Trump attorney asks judge for gag order on Michael Cohen – as it happened – The Guardian US
This live blog is now closed. For the latest on the trial, read our full report:
Judge Juan Merchan didn’t make a decision about the severance agreement.
Now, Trump attorney Todd Blanche is complaining about Michael Cohen’s statements.
Mr Cohen continues to speak publicly about this trial and President Trump as recently, I believe Wednesday night …he was wearing a white T-shirt with a picture of President Trump behind bars in an orange jumpsuit …. he be prohibited from talking the same way President Trump is
Blanche continues:
It’s becoming a problem every single day that President Trump is not allowed to respond to this witness but this witness is allowed to talk… Our request is that the court order the government instruct the witness to not talk about President Trump or this case until the case is over.
Testimony in Donald Trump’s hush-money criminal trial has wrapped for the day. Court is expected resume on Monday morning, and the prosecution has said they expect to call two more witnesses. Here’s what happened today:
Donald Trump arrived at the courtroom with apparent frustration, after sitting through two days of testimony from the adult film actor Stormy Daniels. The former president’s demeanor in the hallway suggested that his mood had soured since Daniels provided embarrassing details about their alleged sexual encounter.
Here’s a recap Daniels’ testimony on Tuesday of an alleged sexual liaison with Trump some 20 years ago as well as how Trump’s lawyers sought to discredit and undermine her testimony on Thursday.
Judge Juan Merchan denied a Trump team subpoena seeking records from Mark Pomerantz, a former Manhattan prosecutor who worked on the hush-money case until resigning in frustration.
The defense resumed cross-examination on Friday morning of Madeleine Westerhout, Trump’s former executive assistant and director of Oval Office operations in the White House.
Westerhout testified that Trump was “very upset” about the Wall Street Journal’s 2018 story about the hush money deal with Daniels.
Several custodial witnesses – who testified about phone records and Trump’s social media posts – followed Westerhout’s testimony on Friday.
The jury was once again shown text messages between Daniels’ manager Gina Rodriguez and then-National Enquirer editor Dylan Howard about Daniels’ claim that she had had sex with Trump.
Michael Cohen, Trump’s consigliere-turned-key prosecution witness, is expected to take the stand on Monday.
Trump’s attorneys requested judge Merchan implement a gag order for Cohen, who has posted about Trump on social media in recent weeks. In response, Merchan told prosecutors to inform Cohen “that the judge is asking him to refrain from making any more statements” about the case or about Trump.
Court has adjourned for the day and will resume on Monday morning, when Donald Trump’s former lawyer and fixer Michael Cohen may take the witness stand.
Donald Trump, carrying papers, is walking out of the courtroom. He whispered something and did some sort of gesture greeting to Fox News host Jeanine Pirro in the gallery.
Prosecutor Joshua Steinglass says in response to the defense team’s request for a gag order on Michael Cohen:
We’ve repeatedly, repeatedly asked the witnesses not to do that. The fact of the matter is, these witnesses are not subject to the gag oder and we have no remedy if they engage in those activity.
Judge Juan Merchan says:
I will direct the people to direct to Mr Cohen that the judge is asking him to refrain from making any more statements about this case or Mr. Trump …that comes from the bench and you are communicating that on behalf of the bench.
Judge Juan Merchan didn’t make a decision about the severance agreement.
Now, Trump attorney Todd Blanche is complaining about Michael Cohen’s statements.
Mr Cohen continues to speak publicly about this trial and President Trump as recently, I believe Wednesday night …he was wearing a white T-shirt with a picture of President Trump behind bars in an orange jumpsuit …. he be prohibited from talking the same way President Trump is
Blanche continues:
It’s becoming a problem every single day that President Trump is not allowed to respond to this witness but this witness is allowed to talk… Our request is that the court order the government instruct the witness to not talk about President Trump or this case until the case is over.
Right now, both sides are arguing over admitting former Trump Organization CFO Allen Weisselberg’s settlement agreement into evidence.
The defense does not want it to be admitted, as it’s complicated given that he’s not testifying at trial.
The prosecution said they hadn’t tried to get him to testify, effectively saying it’d be a lesson in futility, as he’d invoke the fifth amendment and, perhaps more importantly, worry about his severance agreement.
This severance agreement seems to stipulate that Weisselberg’s payment would be at risk if he participated in the trial.
Rosecutor Joshua Steinglass said:
That agreement has a very palpable connection to why that could be an exercise in futility or strategically to put a witness on the stand who’s under an agreement like that.
Judge Juan Merchan asked about scheduling. The prosecution said:
We expect to call two witnesses and it’s entirely possible that we will rest by the end of next week.
Jaden Jarmel-Schneider is off the witness stand.
Judge Juan Merchan is now addressing the jury.
Donald Trump has turned to look at his attorney Emil Bove as he conducts his re-cross.
He’s turned back around now, in the direction of the witness stand.
We’re now on re-direct of Jaden Jarmel-Schneider. Another moment of humor. The prosecution asks:
Do you know whether people sometimes get a new phone and keep the same phone number?
“I do,” he said with a smile.
When cross started, Trump attorney Emil Bove asked some general questions about Jaden Jarmel-Schneider’s preparation of evidence, including whether some of it was “tedious work.”
Then came a moment of humor.
“Honestly, I kind of enjoyed it,” Jarmel-Schneider said, prompting laughter in the courtroom.
Bove’s cross continues.
Jaden Jarmel-Schneider was asked about a chart generated by the Manhattan district attorney’s office.
The chart lists dollar amounts over the specific counts in the indictment. So, it will list an amount and under that amount it might say Count 1, Count 2, Count 3, etc.
On one side of the chart, there is a column; “11 invoices,” “12 vouchers,” and “11 checks.” The bottom says BUSINESS RECORDS: 34.
This chart is very important to prosecutors, as it shows jurors in clear, specific detail, which falsified document corresponds to which count – and the amount and category.
Indeed, the prosecution drilled it down further right before wrapping its direct.
And is this number of records the number of counts in the indictment?
Jarmel-Schneider replied: “Yes.”
Jaden Jarmel-Schneider is the prosecution’s last witness for today.
There may be some legal arguments afterward, but Judge Juan Merchan has said that court will end early today.
Jaden Jarmel-Schneider is talking about how he reviewed text messages as part as his work on the case.
Donald Trump, just now, could be seen flipping through papers.
The prosecution is now calling Jaden Jarmel-Schneider.
He works at the Manhattan district attorney’s office. He’s a paralegal there.
Georgia Longstreet’s direct ended and defense attorney Todd Blanche is doing cross.
He asked whether she just read the text of text messages – but noted, through questioning, that she didn’t have direct knowledge about the veracity of things in them, nor other meanings behind the missives.
Blanche asks about whether she’s continuing to review social media posts during the trial. She said yes. If she sees social media posts that might be interesting, how does she alert the team? She said she calls them.
Blanche is done. No redirect.
Georgia Longstreet is still reading out text exchanges between Stormy Daniels’ former publicist, Gina Rodriguez, and Dylan Howard, the former National Enquirer editor.
While the texts have been admitted into evidence before, they serve an important purpose at this part of the trial – they’re firming up the chronology of the alleged Daniels payoff.
Recall: prosecutors contend that Daniels received the hush-money payment right before the 2016 election.
Texts are showing that in late October, Daniels still hadn’t been paid and Rodriguez was telling Howard that she was poised to go public at a press conference.
This was on 26 October 2016. Michael Cohen allegedly paid Daniels’ attorney on 27 October 2016.
Georgia Longstreet is now reading texts between Stormy Daniels’ former publicist, Gina Rodriguez, and Dylan Howard, the former National Enquirer editor.
In these exchanges, they talk about Daniels coming forward. On 28 June 2016, Howard asked, “Is she ready to talk?”, and followed it up with a message that reads: “I though[t] she denounced it previously.”
Rodriguez replied: “She said she will do it under 2 conditions.”
She added:
She doesn’t want to go on record about it but will tell the story through a source … She’s had sex with him. She wants 100K.
Howard asks: “Once or ongoing relationship?”
Rodriguez replies:
A couple times and he promised her a condo, a spot on apprentice. She went to the miss America pageant he got her in.
Georgia Longstreet is now answering questions about a May 2018 Twitter thread by Donald Trump on the NDA payoff with Stormy Daniels.
…despite already having signed a detailed letter admitting that there was no affair. Prior to its violation by Ms. Clifford and her attorney, this was a private agreement. Money from the campaign, or campaign contributions, played no roll in this transaction.
Georgia Longstreet is being asked about Donald Trump’s tweets, in particular this one from August 2018.
I feel very badly for Paul Manafort and his wonderful family. “Justice” took a 12 year old tax case, among other things, applied tremendous pressure on him and, unlike Michael Cohen, he refused to “break” – make up stories in order to get a “deal.” Such respect for a brave man!