False invoices and why Michael Cohen flipped: Trump trial key takeaways, day 17

Michael Cohen, the star witness in the case against Donald Trump, was back on the stand for a second day on Tuesday in the criminal case against Donald Trump in Manhattan.

Prosecutors had Cohen walk through key elements in the case – many of which have already been corroborated by other witnesses. Defense lawyers, meanwhile, sought to undermine his credibility. Here are a few key takeaways.

Cohen walked jurors through false invoices and checks

The day started off with prosecutor Susan Hoffinger tediously having Cohen recount the 11 false invoices he submitted in 2017 and the checks that he subsequently received as a result of them.

For each of the checks and the invoices, Hoffinger asked Cohen whether they falsely said that they were for legal services rendered during the time period. This was critical testimony that gets at the heart of the alleged crimes in the case: that Trump falsified business records to cover up payments to Stormy Daniels.

Even though he was paid $420,000 in 2017, Cohen said he performed minimal work for Trump that year – less than 10 hours, in his estimation.

Cohen also recalled a February 2017 Oval Office meeting at the White House. “He asked if I was OK. He asked me if I needed money. And I said: ‘All good,’” Cohen said. “He said: ‘All right, just make sure you deal with Allen [Weisselberg].’” The testimony is important because it helps establish that Trump was involved in the repayment scheme.

Prosecutors tried to head off attacks on Cohen’s credibility while Trump’s lawyer tried to demolish it

Hoffinger spent the final section of her direct examination seeking to head off attacks she knew were coming from Trump’s defense team. Cohen confirmed that he had not received any special legal treatment for his testimony. She also sought to undercut attacks that he was out to profit off of the case by pointing out he had lost his law license as a result of his felony conviction. His podcasts, books and TikTok livestream – all of which heavily feature Trump – are the main way he has a way of making a living, she established.

During cross-examination, Trump attorney Todd Blanche began by getting Cohen to admit that the district attorney’s office had to tell his lawyers many times to stop speaking about the case. It was a bit of an odd start because it was immediately met with objections from the prosecution that were sustained, preventing Blanche from building any rhythm or momentum in his questioning.

He also suggested Cohen wanted to cooperate with prosecutors to get a more lenient sentence for himself, though Cohen and prosecutors noted that it didn’t work.

Blanche also got Cohen to admit that almost every episode of his podcast mentions Trump and highlighted to jurors that Cohen sold mugs that said “send him to the big house and not the White House” and a T-shirt that pictured Trump in an orange jumpsuit. Cohen acknowledged that he wanted Trump to get convicted and was wearing the shirt recently on TikTok and urging supporters to buy it.

Blanche also got Cohen to acknowledge that in 2016 he called Trump “kind, humble, honest, genuine”.

“At that time, I was knee-deep into the cult of Donald Trump, yes,” Cohen said.

Cohen explained why he flipped on Donald Trump

After years of loyalty to Trump, Cohen decided in the summer of 2018 that he would stop lying for his old boss. That spring, the FBI had raided his home and office.

“At that point in time, we didn’t even know what the southern district of New York was even looking at. The conversation with my family was what to do, we’re in this unique situation never experienced in my family. My wife, my daughter, my son, both said to me: ‘Why are you holding on to this loyalty? What are you doing? We’re supposed to be your first loyalty,’” he said.

“It was about time to listen to them. I would not lie for President Trump any longer,” he said. Cohen would go on to plead guilty to several federal charges, including a campaign finance crime that he said he committed at the direction of Trump to influence the 2016 election.

Cohen described intense campaign to keep him ‘in the fold’

After the April 2018 FBI raid on his home office, Cohen said he received a phone call from Trump after leaving a message with him. Cohen said: “He said to me: ‘Don’t worry, I’m the president of the United States. There’s nothing here. Everything is going to be OK. Stay tough. You’re going to be OK.’” That was the last time the two men spoke, Cohen said.

After that, he said, he felt enormous pressure to retain a lawyer named Robert Costello, who kept emphasizing how close he was to Rudy Giuliani. Cohen said it was clear that he was trying to set up a backchannel to Trump through Giuliani.

Cohen didn’t hire Costello, but Costello kept conveying messages Cohen took to mean that he should remain loyal. “I spoke with Rudy. Very very positive. You are loved. If you want to call me I will give you the details … Rudy said this communication channel must be maintained. He called it crucial and said … sleep well tonight you have friends in high places,” one email from Costello to Cohen said.

The whole thing was very covert and “I-sspyish”, Cohen said.

At the same time, Trump was putting out tweets supporting Cohen, which Cohen took as a signal that he should remain loyal.

“There was something really sketchy and wrong about him,” Cohen said of Costello. He came with a retainer agreement, Cohen said; he told Costello he wouldn’t sign right away.

“I certainly wasn’t going to expose anything to anybody, one, I didn’t know and … having trouble connecting with,” Cohen said. “I was also concerned, when he started talking about his incredibly close relationship with Rudy, that anything I said to him was going to be spoken and told to Rudy Giuliani and of course, because Rudy Giiliani was so proximate, at the time, to Mr Trump, President Trump, that anything that I said would get back to him.”