,000 hush money payment to Stormy Daniels and the media coverage that followed. Here are some of the key points from Cohen:

• He said he told Keith Davidson, Daniels' former attorney, to write a "strong denial comment" for the 2018 story in the Wall Street Journal
• At the time of the article, Cohen said did not tell the truth about his involvement in the payoff and the fact Trump repaid him.
• He knew another Stormy Daniels' statement denying the sexual encounter was false because he wrote it.

FBI raid: Cohen said he was raided by the FBI in April 2018. His cell phones that were seized included the phone that contained the audio recording of Cohen and Trump on it.
"How to describe your life being turned upside down: concerned, despondent, angry," Cohen said of the raid.
Still in Trump's fold: Cohen said he believed Trump was communicating with him through tweets in 2018 and sending messages like "Stay in the fold, stay loyal." Trump was still paying his legal fees in April 2018, which he felt confirmed he was still under Trump's protection, he said.

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Wait, so now Trump is protecting Cohen? Not the other way around? Gee, does that have anything to do with the Presdent's power of pardon?

aggiehawg said:

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Michael Cohen says he put the White House meeting in his calendar something he did not normally do. He says it was to "commemorate seeing President Trump in the White House."

"Meeting with POTUS," the electronic calendar entry reads.

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The jury is now seeing emails between Jeffrey McConney, a former Trump Organization controller, and Michael Cohen
In one of them dated February 14, 2017, Cohen asks McConney to remind him the monthly amount he is supposed to invoice.
McConney responds to remind Cohen it was $35,000 per month, the emails show.

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Prosecutor Susan Hoffinger confirmed with Michael Cohen that had there been a retainer agreement it would be accompanied by an agreed upon monthly amount.
But there was no retainer agreement, Hoffinger said.
Cohen said there wasn't one.
Cohen's tone and manner so far is the same as Monday. He is careful, measured and even toned.

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That's on Cohen again.

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Michael Cohen emailed an invoice to former Trump Organization controller Jeffrey McConney on February 14, 2017, including two $35,000 payments for January and February.
Prosecutor Susan Hoffinger asks if the invoices he sent were consistent with directions given by Allen Weisselberg.
"Yes, ma'am," Cohen says.

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Michael Cohen confirmed the invoices were actually reimbursement for the hush money payment and not for legal services.
Prosecutor Susan Hoffinger is asking whether the description in the invoice for legal services rendered was true.
"No ma'am," Cohen says.
Hoffinger again asks Cohen what the payments were actually for.
He says, "Reimbursement to me of the hush money fee along with red finch and the bonus"
"Was this invoice a false record?" Hoffinger asks.
"Yes, ma'am," Cohen says.
Hoffinger goes on to ask, "Were any of those invoices that you submitted based on services performed for the months indicated pursuant to a retainer agreement?"
"No ma'am they were for a reimbursement," Cohen says.

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Prosecutor Susan Hoffinger asks Michael Cohen if he received 11 checks in responses to those 11 invoices for a total of $420,000.

"Yes, ma'am," Cohen says.

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Pardon me while I pick my jaw up off of the floor. That's a lot of fraud on Cohen's part that he is admitting to committing.

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Why would it be TRUMP's fault that Cohen committed fraud by submitting these invoices?

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On April 21, Robert Costello wrote to Michael Cohen: "I just spoke to Rudy Giuliani and told him I was on your team. Rudy was thrilled and said this could not be a better situation for the President or you. He asked me if it was ok to call the President and Jay Sekelow (sic) and I said fine."
It continued: "He said I can't tell you how pleased I am that I can work with someone I know and trust. He asked me to tell you that he knows how tough this is on you and your family and he will make sure to tell the president. He said thank you for opening this back channel of communication and asked me to keep in touch. I told him I would after speaking to you further."
The jury was also shown a second email from Costello to Cohen where he said: "I spoke with Rudy. Very very Positive. You are 'loved.' If you want to call me I will give you the details. I told him everything you asked me to and he said they knew that. There was never a doubt that they are in our corner."
"Sleep well tonight. You have friends in high places," Costello said in the email.
"The friend in high places was President Trump," Cohen testified.

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Prosecutors are going through more emails between Michael Cohen and Robert Costello.
On June 7, 2018, Costello emailed Cohen: "To prove to you that Rudy Giuliani called me and I did not call him, I photographed the pages from my iPhone." He then listed a series of phone calls.
Cohen testifies that in that email, Costello was "expressing to me his obvious relationship with Rudy Giuliani, who was proximate to President Trump."

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Why would it be TRUMP's fault that Cohen committed fraud by submitting these invoices?

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It wouldn't.

You have got to be kidding. Listening to this recap of MC is unbelievable. How can anyone believe anything this dude says... lie or no lie, none of it makes sense. Sounds like a 10 year old boy lying to his parents.

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But not this jury. No cohesion among members at all that she could see. No cliques, no groupings, barely even look at one another walking in and out of the courtroom. Does that mean anything momentous? Maybe not but if they are not that comfortable with each other after four weeks, the possibility of a hung jury increases exponentiality, in my view.

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Let me come back to this for a moment. Merchan has deputies and bailiffs that are assigned to this jury. They spend every day with them and get a feel for how the jurors are relating to one another. So, Merchan will also hear from staff on how this jury is getting along or not getting along. The less they get along, less chance for an unanimous verdict.

aggiehawg said:

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To your point earlier, how is this an indictment on Trump? Lawyer presents him a bill, he pays the bill, and now the State of NY wants to say Trump committed a crime because the lawyer presented him with a false invoice??

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This is sounding more like Bendini, Lambert and Locke from the movie The Firm.

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Shhh. DeVasher might be listening.

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On June 13, 2018, Robert Costello emailed Michael Cohen: "Since you jumped off the phone rather abruptly, I did not get a chance to tell you that my friend has communicated to me that he is meeting with his client this evening and he added that if there was anything you wanted to convey you should tell me and my friend will bring it up for discussion this evening."
The "friend" referred to in the email was Rudy Giuliani, and his client was Trump, Cohen says."Donald J Trump President Trump," Cohen said, correcting himself.
Hoffinger asked Cohen why Costello didn't just say Giuliani and Trump directly in the email.
"Sort of to be covert, it's all backchannel." Cohen added, "I-spy-ish."

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Cohen lost his ability to communicate to Trump himself?

A reminder of who Cosello is.

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Michael Cohen says one of Robert Costello's emails used cryptic messaging referencing Costello's "friend" and his "friend's client."
Cohen testifies that this seemed to encourage Cohen to get a message to Trump through Rudy Giuliani.
By his recollection the email referenced, "the potential of pre-pardons, I believe."
"Please remember if you want or need to communicate something, please let me know," Costello's email reads.
Cohen says that meant to communicate to Giuliani and ultimately "President Trump."

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Michael Cohen said Robert Costello "had expressed clearly to Mr. Giuliani that he was on the team."

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"The concern here was that I was going to go to another lawyer and retain another lawyer to represent me in this matter," Cohen testified.

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On June 14, Costello sent Cohen an email with a YouTube link called "Giuliani on possibility of Cohen cooperating Muller probe."
Cohen emailed him back, "Why send this to me?"
Costello responded with a lengthy email. "It seems clear to me that you are under the impression that Trump and Giuliani are trying to discredit you and throw you under the bus to use your phrase. I think you are wrong because you are believing the narrative promoted by the left wing media. They want you to believe what they writing. Many of them are already writing that you are cooperating," the email began.

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Cohen said the email was "part of the pressure campaign that everyone is lying to you, that you are still regarded."

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"The president still supports you," Cohen added that it meant, "Don't flip, Don't speak, Don't cooperate."
"If you really believe you are not being supported properly by your former boss, then you should make your position known. If you really want certain things to happen, you should make that known," Costello wrote in the email.

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Michael Cohen says he never told Robert Costello about Trump's involvement in the American Media Inc. payment to former Playboy model Karen McDougal or Cohen's payment to Stormy Daniels.
"I didn't trust him, meaning Bob Costello and I was still remaining loyal to Mr. Trump," Cohen said.
"I believed based upon all of our conversations that he would immediately run back to Mr Giuliani and that communication would be divulged to President Trump," Cohen added.

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At some point, Michael Cohen says he had a conversation with his family about "this unique situation."
"And my family my wife, my daughter, my son all said to me, 'Why are you holding on to this loyalty? What are you doing? We're supposed to be your first loyalty."
Cohen says his family told him "that it was about time" he listen to them.

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Michael Cohen says he made his move to plead guilty after talking to his family and deciding he would no longer lie for Trump.
"I made a decision based again on the conversation I had with my family that I would not lie for President Trump anymore," he says.
Trump, who did not react as Cohen was describing how he would no longer remain loyal, is now chatting with his attorney Emil Bove.

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UAS Ag said:

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aggiehawg said:

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Michael Cohen says he put the White House meeting in his calendar something he did not normally do. He says it was to "commemorate seeing President Trump in the White House."

"Meeting with POTUS," the electronic calendar entry reads.

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The jury is now seeing emails between Jeffrey McConney, a former Trump Organization controller, and Michael Cohen
In one of them dated February 14, 2017, Cohen asks McConney to remind him the monthly amount he is supposed to invoice.
McConney responds to remind Cohen it was $35,000 per month, the emails show.

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Prosecutor Susan Hoffinger confirmed with Michael Cohen that had there been a retainer agreement it would be accompanied by an agreed upon monthly amount.
But there was no retainer agreement, Hoffinger said.
Cohen said there wasn't one.
Cohen's tone and manner so far is the same as Monday. He is careful, measured and even toned.

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That's on Cohen again.

Quote:

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Michael Cohen emailed an invoice to former Trump Organization controller Jeffrey McConney on February 14, 2017, including two $35,000 payments for January and February.
Prosecutor Susan Hoffinger asks if the invoices he sent were consistent with directions given by Allen Weisselberg.
"Yes, ma'am," Cohen says.

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Michael Cohen confirmed the invoices were actually reimbursement for the hush money payment and not for legal services.
Prosecutor Susan Hoffinger is asking whether the description in the invoice for legal services rendered was true.
"No ma'am," Cohen says.
Hoffinger again asks Cohen what the payments were actually for.
He says, "Reimbursement to me of the hush money fee along with red finch and the bonus"
"Was this invoice a false record?" Hoffinger asks.
"Yes, ma'am," Cohen says.
Hoffinger goes on to ask, "Were any of those invoices that you submitted based on services performed for the months indicated pursuant to a retainer agreement?"
"No ma'am they were for a reimbursement," Cohen says.

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Prosecutor Susan Hoffinger asks Michael Cohen if he received 11 checks in responses to those 11 invoices for a total of $420,000.

"Yes, ma'am," Cohen says.

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Pardon me while I pick my jaw up off of the floor. That's a lot of fraud on Cohen's part that he is admitting to committing.

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Why would it be TRUMP's fault that Cohen committed fraud by submitting these invoices?

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Seems extremely likely until all this started Trump had no clue what Cohen put in those invoices. He just signed the check when brought to him to pay it.

Don't see how this jury ain't under tremendous pressure to convict. Theres money to be made for them on a conviction. Not so much if they the ones that let Trump get away and have to resume life in one of the most blue counties in the US. If they fail to convict, they know the media will give them an enema.

After 4+ weeks they probably tired of all this and ready to go home. The luster has worn off by now.

They may not understand the basis for the conviction but will assume that within all the mush thrown at 'em that Trump's probably guilty even if they cant articulate why they reached their decision.

The fact that there is two lawyers on the jury is also a problem in that the jury will fall in line with whatever they say. These two lawyers ain't gonna want to go back to work in NY being known as the lawyer that let Trump off the hook.

Would think it unlikely we don't see a conviction here on that basis.

Post trial is there any rights to privacy jurors have to the identity...Now I know the people around them know who they are of course, I'm meaning can they take legal action if an off the rails Lib journalist loses their mind and doxes them?

Quote:

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Michael Cohen says he made his move to plead guilty after talking to his family and deciding he would no longer lie for Trump.
"I made a decision based again on the conversation I had with my family that I would not lie for President Trump anymore," he says.
Trump, who did not react as Cohen was describing how he would no longer remain loyal, is now chatting with his attorney Emil Bove.

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Asked why he paid the money to Stormy Daniels, Michael Cohen says that it was "to ensure that the story would not come out, would not effect Mr. Trump's chances of becoming president of the United States."
Prosecutor Susan Hoffinger asks whether Cohen would have paid the money if not for the election. "No ma'am," Cohen says.
Hoffinger follows up and asks Cohen to confirm at whose direction and on whose behalf he paid Daniels.
Cohen says, "On behalf of Mr. Trump."

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Michael Cohen is now being asked about the payments American Media Inc. (AMI) made to Karen McDougal, which was also part of his 2018 guilty plea.
Prosecutor Susan Hoffinger asks Cohen why he worked with AMI to pay off McDougal.
Cohen responds, "in order to ensure that the possibility of Mr. Trump succeeding in the election that this would not be a hindrance."

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Michael Cohen said he also pleaded guilty to tax charges and making false statements to a financial institution that were unrelated to Donald Trump.
Asked what the day was like, Cohen said, "Worst day of my life."
Trump's been leaning back with his eyes closed for the last several minutes including through this whole line of questioning.

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Michael Cohen is now reading Trump's tweets from August 22, 2018, the day after he pleaded guilty.
"If anyone is looking for a good lawyer, I would strongly suggest that you don't retain the services of Michael Cohen!" one of the tweets reads.
Cohen says the tweets "caused a lot of angst, anxiety" and notes that the messages were communicating, "certainly displeasure, that I no longer ... I guess important to the fold."
Trump is leaning forward, reading the tweets on his screen.

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Michael Cohen has confirmed that on November 29, 2018, he also pleaded guilty to one count of making false statements to Congress on Trump's behalf in 2017.
Jurors are watching Cohen as he explains he was sentenced to 36 months in prison and fined.

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Michael Cohen says before he reported to prison on May 6, 2019, he testified before Congress in February 2019.

Cohen says he testified to the House and Senate Intelligence Committees and the House Oversight Committee.

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Now that makes no sense. Take the 5th at that point.

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Cohen is recalling when he spoke about the payments and apologized to Congress.
He is recounting that he testified about the payments to the two women when he spoke before the House and Senate Intelligence Committees and the House Oversight Committee.
"I testified about the reimbursement of the $130,000 with the payments made to me on a monthly basis, " Cohen says.
"I apologized to Congress. I apologized to the country. I apologized to my family," Cohen says, nodding his head slightly.
Cohen says he apologized to the American public "for lying to them, for acting in a way that suppressed information that the citizenry had a right to know in order to make a determination on the individual who was seeking the highest office in the land."

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Michael Cohen is testifying that he met with special counsel Robert Mueller's office several times before reporting to prison.
Cohen first met with the special counsel's office in 2018 before pleading guilty, and he says he was not truthful "because I was still holding onto the loyalty to President Trump."
After pleading guilty, Cohen says he gave truthful testimony in subsequent meetings with Mueller's team.

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I think the prosecution is getting close to finishing their direct. if so, cross will start after lunch.

Stat Monitor Repairman said:

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Don't see how this jury ain't under tremendous pressure to convict. Theres money to be made for them on a conviction. Not so much if they the ones that let Trump get away and have to resume life in one of the most blue counties in the US. If they fail to convict, they know the media will give them an enema.

After 4+ weeks they probably tired of all this and ready to go home. The luster has worn off by now.

They may not understand the basis for the conviction but will assume that within all the mush thrown at 'em that Trump's probably guilty even if they cant articulate why they reached their decision.

The fact that there is two lawyers on the jury is also a problem in that the jury will fall in line with whatever they say. These two lawyers ain't gonna want to go back to work in NY being known as the lawyer that let Trump off the hook.

Would think it unlikely we don't see a conviction here on that basis.

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I think that's a reasonable analysis.

I'm reminded of the gag business card that went around years ago for the firm Dewey, Cheatum & Howe. Underneath the title was the phrase: "If you can't dazzle them with brilliance, baffle them with bull****."

That's apparently the tactics of Bragg, with the full cooperation of Cohen. They're making it so muddy and confusing, most on the jury will have the opportunity to think "that was so complicated, I have no idea what they were trying to communicate there. But, I hate Trump, and he must have been doing something wrong, so I'll vote to convict."

Quote:

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That's apparently the tactics of Bragg, with the full cooperation of Cohen. They're making it so muddy and confusing, most on the jury will have the opportunity to think "that was so complicated, I have no idea what they were trying to communicate there. But, I hate Trump, and he must have been doing something wrong, so I'll vote to convict."

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Further, I expect the jury instructions to be a hash, with the instructions being unclear.

jrdaustin said:

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Stat Monitor Repairman said:

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Don't see how this jury ain't under tremendous pressure to convict. Theres money to be made for them on a conviction. Not so much if they the ones that let Trump get away and have to resume life in one of the most blue counties in the US. If they fail to convict, they know the media will give them an enema.

After 4+ weeks they probably tired of all this and ready to go home. The luster has worn off by now.

They may not understand the basis for the conviction but will assume that within all the mush thrown at 'em that Trump's probably guilty even if they cant articulate why they reached their decision.

The fact that there is two lawyers on the jury is also a problem in that the jury will fall in line with whatever they say. These two lawyers ain't gonna want to go back to work in NY being known as the lawyer that let Trump off the hook.

Would think it unlikely we don't see a conviction here on that basis.

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I think that's a reasonable analysis.

I'm reminded of the gag business card that went around years ago for the firm Dewey, Cheatum & Howe. Underneath the title was the phrase: "If you can't dazzle them with brilliance, baffle them with bull****."

That's apparently the tactics of Bragg, with the full cooperation of Cohen. They're making it so muddy and confusing, most on the jury will have the opportunity to think "that was so complicated, I have no idea what they were trying to communicate there. But, I hate Trump, and he must have been doing something wrong, so I'll vote to convict."

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"We the jury find the defendant Donald J. Trump guilty of....just guilty, he's guilty that's all we know. Thank you your honor, can we go home?"

aggiehawg said:

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I think the prosecution is getting close to finishing their direct. if so, cross will start after lunch.

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it is certainly sounding that way, but I bet they try to drag it out as much as they can. If they can keep the cross from starting until tomorrow, then the jury sits with Cohen's story for a day before the defense goes for just one day, and then another break. It could really hurt the defense team's rhythm.

aggiehawg said:

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I think the prosecution is getting close to finishing their direct. if so, cross will start after lunch.

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Since the are off on Wednesday I bet they call it an early day and begin cross on Thursday

Quote:

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Michael Cohen says he went to prison and was released partway through his sentence because of the Covid-19 pandemic

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He was in Otisville prison. medium security but also has separate facilities for white collar criminals which is minimum security called the Camp. He wasn't doing hard time.

Quote:

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Michael Cohen is explaining that in addition to speaking with the special counsel's office, he also met with the New York attorney general's office and the district attorney's office.
He confirms he spoke to the district attorney's office for the first time while he was still incarcerated.
Cohen confirms that he testified before the grand jury in this case and received immunity.
He says he asked the federal judge for a reduction in his sentence and asked the DA's office to provide a letter about his cooperation.
Cohen also confirmed he understands that every witness who testifies before the grand jury is automatically offered immunity.

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Prosecutor Susan Hoffinger is returning to Michael Cohen's cell phones, asking if he turned them back on when they were returned to him.
Cohen says he may have, saying he wanted to see if they still worked.
Trump passed his attorney Todd Blanche a note, who looked at it and nodded his head repeatedly.
Hoffinger is quizzing Cohen on his cell phones that were seized in 2018. Cohen says he got a new phone after that raid so if he turned them on at any point it was just to see if they were still working.
Cohen says he used one of his older cell phones that had been seized by the FBI in order to record a conversation with the bureau of prisons.

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Quote:

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Prosecutor Susan Hoffinger is returning to Michael Cohen's cell phones, asking if he turned them back on when they were returned to him.
Cohen says he may have, saying he wanted to see if they still worked.
Trump passed his attorney Todd Blanche a note, who looked at it and nodded his head repeatedly.
Hoffinger is quizzing Cohen on his cell phones that were seized in 2018. Cohen says he got a new phone after that raid so if he turned them on at any point it was just to see if they were still working.
Cohen says he used one of his older cell phones that had been seized by the FBI in order to record a conversation with the bureau of prisons.

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The district attorney's office said it would consider providing a letter about his cooperation if the US District Court for the Southern District of New York (SDNY) prosecutors agreed, they didn't, prosecutor Susan Hoffinger said.
Cohen agreed.
Trump could be seen opening his eyes and raised his eyebrows at his attorney Emil Bove at the line about reducing his sentence in the SDNY case.
As a result, the district attorney's office did not provide a letter to Cohen, he confirms.
Cohen said earlier that he asked the federal judge for a reduction in his sentence and asked the district attorney's office to provide a letter about his cooperation.

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Michael Cohen says he never altered his cell phone audio recording with Donald Trump.
"At any time did you alter or modify the audio recording of your conversation with Mr. Trump as contained in PX246?" Hoffinger asks.
"No ma'am," Cohen said.
Cohen says he voluntarily provided the two cell phones to the district attorney's office in 2023. He provided them on two different days because he only knew where one of them was and had to find the other one, he says.
For context: Defense attorney Emil Bove took lengthy steps to cast doubt on the credibility of the data on Cohen's phones when it was introduced through a district attorney employee. Bove suggested it was possible the phones submitted to the DA's office could've been tampered with.

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n relation to the penalties tied to his federal guilty plea, Michael Cohen said he "paid the taxes, paid the fines, paid everything."
"And served time in prison," Cohen added.
He also noted he still remains currently on supervised release.

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aggiehawg said:

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Michael Cohen says he never altered his cell phone audio recording with Donald Trump.
"At any time did you alter or modify the audio recording of your conversation with Mr. Trump as contained in PX246?" Hoffinger asks.
"No ma'am," Cohen said.

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Cohen already testified that he parses to give cover via a lie of omission. A guy like that would not consider cutting off the end of a call to be "altering it" because he didn't actually change any words in the part of the recording he retained.

Cohen is a liar. His denial there means nothing.

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Prosecutor Susan Hoffinger is asking Michael Cohen about statements he has made criticizing the tax and false statement charges he pleaded guilty to in 2018.
Cohen said he's not disputing the fact but he doesn't think he should have been charged with the crimes.

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"I have constantly maintained that I do not dispute the fact. There was an error in the taxable amount and the tax that was due. What I did dispute and I continue to dispute that for a first time offender that has consistently paid taxes on its due date, never have been audited, that this would go immediately to a criminal charge," Cohen says.

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He adds that he was given 48 hours to plead guilty or an indictment that included his wife would be filed.

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