Insights from Day 18 of the Legal Battle Surrounding Trump's Hush Money

Donald Trump's attorney, Todd Blanche, got upset and gestured wildly at Michael Cohen. He accused Cohen, who was the main witness for the prosecution, of fabricating a phone call with Trump. This call supposedly took place right before $130,000 was sent to Stormy Daniels' lawyer in October 2016.

Blanche challenged Cohen by showing him text messages exchanged with Keith Schiller. Cohen had claimed that Schiller had put Trump on the line during the alleged call. However, these messages had nothing to do with Trump or Daniels.

The cross-examination of the key witness in the hush money case reached a dramatic moment. It was a clear example of the defense's attempt to question Cohen's memory of phone calls and important interactions with Trump in 2016.

Court is not in session on Friday to allow Trump to attend his son Barron's high school graduation. The cross-examination of Cohen will continue on Monday, and it is likely that closing statements could start as early as Tuesday.

Here are the takeaways from Day 18 of the Trump hush money trial:

A heated confrontation over a key phone call

Blanche spent several hours questioning before finally discussing the evidence relevant to the case.

During the six-hour cross-examination, Blanche made a significant rhetorical move that undermined Cohen's credibility. This moment came when Blanche highlighted a phone call made by Trump's bodyguard to Cohen on October 24, 2016.

During questioning from prosecutors on Monday, Cohen said he contacted Schiller to talk to Trump about the Stormy Daniels issue and how to resolve it.

However, on Thursday, Blanche showed Cohen a text he sent to Schiller just before that call, asking for help with harassing calls to his phone and office that were not blocked.

“Call me,” Blanche said Schiller responded.

Blanche says the texts show that at 8:04 p.m. Cohen texted Schiller the phone number of the teenager prank calling him.

Blanche questioned Cohen's version of the call by pointing out that he did not speak to President Trump, but to Keith Schiller. Cohen replied calmly, stating that he was unsure of the accuracy of that statement.

Cohen mentioned that part of the call involved the prank call, and he added, "I knew that Keith was with Mr. Trump at the time and there was potentially more to it."

Blanche started pacing back and forth, gesturing with his arms. His voice grew louder and more intense as he spoke rapidly, saying, "Now you're saying that you were testifying truthfully on Tuesday. In just a 1 minute, 36 second phone call, you managed to update Schiller on all your issues and also brief President Trump on Stormy Daniels' situation to keep him informed."

Cohen responded, "I always made sure to run everything by the boss right away. In this situation, it would have meant confirming that everything was taken care of and resolved."

Blanche then asked, "Did you only do this for that specific phone call, or did you also do it for other phone calls?"

Blanche pointed out that you claimed to not remember a phone call from 2016, which contradicts your testimony from Tuesday. He emphasized this just before the lunch break, his voice rising in pitch.

During the afternoon session, Cohen stood by his memory of his phone calls. He explained that although he has had numerous calls and may not recall every detail, he does remember the important ones clearly.

Cohen shared that the phone calls in question have been a significant topic for him over the past six years. He emphasized their importance and how they consumed his attention. Despite not being aware of the exact timing at 8:02 p.m., Cohen remembered the content of the conversations he had.

Cohen has faced challenges due to conflicting statements made over the years.

Trump's lawyer spent a long time going through Cohen's inconsistent statements from the past to challenge his credibility during the trial. However, many of the issues brought up were not directly related to the case being discussed.

Blanche asked Cohen about various topics, such as his reversal of the guilty plea for tax charges in 2018, his interest in working at the White House, and his comments regarding a potential pardon from Trump.

Blanche kept asking Cohen about his guilty plea in 2018, which Cohen later admitted was partially untrue when he testified under oath. Cohen acknowledged his responsibility for crimes like tax fraud that he admitted to, but he also believes he was unfairly targeted and wrongly prosecuted.

Blanche questioned Cohen about his tendency to blame others for the criminal behavior he was convicted of.

Cohen responded, "I blame people, yes."

Blanche then asked Cohen why federal and state prosecutors never asked him to cooperate, even though he pleaded guilty to campaign finance charges related to the alleged hush money scheme with Daniels.

Blanche suggested Cohen was unreliable and only acted like he’d taken accountability for the crimes when he pleaded guilty in order to get a reduced sentence.

Cohen pressed on desire for a pardon

Blanche questioned Cohen about his aspirations to work in Trump's White House, which were disclosed in private conversations with his daughter and individuals like Pastor Darrell Scott, whom Cohen requested to speak highly of him to Trump.

However, Cohen insisted during his testimony on Thursday that his only intention was to serve as Trump's personal attorney, a role he had until he became the focus of a federal probe.

Cohen admitted during cross-examination that he had previously stated publicly to Congress that he would never seek or accept a pardon from Trump. However, he later revealed that he did, in fact, pursue a pardon through his attorney and disclosed this information to lawmakers in private.

Cohen testified that he discussed the possibility of a pardon with his legal team because Trump had hinted at the idea of pardoning him. He expressed a desire to put an end to the ongoing ordeal, referring to it as a "nightmare."

Cohen handled the confrontation calmly throughout the day. He mainly asked the jury to trust his current statements over his previous ones, even those made under oath.

Trump becomes more attentive during Cohen's cross-examination.

During Cohen's time on the witness stand, Trump was often seen with his eyes closed. Trump showed little reaction to Cohen's testimony and appeared uninterested during the questioning by prosecutors and Blanche.

Trump seems to be using a different body language strategy in this trial compared to his behavior in previous trials, such as the New York civil fraud trial and the E. Jean Carroll defamation case.

On Thursday afternoon, Trump's demeanor changed when the focus shifted to Cohen and the media. He sat up in his chair and faced Cohen directly as Blanche questioned the witness about his conversations with New York Times reporter Maggie Haberman. Haberman had been mentioned before in the trial due to a tweet from Trump attacking her in 2018.

When Cohen mentioned to Blanche that he had recorded around 40 conversations with reporters over the years, Trump glanced at his attorney Susan Necheles, and they both smirked in response.

Cohen maintained a composed manner during the testimony, carefully selecting his words and speaking slowly in his responses, even as Blanche's questioning became more rapid. He often asked Blanche to repeat questions, especially after a judge overruled an objection from prosecutor Susan Hoffinger.

During the trial, the jury got to see a clear difference in Cohen's demeanor when he testified and when a recording of him on his "Mea Culpa" podcast from May 30, 2023 was played by Blanche. In the podcast, Cohen spoke faster and with a lot of excitement, especially when talking about the indictment.

In the podcast, Cohen expressed his strong feelings, saying, "I really hope that this man ends up in prison. I want him to pay for what he did to my family. Revenge is best served cold, and I want to see him rot inside for his actions."

Trial nearing an end?

Before leaving for the weekend, Merchan told the lawyers to be prepared to give summations on Tuesday – meaning the jury could have the case as early as next week.

Prosecutors informed Merchan that once Cohen finishes testifying, they have no more witnesses to call. The defense mentioned their intention to bring in a campaign finance expert, but this is not confirmed yet.

Blanche mentioned that the defense still has the option to call more witnesses to dispute the testimony. Trump's team has not decided yet if the former president will testify in his defense.

CNN reported that former Cohen attorney Bob Costello may make an appearance. Costello gained attention during a House Judiciary subcommittee hearing by strongly criticizing Cohen and claiming that almost everything Cohen said about him in court was false.

Another challenge is that there are only three court days next week before the Memorial Day holiday.

"It's not great to have a long gap between the summaries and the final instructions given by the judge to the jury before they start deliberating," Merchan informed the lawyers on Thursday.

Merchan didn't mention how this would affect next week's schedule - starting early or going late was suggested as a possibility. However, it seems like the judge is leaning towards the jury starting their deliberations next week.

Editor's P/S:

The cross-examination of Michael Cohen, the key witness in the Trump hush money trial, reached a dramatic crescendo on Thursday. Cohen's credibility was challenged by Trump's attorney, Todd Blanche, who questioned his memory of phone calls and interactions with Trump in 2016. Blanche presented text messages that contradicted Cohen's previous testimony, suggesting that he had not spoken to Trump about the Stormy Daniels payment but rather to his bodyguard, Keith Schiller. Cohen maintained his composure throughout the intense questioning, but his credibility as a witness is now under scrutiny.

The trial is nearing its end, with closing statements expected to begin as early as Tuesday. The jury will then deliberate on the charges against Trump, which include campaign finance violations and conspiracy to commit fraud. The outcome of the trial has significant implications for Trump and his political future, and the cross-examination of Cohen has raised questions about the reliability of his testimony, a key piece of evidence for the prosecution.