Today in the criminal and civil cases against Donald Trump, Madeleine Westerhout, a former executive assistant to the ex-president, continued her testimony on how mail, including Trump Organization checks, reached him in the Oval Office. Prosecutors have alleged that Trump used alternative mail systems to conceal nefarious activity, such as reimbursements for hush money payments to a porn star. Trump’s defense lawyers argued that he simply wanted to respond quickly to people and was frustrated with the slow pace of the White House mail system. Additional witnesses, including phone company employees and paralegals, affirmed basic facts about the case.
In recent testimony, Westerhout revealed that she communicated with Michael Cohen, Trump’s former “fixer,” to arrange a meeting in the Oval Office in 2017. This corroborates Cohen’s claim that he met with Trump in early 2017 to discuss being reimbursed for hush money paid to Stormy Daniels. The Trump Organization then began sending checks labeled as “legal expenses” to Cohen. Prosecutors are aiming to prove that Trump falsified business expenses to conceal the reimbursements to Cohen. However, Trump’s lawyer suggested that the circuitous path the checks took may have been a workaround to avoid delays caused by the White House mail system.
Georgia Longstreet and Jaden Jarmel-Schneider, paralegals at the Manhattan district attorney’s office, testified as custodial witnesses to authenticate documents central to the case. Longstreet discussed text messages between Daniels’s agent and the editor of the National Enquirer, while Jarmel-Schneider was involved in extracting data from Cohen’s phone. AT&T and Verizon employees also authenticated phone records involving key figures in the case. The trial is set to resume next week with Michael Cohen, the prosecution’s key witness, expected to take the stand.
Moving forward, Cohen is expected to testify about his role in the alleged hush money scheme. The judge has instructed prosecutors to inform Cohen that he should refrain from publicly commenting on the case or Trump. The prosecution plans to call two more witnesses next week, with the possibility of resting their case by Thursday. Trump’s defense team had requested to subpoena records from a former Manhattan prosecutor, but the request was rejected by the judge. The trial continues to unfold, shedding light on Trump’s legal battles and the allegations against him.
As the proceedings continue, it remains to be seen how the testimonies and evidence will shape the outcome of the case against Trump. The drama surrounding the alleged hush money payments to Stormy Daniels and the attempts to conceal them through business expenses will likely be further explored in upcoming witness testimonies. The trial is set to resume next week, with Michael Cohen taking the stand to provide his account of events. The prosecution is moving closer to wrapping up their case, with the possibility of resting by the end of next week. Trump’s legal team continues to defend him against the accusations, arguing that the payments were legitimate business expenses. The trial remains a focal point in Trump’s legal battles and the quest for justice to be served.
