UPDATE: With Donald Trump opting to not testify in his hush-money trial in New York, the final phrase on his behalf in courtroom at the moment, earlier than Trump’s attorneys rested their case, fell to an ally: high-profile, politically linked white-collar protection lawyer Robert Costello.
Outdoors the courthouse in downtown Manhattan, a band of Trump supporters together with Donald Trump Jr., denounced the unprecedented case towards the previous and presumably future Republican president as an election interference operation being run by Democrats.
An ex-federal prosecutor who went on to symbolize wealthy and well-known legal defendants reminiscent of Leona Helmsley and George Steinbrenner, Costello returned to the stand at the moment in a bid to question the credibility of Michael Cohen, the Manhattan District Legal professional’s most necessary witness within the Trump trial.
Cohen, in his testimony, mentioned that Trump directed him to purchase porn star Stormy Daniels’ silence about an extramarital sexual liaison with Trump years earlier, and that Trump repaid him the $130,000 in hush cash utilizing falsified enterprise information to hide the transaction and hold the story from influencing the result of the 2016 presidential election.
Throughout 4 weeks of testimony, Trump’s protection workforce painted Cohen as a spurned Trump acolyte and serial liar who perjured himself on the stand this month and lies every time it helps him revenue from his affiliation with Trump whereas in search of revenge towards his former boss.
It was a message repeated afterward by Trump Jr., and others who sat within the courtroom this morning. “What’s happening right here is an absolute farce,” Trump Jr., informed reporters outdoors, “and anybody in America ought to be embarrassed by absolutely the miscarriage of justice that we’re seeing right here.”
Trump Jr. led a dozen audio system, amongst them a handful of Republican members of Congress, who bashed the decide for limiting Costello’s testimony and in contrast the proceedings to sham prosecutions of political enemies in dictatorships. Sen. Eric Schmitt (R-MO), additionally the state’s former legal professional normal, known as it a “Soviet-style present trial.”
With Trump’s senior 2024 marketing campaign adviser Jason Miller hovering within the background, a number of audio system additionally railed at press protection of the trial as biased in favor of a conviction. “Try to be ashamed,” U.S. Rep. Maria Salazar of Miami informed reporters.
Not one of the audio system answered reporters’ repeated questions as to why Trump himself didn’t testify. “How do you justify this madness?” Trump Jr. replied to the identical question as he was escorted away by a crush of journalists and heckled by just a few close by demonstrators. About two dozen picketers — professional and anti-Trump — stood aspect by aspect within the park behind a row of waist-high metallic barricades, shouting slogans and holding up placards and flags.
Members of 1 group, Blacks for Trump, unfurled a banner studying “Black Lives MAGA.”
In courtroom, Costello was questioned about who he was really representing, Cohen or Trump, when he gave unpaid authorized recommendation to Cohen in 2018. Cohen was below federal investigation, and was launched to Costello by a mutual lawyer acquaintance, Jeffrey Citron.
The scene outdoors the Manhattan courthouse at the moment.
Sean Piccoli
Costello testified on Monday that though he didn’t like Cohen as a consumer after their first assembly, his sole curiosity over the following 4 months — earlier than Cohen reduce off contact and started cooperating with federal prosecutors — was in serving to Trump’s embattled private lawyer and self-described “fixer.” The FBI had raided Cohen’s residence, workplace, security deposit field and a New York lodge room the place Cohen staying on the time.
Manhattan Assistant District Legal professional Susan Hoffinger challenged that assertion at the moment by studying again snippets of Costello’s emails. In a single e mail to his law-firm accomplice Citron, Costello wrote that Cohen “continues to sluggish play us and the president,” including, “What ought to I say to this asshole? He’s enjoying with probably the most highly effective man on the planet.”
“You continue to have quite a lot of animosity towards Michael Cohen,” Hoffinger mentioned. Costello denied it. Hoffinger additionally raised Costello’s testimony about Cohen final week earlier than Home Republicans on Capitol Hill, saying, “[Y]ou went there to publicly vilify Michael Cohen.”
Hoffinger additionally requested whether or not Costello had tried — as Cohen claimed — to regulate and intimidate Cohen into not turning proof towards Trump as soon as Cohen confronted authorized peril.
“Intimidate Michael Cohen?” Costello mentioned. “Ridiculous.”
Cohen later pleaded responsible to federal fees together with making an undeclared marketing campaign contribution — the $130,000 cost to Stormy Daniels — and spent greater than a 12 months in jail.
Of their case, prosecutors introduced 20 witnesses — from tabloid publishing executives to Trump Group accounting workers to a former White Home spokesperson — and lots of of items of documentation to help their case of a legal conspiracy to deceive voters in 2016. The protection placed on two witnesses and a smaller cache of emails, texts, telephone logs and different paperwork, and targeted a lot of their vitality on attempting to undermine the prosecution’s witnesses.
Though Trump didn’t testify, his voice was a day by day fixed outdoors the courtroom in free-ranging remarks that typically examined the boundaries of a gag order Merchan positioned on him towards making public statements about jurors, witnesses and different trial contributors. On Monday he known as Merchan a “tyrant” for dressing down “revered lawyer” Costello in courtroom.
With jurors set to listen to closing arguments subsequent Tuesday after which start deliberating, it stays to be seen how a lot weight Costello’s testimony will carry. Jurors noticed the identical belligerence on the stand from Costello on Monday that drew the eye of Merchan. Costello talked over sustained objections, glared on the decide and muttered “Jeez” at one trade. The decide excused jurors, castigated Costello, after which emptied the courtroom of most spectators — press included — to difficulty a warning to the previous New York federal prosecutor.
“I’m placing you on discover that your conduct is contemptuous,” Merchan mentioned, in keeping with a transcript. “Should you attempt to stare me down yet another time, I’ll take away you from the stand.”
Costello was extra subdued at the moment, however nonetheless sparred with Hoffinger and once more had considered one of his replies affected by the decide.
Merchan known as an early lunch break at the moment to let attorneys work on their submissions for directions that the decide will ship to the jury earlier than they start deliberating. Merchan additionally has but to rule on a protection movement to throw out the trial for lack of proof. Trump’s attorneys additionally declare that Cohen lied repeatedly on the stand.
Protection lawyer Todd Blanche mentioned on Monday that prosecutors have did not show the legal conspiracy on the coronary heart of their case, and that it’s unjust to let jurors attain a verdict primarily based on the shifting claims of Cohen.
An assistant Manhattan district legal professional, Matthew Colangelo, countered there have been “weeks and weeks” of testimony and paperwork exhibiting Trump directed Cohen to purchase Daniels’ silence a couple of sexual encounter days earlier than the 2016 election and repaid Cohen utilizing falsified enterprise information to hide the association. Colangelo mentioned that Cohen’s testimony hasn’t modified since he started cooperating with New York prosecutors.
The decide sounded skeptical on Monday of Blanche’s argument. “So that you need me to take this out of the jury’s arms?” he requested.
Trump, on his method into courtroom this morning, mentioned that’s precisely what Merchan ought to do. “We’ve gained the case by any customary,” Trump mentioned, in keeping with a pool report. “Some other decide, he would have thrown this case out.”
PREVIOUSLY: The protection has rested its case in Donald Trump’s hush cash trial, which means that the previous president is not going to take the stand.
The prosecution rested its case on Monday.
Bob Costello, a Trump-friendly legal protection lawyer, accomplished his testimony this morning.
It’s not a shock that Trump is not going to take the stand, as his attorneys had signaled as such, however he has been recognized for making last-minute selections that ignore the recommendation of advisers.
Choose Juan Merchan excused jurors till subsequent Tuesday, when they may hear closing arguments. Deliberations may begin as quickly as subsequent Wednesday.
In his testimony, Costello confirmed flashes of the combativeness that acquired him in bother with Merchan on Monday, however nothing that drew one other rebuke from the bench. Then, Merchan briefly cleared the courtroom after which threatened Costello with contempt of courtroom. The decide had been irate as he tried to instruct Costello on his decorum. The decide then accused Costello of “staring me down,” resulting in the order to vacate the courtroom.
As has not too long ago been the case, Trump was joined on the courthouse by an entourage that included a few of his longtime supporters, together with Sebastian Gorka and Rep. Ronny Jackson (R-TX). The marketing campaign additionally mentioned that comic Joe Piscopo and actor Chuck Zito additionally could be there.
Ted Johnson contributed to this report.