Former President Donald Trump is on trial in New York, where he faces criminal charges similar to the 2016 secret payment to adult film actress Stormy Daniels. This is the first time in history that a former U. S. president has been tried on criminal charges.
Last April, Trump pleaded not guilty to a 34-count indictment accusing him of falsifying business records to conceal the reimbursement of a secret payment his then-lawyer, Michael Cohen, had made to Daniels to improve his electoral chances in the 2016 presidential election. election.
READ MORE: Here’s what you want to know about this landmark case.
After a brief conversation with his lawyer Todd Blanche and his adviser Boris Epshteyn, former President Trump left the courtroom at the end of the second week of his criminal trial.
Speaking to reporters, he reiterated that “there are no cases. “
The trial will close on Monday and resume on Tuesday morning.
-Kelsey Walsh and Mike Pappano of ABC News
Banker Gary Farro earned a compelling message from Michael Cohen on October 13, 2016.
According to Farro, Cohen will temporarily establish a new company called Resolution Consultants LLC.
“I envisioned it as a real estate consulting firm,” Farro testified.
According to prosecutors, Resolution Consultants LLC, the shell company Cohen planned to use to pay for exclusive rights to Karen McDougal’s story in which she claimed to have had a year-long sexual relationship with Trump.
Farro reviewed the documents used to create the Delaware-based company and added a description that it was a consulting firm tasked with providing “strategy, public relations, and marketing. “He picked up Cohen’s signature and stated that the company would not engage in political fundraising.
“[It would be] anything the bank needed to know,” Farro said on the stand in relation to political contributions, adding that it would prompt greater scrutiny from the bank.
Farro said that although the company created, it never funded. Prosecutors say the deal that led to the creation of the account — paying AMI, the parent company of the National Enquirer, for the McDougal story — fell through at the last minute.
A few weeks later, Farro won a phone call from Cohen on October 26, 2016.
“He said he’s changing course,” said Farro. La prosecutor Becky Mangold asked if Cohen had published the urgent appeal.
“Every time Michael Cohen talked to me, he made me feel a sense of urgency,” Farro said. “This is one of those times. “
Farro testified that he was busy at the time — “Me on a golf course, very cliché for a banker — but a colleague heeded Cohen’s request related to documents for a new company called Essential Consultants LLC.
In the documents, Cohen described it as a “wealth advisory company charged with charging fees for the investment advisory paintings it conducts for real estate transactions,” Farro said.
According to prosecutors, Cohen transferred $131,000 from a home equity line of credit to an Essential Consultants LLC account that day.
That day, Cohen transferred $130,000 from that account to an attorney for Stormy Daniels, prosecutors say.
Farro’s testimony is expected to continue when court resumes Tuesday. The discussions have been postponed until then.
Gary Farro, former chief executive of First Republic Bank, said he met Michael Cohen when Cohen was one of his banking clients in 2015, after one of Farro’s colleagues left the bank.
When asked why Cohen was assigned, Farro cited his “ability to take care of Americans who might be a little difficult. “
“Frankly, I didn’t find it that hard,” Farro said.
First Republic Bank had a branch across the street from Trump Tower, where Cohen worked. Farro said Cohen visited the bank and excitedly told him he worked for Trump.
“He’s a lawyer or he’s a lawyer. I’m not sure,” Farro said of Cohen, who was disbarred in 2019.
Prosecutors are now reviewing First Republic Bank’s recordkeeping policies. Prosecutors plan to use Farro as a witness in the guard to authenticate what will be used as evidence.
After the conclusion of Rhona Graff’s testimony, prosecutors Gary Farro are her next witness.
Farro has been working at Flagstar Bank lately. He said he testifies voluntarily, though he said he won a subpoena before his testimony.
Donald Trump visited a structure in New York City early Thursday morning and was greeted by several dozen supporters before addressing the media and complaining that his secret trial prevented him from attending today’s Supreme Court hearing on whether he would be granted presidential immunity. interference in federal elections.
“We have an important case today; this ruling didn’t allow me to go, but today we have an important case before the Supreme Court about presidential immunity, a president will have to have immunity. If you don’t have immunity, we just have to have a ceremonial president,” Trump said.
Trump said he was confident in the outcome and said the Supreme Court had “very talented, very smart people, they know what they’re doing. “
Trump’s secret trial will resume this morning with the ongoing testimony of the former National Enquirer via David Pecker.