Donald Trump’s lawyer, Todd Blanche, was summoned to appear Tuesday afternoon before New York State Supreme Court Justice Juan Merchan amid intense cross-examination of former President Michael Cohen’s corruption trial.
According to Newsweek reporter Katherine Fung, in the Manhattan courtroom, Blanche asked Cohen, Trump’s former lawyer and fixer, if he had gotten on TikTok after the trial began and called Trump a “little whiner. “
“It seems like I would say,” Cohen replied.
Merchan subsidized an objection from the prosecution after Blanche Cohen over other comments made about the former president and then summoned the attorney to the stand.
Cohen is the most recent witness scheduled to be called through the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office. During his highly anticipated testimony, which began Monday, Cohen placed the former president at the center of the secret cash conspiracy. He said Trump promised to pay him cash. paid adult film actress Stormy Daniels to bury her sex history with Trump before the 2016 presidential election.
The reimbursements Cohen allegedly won for the $130,000 payment to Daniels form the basis of 34 counts accusing Trump of tampering with business records. Prosecutors say the refunds were falsely recorded as legal fees to hide their true purpose.
Trump, the presumptive Republican nominee for the 2024 presidential election, pleaded guilty to the charges against him and denied any wrongdoing.
Newsweek reached out to Cohen via text message and Blanche via email Tuesday afternoon to comment on cross-examination. This article will be updated with all the statements provided.
Trump and his lawyers attack Cohen as a liar and a convicted criminal, now tearing down his former boss in podcasts, merchandise, books and social media posts.
According to Fung, Blanche also asked Cohen on Tuesday if the trial was vital for him. “Personally? Yes. ” Cohen responded. He also admitted to saying Trump “belongs in a cage” and showed that the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office had continually asked him to prevent speaking publicly about the case.
Later, on cross-examination, Blanche was combative in asking Cohen if she had spoken at length about her preference for Trump to be convicted. Cohen replied, “It sounds like anything I’d say. “
When Blanche asked him directly, Cohen replied, “Probably yes. “Blanche asked him if he had any doubts about it and Cohen replied “no”.
Blanche asked him why “probably”.
“I don’t know in particular if I used those words,” Cohen replied. When asked again, Cohen replied, “I’d like to see accountability. It’s not for me. It’s for the jury. “
Unhappy with this response, Blanche asked, “Do you convict President Trump in this case?”
“Of course,” Cohen replied.
Jurors also saw the “Convict 45” blouse and “Send it to the big house, the White House” mug, sold on Cohen’s podcast site.
In 2018, Cohen pleaded guilty to federal charges including hush money paid to Daniels and former Playboy model Karen McDougal, which prosecutors said violated the amount a user can contribute to an election campaign.
Cohen had previously pleaded guilty to lying to Congress in connection with a real estate deal the former president’s company made in Russia during the 2016 campaign.
On Tuesday, Blanche also asked Cohen about that testimony before Congress. He asked if he had lied in his testimony about Moscow’s Trump project, and Cohen replied, “Yes, the facts I gave were not accurate. “
“Aren’t erroneous data lies?” says Blanche. ” Sure,” Cohen said before adding, “I don’t know if I would call it a lie. “
When asked by Blanche how he singled out the two, Cohen replied, “If you call it a lie, I’ll call it a lie. “
Trump’s defense team expects their competitive questioning of Cohen to continue Thursday. There is no trial scheduled for Wednesday or Friday.
Gabe Whisnant is a weekend associate editor at Newsweek, founded in South Carolina. Prior to joining Newsweek in 2023, he directed publications in North and South Carolina. As editor, Gabe led the award-winning capture policy of Charleston church shooter Dylan Roof in 2015. , as well as the politics of Alex Murdaugh’s double homicide trial. He is a graduate of the University of North Carolina-Wilmington. You can reach Gabe by emailing g. whisnant@newsweek. com. Find him on Twitter @GabeWhisnant.
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