Former President Donald Trump’s criminal trial is nearing its end in Manhattan, and things continue to look up for Trump’s defense.
The highlight of the trial came during the testimony of Michael Cohen, a disgraced ex-Trump lawyer formerly convicted of making false statements to Congress whose testimony forms the backbone of the New York case against Trump.
Cohen has sought to bolster the prosecution’s claims that hush money paid to adult film star Stormy Daniels was mislabeled in records in order to hide an election-related crime. Cohen’s been on the stand a lot in the past several days of the trial.
During cross-examination by Trump attorney Todd Blanche, Cohen admitted to having stolen tens of thousands of dollars from the Trump Organization.
“You did steal from the Trump Organization based upon the expected reimbursement from Red Finch?” Blanche asked him, making reference to a repayment plan that was intended to pay Daniels $130,000 and tech firm Red Finch $50,000.
“Yes, sir,” Cohen replied.
The former attorney then said he went to the bank and took out cash over several days, totaling about $20,000 before keeping it in a small brown paper bag. Then he gave that $20,000 to the tech firm, testifying that he never gave the full $50,000 amount owed.
The Trump Organization ultimately repaid Mr. Cohen $50,000 and then doubled that payment in a practice known as “grossing up” to cover taxes he would incur by declaring the money as income rather than a tax-free reimbursement.
“Have you paid back the Trump Organization the money you stole from them?” Blanche asked.
“No, sir,” Cohen replied.
The questioning came as part of a larger effort by Trump’s defense team to discredit Cohen as a witness, as many of the charges laid out in the 34-count indictment hinge on Cohen’s allegations.
Some legal analysts suggested that the cross-examination yesterday dealt a critical blow to the prosecution’s case, casting further doubt on Cohen’s credibility as a witness.
But Trump still has to contend with a jury in highly liberal Manhattan, where President Joe Biden won nearly 87 percent of the vote in 2020.
As the case nears its conclusion, the outcome is still anybody’s guess.
The prosecution rested their case yesterday after putting around 20 witnesses on the stand, though the defense team has yet to do so.
Near the end of yesterday’s trial, the courtroom descended into chaos as defense witness Michael Costello was censured by judge Juan Merchan for lack of decorum in his testimony—a stare-down between the two that ended with the press being temporarily cleared from the room.
“When there is an eyewitness on the stand, if you don’t like a ruling, you don’t say ‘Geez,’” Judge Merchan told Costello before removing the press.
“You don’t give me a side eye. You don’t roll your eyes. You understand that?” he said.
The judge later raised his voice, asking Costella “Are you staring me down?” before clearing the courtroom.
“A totally conflicted judge who just did something that nobody’s ever seen,” Trump said of the incident as he left court for the day. “And the press is not happy, I don’t imagine, they just got thrown out of a courthouse. Nobody’s ever seen anything quite like it.”
Merchan has indicated it’s likely to wrap up around May 28, which means that the jury is not likely to make a decision until the seventh week of the trial.
—Joseph Lord and Jack Phillips
PRESIDENTIAL COMMUNICATIONS IN FOCUS
Executive privilege, which generally concerns the confidentiality of presidential communications, has come back into national debate amid multiple investigations into both former President Donald Trump and President Joe Biden.
House Republicans are moving to hold Attorney General Merrick Garland in contempt after he cited executive privilege in refusing to hand over audio of Biden’s interview with Special Counsel Robert Hur, who was investigating his handling of classified documents.
Meanwhile, Trump has already asserted executive privilege in multiple cases—including his ongoing cases and a prior one that prompted a Supreme Court ruling on the issue. It’s possible he could continue to assert privilege in order to prevent former aides from testifying against him in his upcoming trials.
Peter Navarro and Steve Bannon, former Trump White House aides, both tried to use executive privilege as part of their reasoning for defying congressional subpoenas related to Jan. 6. They ultimately failed with Navarro going to prison this year and Bannon headed there as well after the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit rejected his appeal.
Biden’s administration asserted privilege over audio of his interview with Hur, claiming that Republicans’ request stemmed from partisan, political motives. Garland told the White House it should assert executive privilege, warning that giving Republicans the audio would chill future cooperation with high-profile investigations like Hur’s.
U.S. v. Nixon is one of the most important precedents for executive privilege and has already come up in both Biden’s cases and those related to Trump. It established that in upholding executive privilege, courts must weigh the interests of the presidency against others’, such as those of the criminal justice system.
Burlette Carter, a George Washington University Law professor, told The Epoch Times that “executive privilege is designed to allow presidents the broadest freedom to speak and act in the presidency in pursuit of the public good.”
Questions remain as to the scope of executive privilege and how much it applies to presidents who have left office. Biden previously declined to extend executive privilege to Trump over materials related to Congress’ investigation of Jan. 6.
Carter said that former presidents enjoyed executive privilege in “cases alleging personal liability of the president for criminal or civil behavior and only so long as the action claimed to be privileged was in the course of performing presidential duties.” Mark Rozell, dean of the Schar School of Policy and Government at George Mason University, has said that current presidents can waive privilege for former officeholders.
—Sam Dorman
BOOKMARKS
Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) has reintroduced a border security bill that was previously killed by GOP members in February. Sen. James Lankford (R-Kent.) previously co-sponsored the bill, but will now oppose it as a political stunt ahead of the presidential election.
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) has backed a bill designed to prevent military funding of Israel by non-profit groups in New York. The legislation would strip tax-exempt status from groups that donated to Israel, and expose them to lawsuits of up to a million dollars.
The House Judiciary Committee has opened an investigation into the assault of Jan. 6 detainee Ronald Colton McAbee while in prison. McAbee was reportedly sprayed in the face twice with a chemical irritant by Lt. Crystal Lancaster for refusing to wear a COVID-19 mask.
The U.S. Office of Special Counsel (OSC) issued new guidance on the Hatch Act on May 20, designed to rein in political activities of federal employees. The guidelines now completely prohibit workplace displays of support for a political candidate or party year-round, instead of just during election periods.
Biden has objected to arrest warrant requests by the International Criminal Court (ICC) for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Hamas leader Mohammed Diab Ibrahim al-Masri. The warrants accuse Netanyahu, Al-Masri, and other top officials of Israel and Hamas of “crimes against humanity.”