Trump trial focuses in on records ahead of testimony from Cohen

Latest witnesses include former White House aide

In the wake of salacious evidence from adult film actor Stormy Daniels, prosecutors in Donald Trump’s hush money trial narrowed their focus to cheques and phone records as they laid the groundwork for jurors to hear from the star witness: Michael Cohen, Mr Trump’s former lawyer.

As the third week of evidence drew to a close, the case that ultimately hinges on record-keeping returned to deeply technical evidence – a sharp contrast from Ms Daniels’ dramatic, if not downright seamy, account of an alleged sexual encounter with Mr Trump that riveted jurors earlier this week.

The prosecution could rest its case by the end of next week, prosecutor Joshua Steinglass said.

Prosecutors have been building up their case ahead of crucial evidence from Mr Cohen, Mr Trump’s one-time fixer-turned-foe who arranged the $130,000 (approximately €120,000) payout to Ms Daniels – he says at Trump’s direction.

Mr Cohen is expected to enter the witness box on Monday, two people familiar with the matter said.

Defence lawyers will argue that the disbarred lawyer, who served prison time and has become one of Mr Trump’s fiercest critics, is out to get the former president.

Yesterday, jurors saw social media posts showing that Mr Trump initially praised Mr Cohen after the then-lawyer came under federal investigation.

This changed after Mr Cohen pleaded guilty to campaign finance violations, along with other crimes, and claimed Mr Trump directed him to arrange the payment for Ms Daniels.

Mr Trump was never charged with any crime related to that federal investigation.

Witnesses in the case have seesawed between bookkeepers and bankers with evidence about records and finances, to Ms Daniels and others with unflattering stories about Mr Trump and the tabloid world machinations meant to keep them secret.

Despite all the drama, in the end, the trial is about money changing hands – business transactions – and whether those payments were made to illegally influence the 2016 election.

Back in the witness box yesterday morning was Madeleine Westerhout, a former White House aide. Prosecutors used Ms Westerhout’s evidence to detail the process by which Mr Trump got personal mail, including cheques to sign, while in the White House.

It is relevant because that is how he received and signed the cheques that reimbursed Mr Cohen for the payment to Ms Daniels, prosecutors say.

Ms Westerhout said that Mr Trump was “very upset” when The Wall Street Journal published a 2018 story about the hush money deal with Ms Daniels.

“My understanding was that he knew it would be hurtful to his family,” Ms Westerhout said, though she acknowledged she did not recall him saying so specifically.

The answer, elicited by Mr Trump’s lawyer Susan Necheles, goes to the defence’s argument that Ms Daniels was paid to stay silent in order to protect Trump’s family, not his campaign.

Over more than seven-and-a-half hours of evidence, Ms Daniels relayed in graphic detail what she says happened after the two met at a celebrity golf outing at Lake Tahoe, where sponsors included the adult film studio where she worked.

During combative cross-examination, Mr Trump’s lawyers sought to paint Ms Daniels as a liar and extortionist who is trying to take down the former president after drawing money and fame from her claims.

After Ms Daniels stepped down from the witness box on Thursday, Mr Trump’s lawyers pressed the judge to amend the gag order that prevents him from talking about witnesses in the case so he could publicly respond to what she told jurors. The judge denied that request.

Yesterday, Mr Trump also lost a bid to get records from Mark Pomerantz, a former Manhattan prosecutor who authored a book last year detailing tensions with district attorney Alvin Bragg over whether to seek Mr Trump’s indictment.

Prosecutors in Mr Bragg’s office asked Judge Merchan to reject the subpoena of Mr Pomerantz, and the judge agreed, writing in an order that the defence requests are either overly broad and part of a “fishing expedition” or they seek information that is irrelevant to the case.

Mr Trump is charged with 34 counts of falsifying internal Trump Organisation business records. The charges stem from paperwork such as invoices and cheques that were deemed legal expenses in company records.

Mr Trump has pleaded not guilty and casts himself as the victim of a politically tainted justice system working to deny him another term.

Meanwhile, as the threat of jail looms over Mr Trump following repeated gag order violations, his lawyers are fighting the judge’s order and seeking a fast decision in an appeals court.

If that court refuses, Mr Trump’s lawyers want permission to take their appeal to the state’s high court.