Cohen grilled relentlessly about past crimes at Trump trial
With Kayla Epstein, Phil McCausland and Nada Tawfik reporting from court in New York
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With Kayla Epstein, Phil McCausland and Nada Tawfik reporting from court in New York
Live Reporting
Edited by Brandon Livesay and Tiffany Wertheimer
All times stated are UK
Cohen had 95 secret recordings on his phone
Nada Tawfik
Reporting from court
Todd Blanche is moving rapidly through topics, which is an effective strategy with cross-examination – to try to land a punch and move on.
He’s now insinuating that Michael Cohen was unethical, recording people without their permission.
Cohen, defensively, says it is not illegal in New York to record people.
Michael Cohen acknowledges that in February of 2018 he shared a recording he made of someone with the New York Times reporter Maggie Haberman - to help her write a story.
Cohen confirms he had 95 secret recordings on his phone.
Trump was worried about his brand and his family, Cohen says
Nada Tawfik
Reporting from court
Blanche is now asking about the first time the Stormy Daniels story came to his attention in 2011, when he worked to have an article removed from a gossip website.
Cohen agrees that in 2021, he told law enforcement that the first thing Trump told him was that his family wouldn’t like it very much.
Cohen testifies that his former boss was also worried about his brand, as well as his family.
Cohen says he always needed Trump's approval for responses to bad press
Nada Tawfik
Reporting from court
Questioning is focusing on Michael Cohen’s relationship with the press.
He said he had long standing relationships with journalists and would often reach out to them offering exclusive stories.
Todd Blanche asks what steps Cohen would take to minimise negative press, if he got wind of a bad story.
Cohen answers that he would immediately go to Trump’s office and they would craft a response together.
If he didn’t confer with Donald Trump, Cohen insists Trump would blow up at him and it would be the end of his job.
He denies that he ever responded to the press without Trump's input.
Trump's former lawyer thinks prosecution will win, but Trump won't be jailed
Phil McCausland
Reporting from court
I just spoke with Ty Cobb, who defended Donald Trump in his first impeachment trial.
He has been following the case closely.
Cobb says that Cohen is clearly “a smarmy character” whom the defence needs to discredit - something that Trump's lawyer Todd Blanche has been working on today.
He notes that the jury will be instructed by the judge “that they can reject the entire testimony of any person who they find has lied”.
“Cohen’s conviction for lying to Congress alone allows them to ignore legally everything he says,” Cobb tells me.
“His lies are so extensive and numerous, the cross can’t catalogue them all and shouldn’t. They need to wrap it up.”
But based on the amount of evidence that has been admitted so far, Cobb says that he feels certain that prosecutors will win their case.
But he thinks Trump will “never go to jail for these bookkeeping offences” because the state has not tied them to another felony.
“I also think it is likely - or at least a toss-up - that the case does not survive an appeal,” he adds.
More sidebars as lawyers battle
Nada Tawfik
Reporting from court
Judge Merchan says a juror has an appointment on Thursday next week – he will take it up with the juror later. It could mean we have another early finish.
Now, Todd Blanche has begun his questioning again, seeking to clarify what Michael Cohen knew about the indictment.
Within moments, though, the lawyers go into another sidebar to discuss this line of questioning.
A brief argument before cross-examination fires up again
Phil McCausland
Reporting from court
Before we get underway, lawyers on both sides are arguing over a line of questioning - that Michael Cohen knew about Trump’s indictment before it was unsealed.
Prosecutors want the judge to clarify to the jurors that Cohen did not definitively know ahead of time.
The judge says that he would like prosecutors to clear the air during re-direct, rather than giving instruction himself.
Former judge says defence's attack could be 'highly significant'
Kayla Epstein
Reporting from court
Former New York judge George Grassow has been attending the trial on most days, and has been happy to share his thoughts on the proceedings with the reporters sitting next to him.
During the lunch break, I asked him what he made of Todd Blanche's latest attack on Michael Cohen's recollections of a crucial phone call with Donald Trump.
"I think it's potentially highly significant," Judge Grassow said.
"It's certainly not positive for the prosecution. We'll have to see where it all goes."
Court is about to resume
Nada Tawfik
Reporting from court
Prosecutors have just walked in after the lunch break.
Donald Trump also walks back in to court with a large entourage.
He paused before sitting down to survey the members of the press seated behind him.
We are getting ready to resume proceedings shortly, after the defence landed a few blows against Michael Cohen's credibility.
It all comes down to convincing the jury
Madeline Halpert
Reporting from New York
Only one juror needs to believe he isn't guilty for Trump to avoid a conviction.
A host of factors could disrupt the prosecutors’ case. For one, there is the credibility of Cohen, a key witness in the case who is also a convicted felon.
Prosecutors will also have to work hard to prove the links between Trump’s business records classification and a larger goal of influencing the 2016 election to jurors.
Members of a jury are often unpredictable, says Diane Kiesel, a former New York Supreme Court judge and Manhattan prosecutor.
“It only takes one person to decide that the [prosecutors] have not met their burden,” she says. “The [prosecutors] have 12 people to convince.”
How have prosecutors done so far?
Madeline Halpert
Reporting from New York
In four weeks, prosecutors have called a host of key witnesses and produced dozens of documents to support their case: that Donald Trump directed a hush-money payment to an adult-film star and authorised an illegal reimbursement scheme to avoid damage to his 2016 presidential bid.
Experts have told the BBC the prosecution has approached a difficult task with organisation and efficiency.
“They sort of connected a fascinating novel… about how all of these characters interacted,” says Columbia Law School professor John Coffee. “And that was wise.”
Cohen has proven key in telling the court how Trump allegedly directed him to make a hush-money payment and then paid him back.
He also helped speak to Trump’s intent - testifying that he was focused entirely on the effect the story could have on his campaign, says former Manhattan prosecutor Lance Fletcher.
“The prosecutors have done everything possible to show everyone that this wasn't done to protect Melania, it wasn’t done to protect family,” he adds.
“If I was gonna bet, I would bet on a conviction,” Fletcher says. “But I don't think it's a slam dunk.”
Michael Cohen - a credible witness?
Brandon Livesay
Reporting from New York
This is essentially what the jury must decide, do they believe Donald Trump’s former lawyer?
For a legal perspective, I spoke to criminal defence lawyer Seth Waxman on Wednesday - before the latest session of cross-examination.
“I certainly think he's been credible. But even more important than that, I think he's heavily corroborated,” Waxman says.
Michael Cohen carries the baggage of being a convicted perjurer who has an admitted bias against Trump.
But Waxman says it’s the prosecution’s job to address that while also corroborating Cohen’s evidence with other facts “that tell the jury that what the witness is saying is true”.
“And I think he is heavily corroborated.”
This corroboration is the key to the prosecution’s argument, Waxman says.
“When there's one explanation that's fully corroborated and testified to by numerous witnesses, that's the one that's correct,” he says.
LISTEN: What Cohen’s testimony means for the US election
The Global Story podcast has just published its latest episode.
Caitriona Perry speaks with the BBC’s North America Editor Sarah Smith about what to make of the "loud mouthed, foul mouthed" star witness "who was Donald Trump's enforcer" and what problems could arise.
Catriona is also joined by Madeline Halpert, who has been reporting in court since the start of the trial.
Listen here on BBC Sounds, or wherever you get your podcasts.
What's happened so far today?
This morning, Michael Cohen, Trump’s former-fixer-turned-foe, gave evidence for a third day.
He faced a morning of tough questioning from Trump’s lawyer, Todd Blanche, who worked several different angles to attack Cohen's credibility.
Blanche has brought up Cohen’s previous criminal convictions, including campaign finance violations and tax fraud. He has also brought up his history of lying - including to Congress.
With only a half hour left to go in the morning session in New York, Blanche finally arrived at the heart of the case - the hush-money payment to Stormy Daniels and its reimbursement.
He began to press Cohen about his recollection of the payment negotiations, including whom he had spoken to about certain calls discussing the payment.
Both the witness and the accused avoided eye contact during the session, much as they have throughout all of his questioning.
After the break, Blanche will continue with cross-examination.
'That. Is. A. Lie'
Kayla Epstein
Reporting from court
Just before the lunch break, Todd Blanche's voice was low, ominously slow.
As Blanche moved in on a crucial counterattack, he spoke louder and louder.
"THAT. IS. A. LIE" he all but shouts as he probes Cohen's testimony, which claimed the 24 October call was with Donald Trump.
His questions get more rapid fire, his tone gets more aggressive, as he tries to undercut the most important witness against Trump.
Blanche tells the judge that this is a good time for a break, and the judge agrees.
You can almost feel the entire room let out a collective exhale, as if the courtroom had been holding its breath.
Trump leaves the courtroom stone-faced
Kayla Epstein
Reporting from court
Lunch has been called, and Donald Trump walks out of the courtroom with a stern expression on his face.
He does not give away what he's thinking.
But just before court paused there was the most intense moment of cross-examination yet.
Stay tuned, I'll have a post on that very soon.
Cohen remains calm as lawyer's questions intensify
Phil McCausland
Reporting from court
While Todd Blanche’s questioning has been practically angry with many gestures and sharply pointed fingers, Cohen has remained fairly calm.
He has kept his responses steady, and he has not appeared to crack under the sudden shift of tone in the questions.
Cohen grilled about phone calls to Trump's bodyguard
Phil McCausland
Reporting from court
Michael Cohen is asked about a series of harassing phone calls he received around the time of 24 October 2016. That's when he alleges he called Keith Schiller, Donald Trump's bodyguard, to speak to Donald Trump about the hush-money payment.
Cohen confirms that he picked up the phone, and the caller eventually identified themselves as a 14-year-old who called him on a dare. Cohen told the teenager he was reporting them to the Secret Service.
Cohen then called Schiller to ask him who he should contact about “the dope” who had made the calls.
The defence team then brings up Cohen’s call logs to show that he often rang Schiller around that period.
Blanche is working to undermine Cohen’s claim that when he called Schiller on 24 October 2016 that he spoke with Trump at all, and that the subject matter may not even have been about Stormy Daniels “hush-money payment”.
”That was a lie… correct?” Blanche asks in one of the most dramatic moments so far.
Republicans at Trump trial have very real implications for Congress
Anthony Zurcher
BBC North America correspondent
In a closely divided House of Representatives, every warm vote-casting body matters.
On Thursday, many of those Republican bodies are in New York City, attending Donald Trump’s criminal trial.
That had very real implications for business in Congress, as the Republican-controlled House Oversight Committee had to postpone a vote on holding Attorney General Merrick Garland in contempt of Congress.
That's because four of its members - Lauren Boebert of Colorado, Anna Paulina Luna of Florida, Michael Cloud of Texas and Andy Biggs of Arizona - were among the legislators with Trump.
Conservatives are angry that Garland had refused to provide the committee with the audio of Joe Biden’s interview with special counsel Robert Hur, who was investigating the president’s handling of classified material in his home and private office.
Hur’s report, released earlier this year, had characterised the president as forgetful and at times confused during the interview - and Republicans were eager to unearth more details. Garland said the recording was protected by presidential privilege.
The committee vote, which had originally been scheduled for Thursday morning, has been moved to the evening when, if trains and planes run on time, the four Republicans will be back on Capitol Hill.
Trump's bodyguard and Cohen's phone call is under the microscope
Kayla Epstein
Reporting from court
Todd Blanche presses Cohen on his recollections of the 24 October 2016 phone call. Cohen told prosecutors earlier this week that was when he had talked with Donald Trump about the $130,000 payment to Stormy Daniels.
Cohen testified that he had called Trump's bodyguard as a way to get in touch with Trump.
Did the bodyguard put them on speakerphone, or did he hand the phone to Trump for a private call? Blanche asks.
Cohen says he can't remember.
Blanche presses Cohen about whether he had ever testified about this phone call before, to the grand jury or to the district attorney's office, before this week.
Cohen says he can't recall, but later clarifies he can't remember when he spoke to the district attorney's office about this particular matter.
Cross-examination turns to key moment from earlier in this trial
Phil McCausland
Reporting from court
Todd Blanche has spent hours now working to discredit Michael Cohen.
It’s about 30 minutes before the scheduled lunch break, and we are only now getting to Cohen’s previous testimony in this trial.
Blanche is asking how he knew to contact Trump’s bodyguard to tell his ex-boss about the Stormy Daniels hush-money payment.
It seems Blanche is attempting to challenge Cohen’s recollection of the conversation.