Prosecutors rested their case against Donald Trump on Monday after dramatic testimony from his former lawyer Michael Cohen. The judge presiding over the trial scolded a witness, defense attorney Robert Costello, for disrespectful behavior. Costello had reacted audibly to objections and rulings by the prosecution. Trump and his supporters were allowed to remain in the courtroom while reporters and the public were briefly removed before being let back in. Costello, called as a defense witness, is a veteran New York criminal defense attorney who was discussed by Cohen and Trump but was never actually retained to represent Cohen.
Despite Trump’s earlier claim that he would testify in the trial, it appeared unlikely that he would take the stand. The defense team planned to call a paralegal and possibly two other brief witnesses before resting their case. Cohen finished his testimony by admitting to conning Trump and his company out of money, while maintaining that Trump had signed off on the hush money payment to Stormy Daniels. The defense attorney questioned Cohen about the circumstances surrounding the payment, including a busy period in which Cohen was also dealing with other issues.
The defense questioned Cohen about additional payments that Trump reimbursed him for, including a dispute with a technology company and efforts to fix a CNBC poll. Cohen acknowledged that he had not paid the full amount claimed to the company, which he said was partly due to anger over a reduced bonus from Trump. The prosecution challenged Cohen’s account of Trump signing off on the Daniels deal, suggesting inconsistencies in the timeline of events. Cohen maintained that he had spoken to Trump multiple times about the payment and was certain he had received approval.
Costello testified about meeting with Cohen in 2018, describing Cohen as “manic” and needing an “escape route” following an FBI raid on his home. Costello said that Cohen had claimed that Trump had no involvement in the Daniels payment. Cohen later admitted to lying to Costello, suggesting a lack of trust between the two. Closing arguments in the trial were delayed by a week due to the holiday weekend, with Blanche motioning for the case to be dismissed based on lack of evidence and Cohen’s credibility. The judge planned to rule on the motion at a later date.
The trial saw testimony from 20 different witnesses over 15 days, with Cohen being a key witness linking Trump to the alleged falsifying of business records scheme. Cohen had paid Daniels $130,000 for her silence about an alleged sexual encounter with Trump, with Trump authorizing the deal and promising to reimburse Cohen. Prosecutors allege that Trump made false payments to cover up the nature of the transaction, leading to charges of falsifying business records. Cohen admitted to a history of lying publicly but claimed he had done so to protect Trump, with whom he had a close professional relationship.
