Donald Trump trial updates: Michael Cohen returns to the stand as court waits to hear if Trump will testify himself

Trump stands at the defense table and leans in to listen to one of his lawyers, Emil Bove.

‘Mr Bove makes some hand gestures and Trump nods, apparently in agreement.

As Bove takes his seat, Trump turns and looks toward the back of the courtroom.

It’s unclear if he’s looking for anyone in particular.

Donald Trump lamented having to arrive at court an hour earlier on Monday than in previous days in remarks to reporters outside the courthouse.

The former president also harshly criticized the judge in the case, calling him “totally confrontational.”

Trump also baselessly claimed that everything came from President Biden as an “attack on his political opponent” while also calling the president “mentally unfit to be president.”

“Today the target is Trump, tomorrow it could be a Democrat,” he said.

The former president also repeated the complaint that he was “sitting in a refrigerator all day,” referring to the temperature of the room, which has been a problem for him since the trial began.

Among the guests accompanying the accused today is former New York Police Commissioner Bernie Kerik.

Also in Trump’s entourage of supporters are four Republican members of Congress, including Mary Miller of Illinois.

Also present is prominent attorney Alan Dershowitz.

donald trumpThe hush money trial could conclude and, depending on when closing arguments are made, the case could be in the hands of the jury to reach a verdict as soon as this week.

What is not so clear is whether the former president will take the stand in his own defense in the case. His defense attorney, Todd Blanche, refused to rule out Trump testifying when the court concluded last week.

Trump himself has issued mixed messages about whether he would take the stand, saying last month that he would “absolutely” testify.

He has also said he would testify “if necessary” and “probably.” At the same time, he has recently falsely told the media that it is not allowed.

But based on the most recent activity by Trump’s lawyers and recommendations from legal experts, Trump does not appear likely to testify.

The maximum sentence for each count of falsifying business records Trump faces is four years.

In theory, that means that Judge Juan Merchán could impose a sentence of up to 136 years.

However, a New York Times analysis of past cases of falsification of business records shows that only one in 10 results in a sentence that includes prison time.

A defendant in New York received a 364-day sentence for signing a false invoice worth $10,000.

But records show that for Trump, who would be a first-timer, a prison sentence seems possible but unlikely.

Michael Cohen, former ‘fixer’ and lawyer for Donald Trump, left his Manhattan home to testify for the third day.

He is considered the prosecution’s “star” witness.

He had a difficult day Thursday as Trump’s lawyers questioned him, trying to find holes in his credibility as a witness.

donald trumpThe defense attorney accused star witness Michael Cohen of lying about a crucial phone call that linked the former president to a cover-up of money payments to a porn star to maintain his silence. Stormy Daniel in a dramatic exchange on Thursday.

Defense attorney Todd Blanche landed his blow just before the lunch break, offering evidence that the key conversation was actually about a prank caller and not, as Cohen claimed three days earlier, about a $130,000 payment. for Daniels’ silence.

It created an ‘aha’ moment just as the case nears its conclusion; the kind of shock common in television courtroom dramas but rare in real life.

After reminding the 12 jurors that Cohen had a history of lying in court and laying the groundwork for the idea that he was an unreliable witness, Trump attorney Todd Blanche took the court in an unexpected direction.

He pulled out text messages and call logs to show that Cohen had been plagued with nuisance calls in October 2016.

Donald Trump’s legal team had reason to hope that Michael Cohen’s performance on the witness stand could seed at least one juror in the Stormy Daniels trial.

But Trump is still days away from the completion of a trial that could land him in prison for up to four years if convicted of all 34 felony counts of falsifying business records related to the porn star’s bribery.

“Probably the worst outcome is that Trump is convicted of multiple felonies and is therefore forever a convicted felon and a felon,” said Eugene O’Donnell, a law professor at John Jay College of Criminal Justice.

Judge Juan Merchán says he has no desire to put a former president behind bars.

“The last thing I want to do is put you in jail,” Merchan told Trump this month, even as she found him in contempt and fined him a total of $10,000 for violating a gag order restricting his comments on the case. .