The fifth week brought the emergence of the key witness in the case, former Trump lawyer Michael Cohen, who was convicted on a federal level of election interference crimes; he was also convicted of lying to a congressional investigation. Cohen connected Trump making the payment to Stormy Daniels and Karen McDougal, becoming the nexus of the characters in the plan.
- Republican Senators JD Vance (Ohio) and Tommy Tuberville (Alabama-ish), Congresswoman Nicole Malliotakis, and GOP Attorneys General Brenna Bird (Iowa) and Steve Marshall (Louisiana) decided to not do their jobs to join Eric Trump in the gallery at the trial. (MSNBC reports the Trump camp put a call out to the GOP Senate Conference and the Republican Attorney Generals Association to have more people attend to support Trump.)
- Michael Cohen, Donald Trump’s old lawyer who made the payment to Stormy Daniels on behalf of Trump, takes the stand.
- Cohen said that he was instructed by Trump to renegotiate accounts payable to 20¢ on the dollar, which runs contrary to Cohen overpaying himself and paying Daniels’ out of pocket.
- Cohen said he lied and bullied for Trump, cherishing the power it brought him. “It was fantastic.”
- Cohen said he advised Trump on negative stories about Trump. Cohen said Trump would tell him, “You handle it.”
- To keep his wife in the dark, Cohen chose a home equity line of credit that didn’t provide paper statements, so his wife wouldn’t see the paperwork.
- “Women will hate me. Guys will think it’s cool,” will go into the echelon of iconic Presidential statements for the wrong reasons.
- When Cohen asked Trump about how the news of Stormy Daniels would impact Melania, Trump said, “Don’t worry” and wondered “how long I do you think I’ll be on the market for? Not long.”
- According to Cohen, the “locker room talk” response to the Access Hollywood “grab ‘em by the pussy” take was suggested by Melania.
- Senators Vance and Tuberville both said they were there to support “a friend” who should be out on the campaign trail. (Trump had a rally in nearby New Jersey last weekend, and held a dinner for NFT buyers in Florida during last week’s off-day on Wednesday.)
- The jury hears the tape of Cohen and Trump made surreptitiously by Cohen in which Trump discusses making the payment in cash. Cohen wants to use checks to make the whole deal legitimate and not have a huge some of cash move off the books for no reason, which may raise suspicions.
- Cohen said he made the recording to prove to David Pecker, the National Enquirer dick, that he would be repaid $150,000.
- Pecker told Cohen he had a safe containing compromising/embarrassing information on Trump. What and where that information is, no one knows, which sounds just dandy for national security.
- At one point, Cohen said people were telling Trump, “You’re a millionaire, just pay the $130,000.” Hearing Cohen describe him as only a “millionaire” must have infuriated Trump.
- Cohen will be back on the stand tomorrow with prosecutors continuing questioning. For cross, Trump’s lead attorney Todd Blanche is expected to take the lead.