The former President's legal team has attacked Cohen's credibility and argues he's out for revenge.
Trump, the first former U.S. president to go on trial, was joined at the courthouse by an entourage of lawmakers that included House Speaker Mike Johnson, who claimed the case was politically motivated. Their presence was a not-so-subtle show of support meant not just for Trump but also for voters tuning in from home and for the jurors who are deciding Trump’s fate.
Cohen resumed his place on the witness stand a day after placing Trump at the center of the hush money scheme. He testified Monday that Trump had promised to reimburse him for the money he fronted for the payments and that Trump was constantly apprised of the behind-the-scenes efforts to bury stories feared to be harmful to the campaign.
As jurors were shown the paperwork and business records that make up the crux of the case, Trump’s former fixer explained the purpose of the documents. Cohen reiterated again and again that he had no retainer agreement with Trump and that the payments were reimbursements, not for legal services rendered. It's an important distinction, because prosecutors allege that the reimbursement records falsely described the purpose of the payments as legal expenses done pursuant to a retainer.
The men, once so close that Cohen boasted that he would “take a bullet” for Trump, had no visible interaction inside the courtroom. The sedate atmosphere was a marked contrast from their last courtroom faceoff in October, after his lawyer finished questioning Cohen during his civil fraud trial. Prosecutors aim to blunt those attacks by acknowledging Cohen’s past crimes to jurors and by relying on other witnesses whose accounts, they hope, will buttress his testimony.
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
House overwhelmingly rejects effort to remove Mike Johnson as House speaker in bipartisan voteHouse overwhelmingly rejects effort to remove Mike Johnson as House speaker in bipartisan vote
Read more »
House votes to kill Marjorie Taylor Greene's effort to oust House Speaker Mike JohnsonGreene's move marked a reversal from a day earlier, when the Georgia Republican appeared to retreat from her threat to trigger a vote to remove Johnson as speaker.
Read more »
Why did Democrats vote to rescue House Speaker Mike Johnson?Steve Benen is a producer for 'The Rachel Maddow Show,' the editor of MaddowBlog and an MSNBC political contributor. He's also the bestselling author of 'The Impostors: How Republicans Quit Governing and Seized American Politics.'
Read more »
House Republican infighting by the numbersA few numbers illustrate the dilemma for House Speaker Mike Johnson and House Republicans.
Read more »
House leaders could protect Johnson’s job from rebels in next rules voteRepublican House leaders could move to protect House Speaker Mike Johnson from conservative hardliner rebels.
Read more »
Rand Paul: Mike Johnson Officially No Longer Republican Speaker, but ‘Uniparty’ SpeakerSource of breaking news and analysis, insightful commentary and original reporting, curated and written specifically for the new generation of independent and conservative thinkers.
Read more »