Cohen will be the prosecution’s final witness.
Topline
Ex-attorney Michael Cohen took the stand for the third day Thursday in former President Donald Trump’s criminal trial, as the ex-president’s attorneys tried to discredit the Trump critic by taking aim at his criticism of Trump and history of lying under oath—and his alleged dealings with a 14-year-old prankster.Key Facts
Trump’s lawyers have sought to discredit Cohen, who’s the central witness for the prosecution: Trump has been charged with falsification of business records based on reimbursement checks he sent Cohen, after the attorney paid adult film star Stormy Daniels $130,000 to cover up allegations of an affair.
At one point, Trump attorney Todd Blanche accused Cohen of lying about a call he testified he made to Trump in October 2016 through the then-candidate’s bodyguard Keith Schiller: While Cohen claims he told Trump about the Daniels payment on the brief call, Blanche accused him of actually phoning Schiller to discuss a 14-year-old who was harassing Cohen with prank calls.
Cohen denied Blanche’s accusations—which turned testy, with the Trump lawyer reportedly losing his temper as he questioned the witness—claiming that while “part of [the call] was the 14-year-old,” he knew Schiller was with Trump at the time, so he also mentioned the Daniels payment: “It could have been just saying, ‘Everything’s been taken care of, it’s going to be resolved,’” as quoted by Politico.
Blanche began his cross-examination by questioning Cohen about his repeated comments celebrating Trump’s indictment, playing clips from Cohen’s “Mea Culpa” podcast in which he said he “want[s] this man to go down and rot inside for what he did to me and my family” and “revenge is a dish best served cold,” as quoted by Lawfare.
