(NEW YORK) — Former President Donald Trump is on trial in New York City, where he is facing felony charges related to a 2016 hush money payment to adult film actress Stormy Daniels. It marks the first time in history that a former U.S. president has been tried on criminal charges.
Trump last April pleaded not guilty to a 34-count indictment charging him with falsifying business records in connection with a hush money payment his then-attorney Michael Cohen made to Daniels in order to boost his electoral prospects in the 2016 presidential election.
Here’s how the news is developing. All times Eastern:
May 20, 12:58 PM
Prosecutors seek to introduce photo from time of phone call
Judge Merchan dismissed the jury for the lunch break, after which prosecutor Joshua Steinglass asked permission to show the jury a photo of Donald Trump and Keith Schiller together on Oct. 24, 2016, at 7:57 p.m.
Prosecutors hope to introduce the evidence to counter the defense suggestion that Cohen lied about the purpose of an Oct. 24, 2016, phone call to Schiller.
“It shows that they were together,” Steinglass said of the photo.
Defense attorney Todd Blanche pushed back on the request, arguing the photo is inadmissible and that testimony about the time and date of it would be hearsay. Blanche added that the fact that Trump and Schiller were together on Oct. 24 is not in dispute; rather, defense lawyers have hammered at the substance of Cohen’s call with Schiller.
“I have significant evidence that he lied under oath,” Blanche said about Cohen’s testimony about the phone call.
Judge Merchan said he would discuss the issue further after lunch.
May 20, 12:51 PM
Prosecutors press Cohen on legality of Daniels’ NDA
On redirect examination, prosecutor Susan Hoffinger asked Michael Cohen about his testimony on cross-examination that nondisclosure agreements are perfectly legal and that the contract with Stormy Daniels was also legal.
Hoffinger sought to emphasize how out of the ordinary this particular NDA was.
“Under the circumstances of this NDA with Stormy Daniels — was that perfectly legal under those circumstances?” Hoffinger asked, referring to efforts to affect the 2016 election.
“No ma’am,” Cohen said.
May 20, 12:43 PM
Cohen testifies about fake AI cases
On redirect examination, Michael Cohen offered some context about how he claims he inadvertently provided some fake case law to the court during a recent bid to end his supervised release.
“I went onto Google Bard which is an AI search engine,” Cohen said. “It gave me a plethora of cases that appeared to me to be legitimate. They certainly looked legitimate and there were facts behind it and supported what we were going to put in the upcoming motion.”
“I was just trying to be helpful,” Cohen added.
But when Cohen showed the cases to his current lawyer, she noticed they were “not legitimate.”
At her recommendation, Cohen said he notified the court about the fake cases.
May 20, 12:36 PM
Cohen says he has nothing at stake as a witness
Michael Cohen testified under redirect examination that he had nothing at stake in the outcome of Trump’s criminal trial.
“Are you actually on trial here?” Hoffinger asked.
“No ma’am,” Cohen said.
“Are you a witness here?” Hoffinger asked.
“I am,” Cohen said.
“Are you charged with any crimes here?” Hoffinger asked.
“No ma’am,” Cohen said.
While Cohen was subpoenaed to testify at this trial, he described his outlook about the trial as markedly different from his participation and plea in a 2018 federal investigation.
“My life was on the line. My liberty. I was the defendant in the case,” Cohen said.
May 20, 12:20 PM
Cohen tells why he took an additional $30K in reimbursement
On redirect examination, Michael Cohen provided some background on the $30,000 he said he stole from the Trump Organization by overcharging them for work he did with Red Finch — funds that were paid to him as part of the Stormy Daniels reimbursement payment.
“Red Finch is a technology company that I had asked to assist in a CNBC poll, and the poll was regarding the most famous businessmen in, like, the last century,” Cohen said, speaking to the jury. “Mr. Trump’s name was on that list and at the beginning of this poll he was polling toward the very bottom. It upset him, so he had me come to his office and he provided me with a sheet of paper.”
“I reached out to Red Finch who told me he was able to create an algorithm to ensure that Mr. Trump would rise and rise significantly in this poll. We talked about what number Mr. Trump wanted to finish,” Cohen said.
The jury sat in rapt attention as Cohen spoke.
Eventually Trump came in No. 9 but he declined to pay Red Finch because CNBC didn’t bother following through with the poll, Cohen said. Cohen ended up paying them — in a brown paper bag in cash, he said.
“You felt some pressure to make some payment to your friend? Hoffinger asked.
“Yes,” Cohen responded.
Asked why he did it, Cohen said, “Well for a long time I had been telling him about the $50,000. … I was angered because of the reduction in the bonus, and so I just felt it was almost like self help.”
“I wasn’t going to let him have the benefit this way as well,” Cohen said, admitting that it was wrong.
May 20, 12:10 PM
On redirect, prosecutors address 2016 phone call
Prosecutor Susan Hoffinger begun her redirect examination of Michael Cohen by attempting to rehabilitate Cohen’s testimony about the phone call he said he had with Donald Trump on Oct. 24, 2016.
“Is it possible that other matters may have been discussed on those calls, but you are sure the Stormy Daniels matter was discussed?” Hoffinger asked.
“Yes,” Cohen said.
Cohen told jurors that even if he was busy with other matters at the time, he was sure he communicated with Trump about the Stormy Daniels’ payment.
Jurors seem fully engaged, several taking notes.
Hoffinger also asked about today’s questions by defense attorney Todd Blanche suggesting Cohen was too busy to remember much of anything in 2016.
“Were you too busy in 2016 to finalize the Stormy Daniels payoff with Mr. Trump?” Hoffinger asked.
“No ma’am,” Cohen responded.
“Were you too busy to get his approval to make that payment?” Blanche asked.
“No ma’am,” Cohen said.
May 20, 12:04 PM
Defense concludes Cohen’s cross-examination
“Your testimony remains … that notwithstanding everything you’ve said over the years, you have specific recollection of having conversations on the phone with then candidate Donald J. Trump about the Stormy Daniels matter, correct?” defense attorney Todd Blanche asked Michael Cohen as he wrapped up his questioning.
“Yes sir,” he replied.
“No doubt in your mind?” Blanche asked.
“No sir,” said Cohen.
“No further questions,” Blanche said, ending his cross-examination.
May 20, 12:01 PM
Cohen pressed on his financial interest in the case
“Do you have a financial interest in the outcome of this case?” defense attorney Todd Blanche asked Michael Cohen.
“Yes sir,” said Cohen, before clarifying.
“I talk about it on my podcast, i talk about it on TikTok, and they make money, and that’s how I was viewing your question. Whether he is ultimately determined innocent or guilty is not going to affect whether i speak about it or not.”
As Cohen answered, Trump looked on, facing Cohen directly.
Subsequently, Cohen said, “It’s better if he’s not, for me, because it gives me more to talk about in the future.”
The answer drew some laughs in the overflow room.
May 20, 11:48 AM
Cohen says he’s considered running for Congress
When cross-examination resumed following the mid-morning break, Michael Cohen testified that he is considering a run for Congress.
“Going after President Trump, that’s your name recognition?” defense attorney Todd Blanche asked.
“My name recognition is because of the journey I’ve been on.” Cohen answered. “It is affiliated to Mr. Trump — yes — not because of Mr. Trump.”
“Your journey includes near-daily attacks on President Trump?” Blanche asked.
Eventually Cohen conceded, “Yes sir.”
May 20, 11:29 AM
Cohen says he asked for Giuliani’s help in getting payment
Michael Cohen told jurors that he requested that his then-attorney Robert Costello reach out to Rudy Giuliani to get help paying for his own defense lawyers after Cohen’s office and hotel room were raided by the FBI in 2018.
“The payment was not being made in accordance with the invoices,” Cohen said about his own legal bills, which were initially covered by the Trump Organization after the FBI raid that resulted in part from Cohen’s involvement in the Stormy Daniels arrangement.
Cohen said he asked Costello to tell Giuliani to communicate the payment issue to Trump.
“I expressed to him that the nonpayment was becoming an issue,” Cohen said. “To, yes, let Mr. Giuliani know to pass it along to Mr. Trump that it is becoming an issue.”
Cohen confirmed that he received approximately $4 million from his consulting work between 2017 and 2018.
Court was subsequently recessed for the mid-morning break.
May 20, 11:13 AM
Defense presses Cohen on his communication with Costello
Testifying about Robert Costello, Michael Cohen’s attorney for a period until Cohen ended the association, Cohen initially said he spoke with Costello approximately a dozen times over the phone in 2018.
When defense attorney Todd Blanche suggested they actually spoke on the phone 75 times, Cohen responded, “It seems excessive but possible.”
Blanche suggested that some of their phone calls lasted more than 30 minutes. According to Blanche, Cohen and Costello spoke for a total of nine hours over the course of a few months in 2018.
May 20, 11:08 AM
Cohen says he asked Robert Costello to ask Giuliani for info
Last week, Michael Cohen testified that he did not trust Robert Costello to be his lawyer because he worried any information shared with him would get to Rudy Giuliani and then get to Trump.
But Cohen testified today that he took advantage of that back channel — including asking Costello to ask Giuliani to try to learn more about the origins of the federal investigation that led to the search of Cohen’s office and hotel room.
“I spoke with the person you asked me to and he said he would find out exactly how the matter ended up in the SDNY and in particular who in Main Justice approved this,” Costello wrote in an email to Cohen on April 23, 2018.
Cohen confirmed the “person” mentioned above was Rudy Giuliani.
May 20, 10:58 AM
Cohen details consulting work he did in 2017
Defense attorney Todd Blanche asked Cohen about the large sums of money he made through his consulting work with other companies in 2017 — an apparent effort to legitimize the money Cohen made from Trump as the being the result of legal work.
Cohen testified he was paid $600,000 by AT&T in 2017, communicating with them just 20 times.
“And there’s nothing wrong with that?” Blanche asked.
“I don’t believe so,” Cohen said.
Cohen said he was paid $100,000 per month from Novartis, $100,000 per month from an aerospace company, and $150,000 a month from a bank.
Cohen was also paid $50,000 by a company in 2017 to help restart a nuclear power plant formerly run by the Tennessee Valley Authority.
On direct examination, Cohen had testified he did less than 10 hours of work or Trump in 2017 — an attempt by prosecutors to cast doubt on the fact that the payments Cohen received were for any legitimate legal work.
Blanche appears to be trying to rebut those assertions by painting Trump’s payments as just another one of Cohen’s lucrative consulting jobs, in which he made hundreds of thousands of dollars while doing little work for his clients.
May 20, 10:49 AM
Defense says Cohen’s repayment was for legitimate legal expense
Throughout his cross-examination this morning, defense attorney Todd Blanche has attempted to legitimize the repayment arrangement between Trump and Cohen in 2017.
Prosecutors have argued that Trump falsified business records by describing a reimbursement for the Stormy Daniels payment and other expenses as payment for legal services pursuant to a retainer agreement, even though Cohen never had a retainer agreement with Trump.
Blanche emphasized all the legal work that Cohen did for Trump and his family in 2017. He also showed the jury an email from Allen Weisselberg, where he requested Cohen to “please prepare the agreement we discussed so we can pay you monthly.”
Amid frequent objections, Blanche has referenced the “agreement” mentioned above as a “retainer agreement,” though Cohen never had a formal retainer agreement with Trump.
Pursuant to the “agreement,” Cohen said he received nine checks directly from Trump in 2017.
“That would have been nine checks — 35,000 a piece,” Cohen said.
May 20, 10:35 AM
Defense asks Cohen about taking job as president’s attorney
Defense attorney Todd Blanche entered another email into evidence, and it was displayed on the courtroom monitors.
It’s Cohen’s good-bye email to the Trump Organization on Jan. 27, 2017, announcing he will be “personal attorney to potus.” “I cannot express how difficult it is for me to write this farewell e-mail,” it begins.
In the email, Cohen said he is starting “a new journey,” and that he is “truly excited” to begin new position as personal attorney to Trump as president. He reminisced about first taking the job there and moving into Ivanka’s old office.
Blanche asked Cohen about his effort to spread the word about his new role as Trump’s personal attorney.
“You told everybody that was happening, correct?” Blanche said.
“Not everybody, but I certainly was proud of the role and I announced it,” Cohen said.
“You told TMZ?” Blanche asked.
“Yes, sir,” Cohen said.
“You told the New York Times?” Blanche asked.
“Yes, sir,” Cohen said.
“You actually gave them a little scoop on it?” Blanche asked.
“Yes, sir,” Cohen said.
“You went on TV and told Sean Hannity about it?” Blanche asked.
“Yes, sir,” Cohen said.
May 20, 10:29 AM
Jury sees chummy email between Cohen, Weisselberg
Jurors saw a chummy email between Michael Cohen and then-Trump Organization CFO Allen Weisselberg in January 2017 in which Cohen and Weisselberg discussed the Stormy Daniels repayment arrangement.
“Thank you. You never stopped on [sic] for a bro hug,” Weisselberg wrote to Cohen.
“Anyway please prepare the agreement we discussed so we can pay you monthly.”
Trump, at the defense table, hunched forward and examined the email as it was displayed on his monitor.
May 20, 10:21 AM
Cohen admits he stole from Trump through his reimbursement
Michael Cohen admitted that he stole $30,000 from the Trump Organization when, as part of his reimbursement for the Stormy Daniels reimbursement, he requested $50,000 for a reimbursement for IT services, when Cohen had actually paid $20,000 for the services.
“You stole from the Trump Organization, correct?” defense attorney Todd Blanche asked.
“Yes, sir,” Cohen said.
Blanche hammered Cohen, asking if he ever repaid the Trump Organization or “Did you ever have to plead guilty to larceny?”
“No sir,” Cohen said.
At the defense table, Trump shook his head and pursed his lips.
Cohen remained calm during this questioning when Blanche raised voiced, almost shouting at Cohen.
May 20, 10:12 AM
Defense seeks to cast doubt on other alleged phone calls
After suggesting last week that Michael Cohen lied about the purpose of a phone call to Trump’s security guard Keith Schiller on Oct. 24, 2016, defense attorney Todd Blanche sought to cast doubt on another instance of Cohen’s testimony where he said he spoke to Trump about the Stormy Daniels deal — specifically on two calls that occurred during the 8 a.m. hour on Oct. 26, 2016.
Blanche asked Cohen about what else Trump did that day, including the opening ceremony for one of his buildings in Washington, D.C., and a national television interview, which Cohen said he didn’t remember.
“My recollection is that I was speaking to him about Stormy Daniels because that’s what he tasked me to take care of,” Cohen said.
May 20, 10:02 AM
Defense presses Cohen on how busy he was in 2016
In addition to handling numerous business issues during October 2016, Cohen testified that he tried to help his taxi medallion business partner with his marital problems.
“I tried to assist in bringing them back together as well as talking to him about potential lawyers,” Cohen said.
Through this line of cross-examination, defense attorney Blanche is suggesting that Cohen was a very busy man in October 2016 — potentially casting doubt on his extensive role in the Daniels hush money payment.
May 20, 9:52 AM
Defense suggests Cohen had distractions dealing with Daniels
Defense attorney Todd Blanche suggested that Michael Cohen was juggling multiple other issues in October 2016, at the same time he was arranging the Stormy Daniels hush money payment.
Cohen testified that was resolving issues with his taxi medallion business, handling a loan for one of his investment properties, assisting with the National Diversity Coalition, and helping Tiffany Trump deal with an instance of extortion.
“You agree with me, right, that you had a lot going on both in your personal life and with President Trump in those first two weeks of October?” Blanche asked.
“Yes sir,” Cohen said.
Blanche also reminded jurors that Cohen was dealing with harassing phone calls at the time — referencing his line of questioning last week when he suggested Cohen lied about the purpose of a phone call to Trump’s security guard Keith Schiller on Oct. 24, 2016.
May 20, 9:43 AM
Cohen asked about communication with reporters
Defense attorney Todd Blanche opened today’s questioning by asked Cohen about his communication with reporters.
“Since that time [when your last testimony ended], how many reporters have you talked to?” Blanche asked.
Cohen said he’s spoken to reporters “who called to say hello, to see how I’m doing,” but that he didn’t talk about the case.
“Didn’t speak at all about your testimony last week?” Blanche asked.
“Correct,” Cohen responded.
As Cohen resumed his testimony, jurors appeared attentive, with several taking notes. Trump sat slouched at his chair with his eyes closed.
May 20, 9:38 AM
Michael Cohen retakes witness stand
Following the break, former Trump attorney Michael Cohen has entered the courtroom.
He took his seat in the witness box to resume his cross-examination as Trump looked on.
May 20, 9:24 AM
Attorneys conference at bench on discovery issue
Defense attorney Todd Blanche asked to approach the bench about an ongoing discovery issue.
Both legal teams leaned in as Blanche spoke to the judge.
With the sidebar completed, the judge called for a ten-minute break.
May 20, 9:09 AM
Judge won’t let defense expand expert witness’ testimony
Judge Merchan denied a request from defense lawyers to broaden the scope of testimony from their expert witness Bradley Smith, who is an expert on campaign finance regulations.
On Thursday, defense lawyers asked Merchan to allow Smith to testify about various terms related to federal campaign finance laws. Merchan denied the request, citing long standing precedent prohibiting witness testimony about the law.
“An expert is not permitted to present or interpret the law,” Merchan said.
Merchan also expressed concerns about Smith’s testimony prompting a “battle of the experts” between Smith and an expert called by prosecutors, which Merchan said would confuse the jury.
Merchan said that Smith could still testify, as long as he follows the limits imposed in his pretrial ruling on the case’s motions in limine.
“The court will monitor this testimony closely to ensure full compliance,” Merchan said in a pretrial ruling. “Any deviation from this ruling could result in sanction up to and including striking the expert’s entire testimony.”
May 20, 8:59 AM
Judge rejects defense request to admit email as evidence
Judge Merchan has begun hearing arguments about the admissibility of some defense exhibits, including an email communication between Michael Cohen and his one-time attorney Bob Costello’s law partner Jeffrey Citron.
Defense attorney Todd Blanche argued that the exhibit could be used to impeach Cohen’s testimony.
Judge Merchan said he will not allow the email into evidence. Prosecutors argued that the email was hearsay and cannot fairly offer a window into Cohen’s state of mind.
“There is another layer there of hearsay,” Merchan said about the email. “I don’t see any probative value for impeachment purposes here at all.”
May 20, 8:53 AM
Judge says summations will likely happen next Tuesday
“Good morning Mr. Trump,” Judge Juan Merchan said as he gaveled in the proceedings.
“It’s become apparent that we are not going to be able to sum up tomorrow,” the judge said after taking the bench.
Merchan said it’s more likely summations will take place next Tuesday, after procedural matters and the Memorial Day break.
“Either have a long break now or a long break then, and unfortunately the calendar is what it is,” the judge said.
May 20, 8:41 AM
Trump, prosecutors enter courtroom
Prosecutors have entered the courtroom for Day 19 of the trial.
Trump has arrived with his entourage.
Before entering, the former president addressed reporters but ignored their questions about whether he’ll testify in the trial.
May 20, 6:00 AM
Prosecution expected to rest its case Monday morning
Donald Trump’s former attorney Michael Cohen returns to the witness stand Monday morning for the final time before prosecutors rest their case against the former president in his criminal hush money trial.
Prosecutors are expected to rest their case later Monday morning.
Defense attorneys have not yet declared who they plan to call to testify — including whether Trump will testify in his own defense.
Cohen, the prosecution’s last major witness, is scheduled to complete his cross-examination by Trump’s defense team Monday morning.
Proceedings are scheduled to get underway at 8:45 a.m. ET with arguments over the admission of additional exhibits, after which the jury is expected back in court at 9:30 a.m.
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