Silent trial of Trump: Michael Cohen waits his turn after Stormy Daniels' graphic account

NEW YORK (AP) Following porn actor Stormy Daniels' salacious testimony, prosecutors in Donald Trump's secret trial focused Friday on controls and phone recordings as they set the stage for jurors to hear the star witness: Michael Cohen, Trump's former lawyer.

As the third week of testimony drew to a close, the case that ultimately hinges on record-keeping returned to deeply technical testimony, a stark contrast to Daniel's dramatic, if not downright sordid, account of a alleged sexual encounter with Trump that fascinated jurors earlier this year. week. Trump denies having sex.

The prosecution could rest its case by the end of next week, prosecutor Joshua Steinglass said.

What you need to know about Trump's silent trial:

Prosecutors built their case in anticipation of crucial testimony from Cohen, the former Trump fixer-turned-enemy who arranged the $130,000 payment to Daniels, he says at Trump's direction.

Cohen is expected to take the stand Monday, two people familiar with the matter told The Associated Press. The people could not discuss the matter publicly and spoke to AP on condition of anonymity.

Defense attorneys will say the disbarred attorney who served prison time and became one of Trump's fiercest critics wants to go after the former president and cannot be believed.

Jurors on Friday saw social media posts showing that Trump initially praised Cohen after the then-lawyer was the subject of a federal investigation. Trump began disparaging him after Cohen pleaded guilty to campaign finance violations, as well as other crimes, and claimed Trump ordered him to arrange payment for Daniels. Trump has never been charged with any crime related to this federal investigation.

Trump, who was visibly angry during much of Daniels' testimony, spoke frequently with his lawyers and read from a stack of papers on the table in front of him as jurors heard from witnesses including employees of AT&T and Verizon, which authenticated phone records.

Friday's dry testimony sometimes seemed to test jurors' patience. One juror stifled a yawn while another held out his arms. Others moved their gaze around the room or looked at the ceiling.

In one of the more heated moments, Trump lawyer Emil Bove asked a paralegal about the tedious work of going through lengthy phone, data and other records and preparing charts from them .

I actually quite enjoyed that, the paralegal said matter-of-factly, prompting laughter from the courtroom audience.

Respect, replied Bové.

Former President Donald Trump gestures as he walks toward the courtroom after a break in his trial at Manhattan Criminal Court Thursday, May 9, 2024, in New York. (Angela Weiss/Pool Photo via AP)

Witnesses in the case have fluctuated between accountants and bankers with testimony about Daniels' records and finances and others with unflattering stories about Trump and the machinations of the tabloid world designed to keep them secret. Despite all the drama, ultimately the trial is about business transactions changing hands and whether those payments were made to illegally influence the 2016 election.

Daniel's story about an alleged sexual relationship with Trump has been a crucial element for prosecutors, who seek to show that the Republican and his allies buried unflattering stories in the final weeks of the 2016 presidential election in the purpose of illegally influencing the race.

Trump walked out of court angry on Thursday, angrily telling reporters, “I'm innocent.” His lawyers pushed for a mistrial because of the level of sordid details Daniels discussed on the witness stand, but Judge Juan M. Merchan denied the request.

Stormy Daniels testifies on the witness stand as a promotional image from one of her shows featuring an image of Trump is displayed on screens in Manhattan Criminal Court, Thursday, May 9, 2024, in New York. (Elizabeth Williams via AP)

Returning to the witness stand Friday morning was Madeleine Westerhout, a former Trump White House aide. Prosecutors used Westerhout's testimony to detail the process by which Trump received personal mail, including checks to sign, while he was in the White House. That's relevant because that's how he received and signed the checks that reimbursed Cohen for the payment to Daniels, prosecutors say.

Westerhout testified that Trump was very upset when the Wall Street Journal published an article in 2018 about the hush money deal with Daniels.

My understanding was that he knew it would be hurtful to his family, Westerhout said, although she acknowledged she didn't remember him saying it specifically. The response, elicited by Trump attorney Susan Necheles, concerns the defense's argument that Daniels was paid to remain silent to protect Trump's family, not his campaign.

During more than 7 hours of testimony, Daniels recounted in detail what she said happened after the two met at a celebrity golf outing in Lake Tahoe, where sponsors included the adult film studio where she worked. Daniels explained how she felt surprise, fear and discomfort, even as she consented to having sex with Trump.

During the combative cross-examination, Trump's lawyers sought to portray Daniels as a liar and extortionist who is trying to bring down the former president after making money and fame from his claims. Necheles asked Daniels why she accepted the payment to keep quiet instead of going public, and the two women exchanged barbs over what Necheles called inconsistencies in Daniel's story over the years.

You made it all up, didn't you? Necheles asked Daniels.

No, Daniels replied.

After Daniels left the stand Thursday, Trump's lawyers pressed the judge to change the silence order that prevents him from speaking about witnesses in the case so he can respond publicly to what she said to the jurors. The judge also rejected this request.

Trump also lost an attempt Friday to obtain the records of Mark Pomerantz, a former Manhattan prosecutor who last year wrote a book detailing tensions with District Attorney Alvin Bragg over whether to seek the writ Trump's accusation.

Prosecutors in Braggs' office asked Merchan to dismiss Pomerantz's subpoena, and the judge agreed, writing in an order that the defense's requests are either too broad and part of a fishing expedition, or they are looking for information that is not relevant to the case.

Trump is charged with 34 counts of falsifying the Trump Organization's internal business records. The fees come from documents such as invoices and checks that were considered legal fees on company records. Prosecutors say those payments were largely reimbursements to Cohen for Daniels' hush-money payment.

The criminal case could be the only one of four against the presumptive Republican presidential nominee to go to trial before voters decide in November whether to send him to the White House. Trump has pleaded not guilty and presents himself as the victim of a politically tainted justice system that is working to deny him another term.

Meanwhile, as Trump threatens jail time over repeated violations of the hush order, his lawyers are fighting the judge's order and seeking a quick ruling in an appeals court. If this court refuses to lift the silence, Trump's lawyers want permission to appeal to the state's high court.

___

Richer reported from Washington. Associated Press journalists Eric Tucker in Washington, Ruth Brown in New York and Adriana Gomez Licon in Miami contributed.

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