Michael Cohen, former personal lawyer to former President Donald Trump, and attorney Danya Perry leave his apartment building on his way to Manhattan Criminal Court in New York City on Thursday., testifying against his former boss, Donald Trump, in a New York criminal trial, and was pushed to answer questions about his own criminal history.
The case could quickly then head to the jury for deliberation. The court will not be in session tomorrow so Trump can attend his son Barron's graduation. Blanche questioned Cohen about past testimonies related to that case before Congress in 2019, while under oath at the Southern District Court of New York and duringto his longtime relationship and falling out
On Thursday, Blanche pointed to new evidence in the form of text messages that also show Cohen was talking to Schiller about a series of harassing phone calls he had been receiving. The 1 minute and 36 second phone call became the focus of questioning over whether or not Cohen recalls talking to Trump at all in that time and also speaking to him about the Daniels deal.
The defense also argued in opening statements that there was nothing illegal about the nondisclosure agreements or the settlements paid. Blanche questioned Cohen about those agreementsProsecutors have spent weeks setting up Cohen's corroboration of Trump's knowledge of the 34 allegedly falsified documents. But they also set him up as someone bullish, unlikeable and self-interested. At the same time, the defense and Trump himself have long attacked Cohen's credibility.
Earlier in the week, House Speaker Mike Johnson, Rep. Byron Donalds, R-Fla., Rep. Cory Mills, R-Fla., North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum, a vice president hopeful, and former GOP presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy flanked the former president.