Welcome back, Deadline: Legal Newsletter readers. We're here with another special edition to mark the testimony of the latest big witness — perhaps the biggest witness — in People v. Donald Trump: Michael Cohen. The former fixer took the stand Monday, as Manhattan prosecutors approach the end of their falsifying business records case against the former president. The day concluded with Cohen still on direct examination, which is set to continue Tuesday morning.
Before Cohen took the stand, Judge Juan Merchan ruled on an issue that could become important when the jury deliberates on Trump's guilt: Allen Weisselberg. Merchan said prosecutors couldn't present the former Trump Org. CFO's severance agreement, which would have shown his allegiance to the defendant.
So jurors may wonder why Weisselberg won't be called to the stand. After all, he's an important figure in the alleged coverup at the heart of the false-records charges against Trump (who has pleaded not guilty). Weisselberg is currently incarcerated after pleading guilty to perjury in connection with the Trump civil fraud trial, and neither side seems to want to put him on the stand in this case, though it's the prosecution that has the burden of proof, not the defense. We'll see how the lawyers for each side deal with his absence during their summations.
But for now, Cohen was the main event Monday. He detailed for the jury how he came to work for Trump and explained the alleged hush money scheme to silence Stormy Daniels ahead of the 2016 election, and the related alleged scheme to reimburse Cohen with deceptive records. His testimony may have sounded familiar to jurors, given corroborative testimony from prior witnesses. But he added direct evidence to the mix from his firsthand knowledge, actions and observations.
"Everything required Mr. Trump's sign-off," the former fixer said, regarding his payment to the adult film actress, to stop her from publicizing her claim that she had sex with Trump a decade prior. "Just do it," Cohen testified that Trump said about the hush money payment at the center of the case. The witness said the defendant told him to meet up with Weisselberg and figure it out.
And crucially toward proving the documents charges, Cohen testified to meeting with Trump along with Weisselberg about the reimbursement, more directly tying the defendant to the coverup portion of the alleged scheme. Heading into Cohen's testimony, it was Trump's direct knowledge of the falsified records on which prosecutors had to make the most headway. So Monday ended with this important testimony that may help the prosecution prove the records charges against the defendant.
Once Cohen's direct testimony wraps up, buckle up for a contentious cross-examination.
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