NEW YORK — The fourth week of Donald Trump’s Manhattan criminal trial went from sordid to monotonous, with a preview of next week’s upcoming showdown: Trump’s fixer-turned-nemesis Michael Cohen’s long-awaited testimony It ended with.
On Friday, Judge Juan M. Marchan told prosecutors that after his defense attorney told him about a recent TikTok video of Cohen wearing a shirt with a photo of Trump inside a bar. , asked Cohen to tell him to stop talking about Trump.
His request was for jurors to have one week to hear the porn actor’s ludicrous account of his sexual encounters with Mr. Trump in 2006, but they would not be allowed a week to hear about Mr. Trump’s checks, invoices and ledgers. I have also heard less sensational, if potentially reprehensible, testimony.
The former president is accused of falsifying business records to hide a $130,000 payment to porn actor Stormy Daniels just before the 2016 election, which was meant to silence her. It belonged to Trump, 77, denies the charges and says he had no sexual relationship with Daniels. If he is convicted, he could be sentenced to prison or probation.
Here are five takeaways from the fourth week and 15th day of President Trump’s trial.
Daniels’ testimony could be important.
For nearly eight hours, Ms. Daniels led jurors to a hotel suite in Lake Tahoe, Nevada, where she said she had sex with Mr. Trump and described the incident in his bathroom and their conflict before and after. He gave a detailed explanation, including his emotions.
At first, her testimony meandered, with Marchan warning her to interrupt and avoid going on tangents, and many successful challenges by defense attorneys.
But under cross-examination by one of Trump’s lawyers, Susan Necheres, Daniels appeared more focused, offering a fierce defense against accusations that he had fabricated his testimony and was motivated by money.
By the end of her testimony, she contradicted Trump’s denials of any sexual encounter, giving jurors a clear understanding of what Trump was trying to suppress before the election.
On Thursday night, Daniels continued to provoke Trump online, saying, “Real men respond by standing in court under oath and testifying. Oh, wait a minute. Whatever.”
It is not yet clear whether the former president will testify.
Trump’s actions could influence jurors.
Mr. Daniels’ testimony elicited strong emotions from Mr. Trump, who at one point muttered an expletive during a memorable depiction of Mr. Daniels playfully spanking him, drawing the judge’s attention. I subtracted.
Marchan, who has already fined Trump $10,000 for contempt and violating a gag order, has privately told the former president’s lawyers that Trump may be threatening witnesses. I warned you.
“I do not condone that,” Marchand said in a sidebar.
It remains unclear whether jurors noticed Trump’s abusive language. Until then, Trump often sat with his eyes closed and appeared to be suppressing his emotions. He said he was doing so to listen “attentively,” but the jury could see that as indifference.
Prosecutors are proceeding with a document investigation.
While it may not have been as memorable as Daniels’ presence in court, testimony from Trump Organization employees and others about how Trump’s repayment checks were kept with Cohen was extremely valuable to prosecutors. It was important.
It was arduous and sometimes tedious, and included detailed instructions on how checks were approved, cut, mailed, signed, and returned.
But by showing jurors paper records, phone records and other documentary evidence, prosecutors were building their case without the emotional and subjective uncertainty of witnesses like Daniels.
President Trump’s words may bother him. His lawyer might be able to help.
Trump has long sought to improve his reputation with self-aggrandizing books. But prosecutors applied some of that against him this week, using his own writings to portray him as a micromanager, someone who distrusts employees for fear of “blindness.” This could support their claim that Mr. Trump knew about the payments to Mr. Daniels and the repayment agreement with Mr. Cohen.
President Trump’s tendency to fight back was evident in these excerpts, including his support for the “eye for an eye” policy. But Mr. Trump has already been found to be in violation of the gag order and will not be able to speak out against Mr. Cohen — his lawyers will. How well you defeat your opponent may be the key to your success.
Next up is Cohen. Fasten your seat belt.
Mr. Cohen is scheduled to take the stand Monday.
If Friday’s brief scene in court is any indication, his testimony will be passionate and prolonged, and likely to evoke strong emotions in President Trump.
The defense has already argued that Cohen is incorrigible, and the prosecution has acknowledged that. How he acts next week could be important to how jurors accept or reject their case.
Prosecutors said Friday they could rest the case by the end of next week.
