Former President Donald Trump told reporters after the first day of Michael Cohen’s testimony that he would be returning to court on Wednesday.
It was Mr. Cohen’s 2019 allegations that spurred the attorney general’s office to investigate President Trump. At the center of the case are the Statements of Financial Condition (SFC) for the Trump Organization from 2011 to 2021, several of which Mr. Cohen said on Tuesday that he personally altered together with Trump Organization CFO Allen Weisselberg under the direction of his former boss.
Mr. Cohen, the one-time personal lawyer of President Trump and a former executive vice president of the Trump Organization, will continue to testify against his former boss in the ongoing civil trial in the case New York Attorney General Letitia James brought against the former president.
Ms. James is seeking $250 million in damages to be paid to the state of New York and the barring of President Trump and his adult sons, who are co-defendants in the case, from holding executive business positions in New York.
New York Supreme Court Justice Arthur Engoron had already ruled in a pretrial summary judgment on Sept. 26 that President Trump is liable for fraud.
Defense attorney Alina Habba picked up cross-examination of Mr. Cohen Wednesday morning.
Cohen Explains Lying in Court
Mr. Cohen’s cross-examination continued with defense attorneys questioning him about the times he lied under oath.
Trump attorneys said the judge had asked Mr. Cohen 50 questions when he made his guilty plea to ascertain that Mr. Cohen understood that he could only make this plea if he was truly guilty. Mr. Cohen said he could not speak to the judge’s state of mind.
Justice Engoron then called an off-record sidebar with the attorneys.
“You lied more than once in federal court, correct?”
“Correct,” Mr. Cohen said.
Cohen Backtracks
Mr. Cohen said that he was not lying to the Permanent Select Committee when he said “Not that I recall” when asked whether he was asked to inflate numbers; he said they never “overtly” said it that way.
This morning, he testified that he had lied to the committee.
“You’re now saying that Mr. Trump did not direct you to inflate the numbers on the statements of financial condition,” defense attorneys asked.
Mr. Cohen did not answer until the judge compelled him to.
“I stand with that response. ‘Not that I recall,'” he said.
“So Mr. Trump never directed you to inflate the numbers on the financial statements?”
“Correct,” Mr. Cohen said, backtracking on what he said on Tuesday.
The judge then denied the defense’s request that the case be brought to an end.
Prosecutors then questioned Mr. Cohen about his prior convictions where he pleaded guilty, and tried to enter his plea document into evidence as a consistent prior statement.
The defense objected, arguing that their documents were entered as a foundation to impeach the witness, whereas the prosecution was trying to “rehabilitate” a discredited witness.
The judge criticized both sides for “micromanaging” little details when they had a big case to go through.
Judge Won’t Dismiss Case
Defense attorneys asked, again, for the case to be dismissed because Mr. Cohen is an unreliable witness.
“Absolutely denied. This case has evidence, credible or not, all over the place. There’s a 200-page complaint … with evidence all over the place,” the judge said, adding that he did not consider Mr. Cohen a key witness.
“There’s enough evidence in this case to fill this courtroom,” he said.
He asked attorneys on both sides to stay, and then dismissed everyone else, ending the trial for the day.
This judge has a fatal case of TDS. He needs to be removed from the bench and given a full psychiatric examination.
Trump will win, these are liars and they are out to break him, but they will not,the truth will come out,and this judge ,prosecutor, and LJ will lose their jobs at the very least ,oerhsps end up in jail themselves!!!!!!