U.S. President Donald Trump gestures as he speaks during a rally to contest the certification of the 2020 U.S. presidential election results by the U.S. Congress, in Washington, U.S, January 6, 2021.
| Photo Credit: REUTERS

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled on July 1 that Donald Trump enjoys some immunity from prosecution as a former President, a ruling that will likely delay his trial for conspiring to overturn the 2020 election.

The 6-3 decision split along ideological lines comes four months ahead of the election in which Mr. Trump is the Republican candidate to take on Democrat Joe Biden.

Conservative Chief Justice John Roberts, in his majority opinion, said a President enjoys “absolute immunity” from criminal prosecution for official acts taken while in office.

“There is no immunity for unofficial acts,” Mr. Roberts said, sending the case back to a lower court to determine which of the charges facing the former president involves official or unofficial conduct.

The three liberal justices dissented, with Justice Sonia Sotomayor saying “never in the history of our Republic has a President had reason to believe that he would be immune from criminal prosecution if he used the trappings of his office to violate the criminal law.”

“With fear for our democracy, I dissent,” she said.

Mr. Trump’s original trial date in the election case had been for March 4, well before his November rematch with President Joe Biden.

But the Supreme Court — dominated by conservatives, including the three appointed by Mr. Trump during his term in office — agreed in February to hear his argument for presidential immunity, putting the case on hold while they considered the matter in April.

Facing four criminal cases, Mr. Trump has been doing everything in his power to delay the trials at least until after the election.

On May 30, a New York court convicted Mr. Trump on 34 felony charges of falsifying business records to cover up a sex scandal in the final stages of the 2016 presidential campaign, making Mr. Trump the first former U.S. President ever convicted of a crime.

His sentencing will take place on July 11.

The New York hush money case was considered the weakest of the four cases by many legal experts, but likely the only one that will see trial before the vote.

By filing many pre-trial motions, Mr. Trump’s lawyers have managed to put on hold the three other trials, which deal with his attempts to overturn the 2020 election results and hoarding top-secret documents at his home in Florida.

If reelected, Mr. Trump could, once sworn in as President in January 2025, order the federal trials against him closed.

Former U.S. President Trump speaks to members of the media after a jury found him guilty of all 34 felony counts in his criminal trial at New York State Supreme Court in New York.
| Photo Credit: Reuters

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Washington:

A panel of 12 New Yorkers were unanimous in their determination that Donald Trump is guilty as charged — but for the impact on his election prospects, the jury is still out.

The Republican billionaire was convicted of all 34 charges in New York on Thursday, and now finds himself bidding for a second presidential term unsure if he’ll be spending 2025 in the Oval Office, on probation or in jail.

The polarizing case has produced months of TV coverage and furious denouncements from partisans on both sides, but for the public at large, analysts and pollsters are expecting the reaction to be a collective “meh.”

“We live in a hyper-partisan system in which voters are focused on what is termed negative partisanship — they’re voting against the candidate they like the least, not for a candidate they support,” said political scientist Nicholas Higgins.

“Given this — and particularly because the accusations are already known and Trump’s camp has framed it as a political attack — few voters will somehow be convinced that their previous view of Trump was wrong because the jury convicted him.”

Trump, who turns 78 in June, is the first criminal former president and first felon to be the nominee of a major political party, giving Democrats ample fodder for attack ads as November’s election rematch with President Joe Biden looms.

He was found to have falsified business records to misrepresent a hush-money payment just before the 2016 election to porn actress Stormy Daniels for her silence over a sexual encounter she alleges they had.

Part of an illegal scheme to pull the wool over voters’ eyes, the fraudulent accounting was bumped from a misdemeanor case to a suite of felony charges.

– ‘Net-negative’ –

But the disgraced tycoon’s poll numbers were steady throughout the trial, and he remains neck-and-neck with Biden in national polling, while leading the Democrat narrowly in most of the key swing states.    

Two-thirds of respondents in the latest Marist poll said a conviction would make no difference to their vote, while the rest were almost evenly divided on whether it would make them more or less likely to support Trump.

Higgins, chair of the political science department at North Greenville University in South Carolina, expects around one percent of voters to move from Trump’s column to a third-party candidate or to not vote at all.

“But one should not expect there to be any shift to Biden because of this decision,” he said.

Other analysts argue however that even the most marginal decline in Trump’s vote share could impact an election that is expected to go down to the wire in six or seven battleground states.

“Since the election will be determined by a few thousand votes in those states, a conviction will undoubtedly hurt Trump,” said Donald Nieman, a political analyst and history professor at Binghamton University in New York state.

Jared Carter, a professor at Vermont Law and Graduate School, said that although the impact of the conviction would be marginal, it might animate Trump’s core support while alienating independents.

“And when you’re talking about a close election in a few swing states, those independent voters, perhaps the moderate Republicans, make a big difference,” he told AFP.

“In the end, while it (will) create a lot of turmoil, a lot of headlines, and motivate his MAGA base, I think it would be a net-negative and could cost him the election.”

– ‘Huge consequences’ –

Ray Brescia, associate dean for research at Albany Law School and a former clerk to a New York federal judge, said the conviction had special significance as the only verdict likely to come in Trump’s various criminal cases before the election.

“(How) many voters will actually turn away from Trump is hard to say with any precision. But even a small shift could have huge consequences,” he told AFP.

When YouGov/Yahoo News asked Americans how they felt about the hush money trial earlier in May, 31 percent said they were bored, while only 26 percent said they were interested.

Meanwhile, only 50 percent said falsifying business records to conceal hush money payments was a serious crime.

Political scientist Nicholas Creel, of Georgia College and State University, said the conviction was likely to break through that apathy and harm Trump’s chances.

“Moreover, we have to keep in mind that this election was always going to be extremely close,” he said. “So anything that has a measurable effect on either candidate’s support could well prove to be pivotal in November.”

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Donald Trump’s conviction shows that “no one is above the law”, his election rival President Joe Biden’s campaign said.

“In New York today, we saw that no one is above the law,” Biden-Harris campaign communications director Michael Tyler said in a statement.

“But today’s verdict does not change the fact that the American people face a simple reality. There is still only one way to keep Donald Trump out of the Oval Office: at the ballot box.”

– AFP

New York:

Defense lawyers in Donald Trump’s hush money trial made their final pitch to the jury on Tuesday, calling for acquittal and insisting the first ever criminal prosecution of a former US president was based on “lies.”

Less than six months before American voters choose whether to return Trump to the White House, the stakes riding on the verdict are hard to overstate — for the 77-year-old personally, but also for the country.

Trump is accused of falsifying business records to reimburse his former lawyer Michael Cohen for a $130,000 payment to porn star Stormy Daniels, when her account of a 2006 sexual encounter could have doomed his 2016 presidential campaign.

Trump’s attorney Todd Blanche, delivering his closing argument, told the jury that the trial “isn’t a referendum on your views of president Trump” or “who you plan on voting for in 2024.”

Prosecutors had failed to prove their case beyond a reasonable doubt, Blanche said, and the only outcome should be a “very quick and easy not guilty verdict.”

“President Trump is innocent,” he said.

Blanche spent much of his summation attacking Cohen, the prosecution’s star witness, who has spent time in prison for tax evasion and other crimes, calling him the “MVP of liars” consumed by “outright hatred for Trump.”

“He’s literally the greatest liar of all time,” he said. “He told you a number of things on that witness stand that were lies, pure and simple.

“You cannot convict president Trump of any crime beyond a reasonable doubt on the word of Michael Cohen.”

Blanche said Trump was “busy running the country” when the reimbursements were made to Cohen and he did not closely inspect all the invoices that came across his desk.

“There was no intent to defraud and beyond that there was no conspiracy to influence the 2016 election by president Trump,” Blanche said. “He did not commit any crimes.”

Graphic testimony

Trump had a grave look on his face as his lawyer spoke, his head titled to the side studying the jurors. He raised his left hand in a fist as he left the courtroom for lunch but did not address the assembled media.

Speaking to reporters earlier before entering the Manhattan courtroom, Trump said “this is a very dangerous day for America.”

“We have a rigged court case that should have never been brought,” he said as three of his five children — Don Jr, Eric and Tiffany — stood behind him.

Prosecutors will get the last word. They will lay out the case that Trump falsified records to keep the hush money payment secret amid fear that the episode could sink his already rocky outsider’s bid to defeat Hillary Clinton.

The 12 jurors — whose identities have been kept secret for their protection — will start deliberations as early as Wednesday.

Polls show Trump neck and neck against President Joe Biden in the White House race and the verdict will inject new tension into an already bitter contest.

Speaking on behalf of the Biden campaign outside court, actor Robert De Niro berated Trump as a “clown” and “grubby real estate developer” intent on destroying the country.

Trump is the first former or sitting president under criminal indictment, with charges ranging from the relatively minor hush money case to accusations that he took top secret documents and tried to overthrow the 2020 election.

The New York case, which featured more than 20 witnesses over five weeks and days of gripping testimony by Daniels and Cohen, is the only one likely to come to trial by election day on November 5.

If convicted, Trump faces up to four years in prison on each of 34 counts, but legal experts say that as a first-time offender he is unlikely to get jail time.

A conviction would not bar him from appearing on the ballot in November.

Unanimity required

Trump chose not to testify in his defense — a move that would have exposed him to damaging cross-examination.

Instead, he used his daily trips to court to stage televised tirades against “corrupt” Judge Juan Merchan, and to claim the trial is a Democratic ploy to keep him off the campaign trail.

A number of Republican Trump loyalists, including several vying to be his vice president, have made the trek to the courtroom to sit behind him.

To return a guilty or not guilty verdict requires the jury to be unanimous. Just one holdout means a hung jury and a mistrial, although prosecutors could seek a new trial.

In addition to the New York case, Trump has been indicted in Washington and Georgia on charges of conspiring to overturn the results of the 2020 election.

He also faces charges in Florida of hoarding huge quantities of classified documents after leaving the White House.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Closing arguments are expected on Tuesday in Donald Trump’s criminal hush money trial in New York, wrapping up what is likely to be the only case against the former U.S. president to reach a jury before the November election.

Here is a look at what comes next.

WHAT HAPPENS DURING CLOSING ARGUMENTS?

Prosecutors with the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office will present their summations first and seek to convince a dozen New Yorkers that Trump falsified business records to cover up an alleged sexual encounter with porn star Stormy Daniels – a liaison Trump denies.

Prosecutors must prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Trump intentionally made or directed others to make false entries in business records, did so with intent to commit another underlying crime and sought to conceal the commission of that crime. They must also prove the 34 records in question were falsified.

Trump’s lawyers face a lower burden and only need to sow sufficient doubt in jurors’ minds to secure an acquittal, or sway at least one holdout among the 12 to deadlock the jury and trigger a mistrial.

WHAT HAPPENS AFTER CLOSING ARGUMENTS?

The judge overseeing the case, Juan Merchan, will give the jury lengthy instructions on how to interpret the law and evidence during their deliberations.

Jurors will be told that they can only convict Trump if they believe he is guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

During deliberations, jurors will have access to all of the evidence and be able to ask questions of the judge, who will confer with prosecutors and defense lawyers before deciding how to answer.

WHAT HAPPENS WHEN JURORS REACH A VERDICT?

The verdict must be unanimous, and if the jury deadlocks, Merchan will declare a mistrial.

Once jurors inform the court they have reached a verdict, Merchan will summon the parties to the courtroom to hear it read by the foreperson. Merchan must still affirm the verdict and enter a final judgment. Either side can ask him to effectively overrule the jury.

WHAT HAPPENS IF TRUMP IS CONVICTED?

If Trump is convicted, it would likely be several weeks or months until he is sentenced. As a first-time offender of a nonviolent crime, he would likely be released on bond in the meantime.

It is rare for people with no criminal history who are convicted only of falsification of business records to be sentenced to prison in New York. Punishments like fines or probation are more common.

The maximum sentence for Trump’s crime of falsifying business records is 1-1/3 to four years in prison, but in cases involving prison time, defendants are typically sentenced to a year or less.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

New York:

After approximately five weeks, 19 witnesses, reams of documents and a dash of salacious testimony, the prosecution against Donald Trump rested its case Monday, handing over to the defense before closing arguments expected next week.

Trump’s team immediately sought to undermine key testimony against the former president, who is accused of covering up hush money paid to a porn star over an alleged encounter that could have derailed his successful 2016 White House bid.

His attorneys called lawyer Robert Costello — who once advised star prosecution witness Michael Cohen before falling out with him — in an apparent attempt to puncture Cohen’s credibility.

But Costello’s start on the stand was shaky at best, as his dismissive tone provoked an angry response from Judge Juan Merchan.

The judge ordered the jury out of the courtroom to admonish Costello, and, still unsatisfied, also ordered the press and others to briefly leave.

Trump, speaking to reporters afterward, called the episode “an incredible display,” branding the proceedings “a show trial” and the judge “a tyrant.”

Extended quibbling among the two legal teams, along with the upcoming holiday weekend, means closing arguments that the judge had hoped could start Tuesday are now anticipated for next week.

It’s unlikely and risky, but the door remains open for Trump to take the stand in the criminal trial, the first ever of a former US president.

Experts doubt he will, as it would expose him to unnecessary legal jeopardy and forensic cross-examination by prosecutors — but his lawyer Todd Blanche has raised the prospect.

– Marathon questioning –

On Monday, Blanche finished his third day of questioning Cohen after hours of at times digressive, at other times bruising, exchanges.

Cohen, Trump’s former personal lawyer and fixer, recounted last week how he kept Trump informed about $130,000 paid to porn star Stormy Daniels to buy her silence about an alleged affair ahead of the 2016 presidential election.

Trump’s lawyers set out to paint Cohen as a convicted criminal and habitual liar, recalling his time in prison for tax fraud and lying to Congress.

Blanche also probed Cohen’s loyalty to Trump and then to the prosecution, looking to show jurors that Cohen is self-serving and willing to go to great lengths to accomplish his aims.

Blanche vied to goad Cohen, who has a reputation for a short temper that could have hurt him on the stand — but the witness largely maintained his composure.

Cohen’s story generally lined up with Daniels and David Pecker, the tabloid boss who said he worked with Trump and Cohen to suppress negative coverage during the Republican’s White House run.

After Blanche finished with him, the prosecution returned for redirect, with prosecutor Susan Hoffinger asking Cohen what the whole experience has meant for him.

“My entire life has been turned upside down,” Cohen said, genuine emotion in his voice. “I lost my law license, my financial security… my family’s happiness… just to name a few.”

– Trump 2024 –

Trump meanwhile has complained his 2024 election campaign for another White House term is being stymied by the weeks-long court proceedings, which he has to attend every day.

He did so again Monday, complaining to journalists he’s “not allowed to have anything to do with politics because I’m sitting in a very freezing cold, dark room for the last four weeks. It’s very unfair.”

Calling the case politicized, a coterie of leading Republicans have stood in the wings behind him as he gives remarks to reporters outside the courtroom.

The growing list includes several lawmakers eyeing Trump’s vice presidential pick, including Ohio Senator JD Vance and North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum.

Yet despite the palace intrigue and courtroom drama, the charges ultimately hinge on financial records, and whether falsifying them was done with intent to sway the 2016 presidential vote.

When the jury begins deliberating, the often juicy testimony will likely linger, but they will also have stacks of documents to consider.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Former President Donald Trump, left, speaks to the media with his lawyer Todd Blanche after attending the day’s proceedings in his hush money trial, in New York, Monday, May 20, 2024.
| Photo Credit: AP

After approximately five weeks, 19 witnesses, reams of documents and a dash of salacious testimony, the prosecution against Donald Trump rested its case on May 20, handing over to the defence, before closing arguments expected next week.

Mr. Trump’s team immediately sought to undermine key testimony against the former president, who is accused of covering up hush money paid to a porn star over an alleged encounter that could have derailed his successful 2016 White House bid.

His attorneys called lawyer Robert Costello — who once advised star prosecution witness Michael Cohen before falling out with him — in an apparent attempt to puncture Cohen’s credibility.

But Mr. Costello’s start on the stand was shaky at best, as his dismissive tone provoked an angry response from Judge Juan Merchan.

The judge ordered the jury out of the courtroom to admonish Costello, and, still unsatisfied, also ordered the press and others to briefly leave.

Mr. Trump, speaking to reporters afterwards, called the episode “an incredible display,” branding the proceedings “a show trial” and the judge “a tyrant.”

Extended quibbling among the two legal teams, along with the upcoming holiday weekend, means closing arguments that the judge had hoped could start on Tuesday are now anticipated for next week.

It’s unlikely and risky, but the door remains open for Mr. Trump to take the stand in the criminal trial, the first ever of a former US president.

Experts doubt he will, as it would expose him to unnecessary legal jeopardy and forensic cross-examination by prosecutors — but his lawyer Todd Blanche has raised the prospect.

Marathon questioning

On May 20, Mr. Blanche finished his third day of questioning Cohen after hours of at times digressive, at other times bruising, exchanges.

Cohen, Trump’s former personal lawyer and fixer, recounted last week how he kept Trump informed about $130,000 paid to porn star Stormy Daniels to buy her silence about an alleged affair ahead of the 2016 presidential election.

Mr. Trump’s lawyers set out to paint Cohen as a convicted criminal and habitual liar, recalling his time in prison for tax fraud and lying to Congress.

Mr. Blanche also probed Cohen’s loyalty to Mr. Trump and then to the prosecution, looking to show jurors that Cohen is self-serving and willing to go to great lengths to accomplish his aims.

Mr. Blanche vied to goad Cohen, who has a reputation for a short temper that could have hurt him on the stand, but the witness largely maintained his composure.

Cohen’s story generally lined up with Ms. Daniels and David Pecker, the tabloid boss who said he worked with Mr. Trump and Cohen to suppress negative coverage during the Republican’s White House run.

After Mr. Blanche finished with him, the prosecution returned for redirect, with prosecutor Susan Hoffinger asking Cohen what the whole experience has meant for him. “My entire life has been turned upside down,” he said. “I lost my law license, my financial security… my family’s happiness… just to name a few.”

Impact on Trump’s 2024 campaign

Mr. Trump meanwhile has complained his 2024 election campaign for another White House term is being stymied by the weeks-long court proceedings, which he has to attend every day.

He did so again May 20, complaining to journalists he’s “not allowed to have anything to do with politics because I’m sitting in a very freezing cold, dark room for the last four weeks. It’s very unfair.”

Calling the case politicized, a coterie of leading Republicans have stood in the wings behind him as he gives remarks to reporters outside the courtroom.

The growing list includes several lawmakers eyeing Mr. Trump’s vice presidential pick, including Ohio Senator J.D. Vance and North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum.

Yet despite the palace intrigue and courtroom drama, the charges ultimately hinge on financial records, and whether falsifying them was done with intent to sway the 2016 presidential vote.

When the jury begins deliberating, the often juicy testimony will likely linger, but they will also have stacks of documents to consider.

A New York appeals court on May 14 upheld the gag order in Donald Trump’s hush-money trial, finding that the judge “properly determined” that Mr. Trump’s public statements “posed a significant threat to the integrity of the testimony of witnesses and potential witnesses in this case as well.” Mr. Trump had asked the state’s intermediate appeals court to lift or modify the gag order, which bars him from commenting publicly about jurors, witnesses and others connected to the case, including Judge Juan M. Merchan’s family and prosecutors other than District Attorney Alvin Bragg.

At an emergency hearing last month, just days before the trial started, Mr. Trump’s lawyers argued that the gag order is an unconstitutional curb on the presumptive Republican nominee’s free speech rights while he’s campaigning for President and fighting criminal charges.

In its ruling, the five-judge appeals panel noted that Mr. Trump wasn’t claiming that the gag order had infringed on his right to a fair trial. Rather, Mr. Trump’s lawyers argued that prohibiting him from commenting restricted his ability to engage in protected political speech and could adversely impact on his campaign.

The appeals court ruled that Judge Merchan “properly weighed” Mr. Trump’s free speech rights against the “historical commitment to ensuring the fair administration of justice in criminal cases, and the right of persons related or tangentially related to the criminal proceedings from being free from threats, intimidation, harassment, and harm”. Mr. Trump’s fixer-turned-foe Michael Cohen returned to the witness stand on May 14, testifying in detail about how the former President was linked to all aspects of the hush-money scheme that prosecutors say was an illegal effort to purchase and then bury stories that threatened his 2016 campaign.

Mr. Trump, the first former U.S. President to go on trial, was joined at the courthouse by an entourage of GOP lawmakers that included House Speaker Mike Johnson and others considered vice presidential contenders for Mr. Trump’s 2024 campaign. Their presence was a not-so-subtle show of support meant not just for Mr. Trump, but also for voters tuning in to trial coverage and for the jurors deciding Mr. Trump’s fate.

As proceedings began, Mr. Johnson held a news conference outside the courthouse, using his powerful pulpit to attack the U.S. judicial system. It was a remarkable moment in American politics as the person second in line to the presidency sought to turn his political party against the rule of law by declaring the Manhattan criminal trial illegitimate.

“I do have a lot of surrogates, and they’re speaking very beautifully,” Mr. Trump said before court as the group gathered in the background. “And they come … from all over Washington. And they’re highly respected, and they think this is the greatest scam they’ve ever seen.” Mr. Cohen, meanwhile, resumed his place on the witness stand as prosecutor Susan Hoffinger worked to paint him as a Trump loyalist who committed crimes on behalf of the former President.

Mr. Cohen told jurors that he lied to the Congress during an investigation into potential ties between Russia and the 2016 Trump campaign to protect Mr. Trump. He also described for jurors the April 2018 raid by law enforcement on his apartment, law firm, a hotel room where he stayed and a bank where he stashed valuables.

“How to describe your life being turned upside-down. Concerned. Despondent. Angry,” he said.

“Were you frightened?” Ms. Hoffinger asked.

“Yes, ma’am.” But he said he was heartened by a phone call from Mr. Trump that he said gave him reassurance and convinced him to remain “in the camp.” He said to me, Don’t worry. I’m the President of the United States. There’s nothing here. Everything’s going to be OK. Stay tough. You’re going to be OK,’” Mr. Cohen testified.

Mr. Cohen told jurors that “I felt reassured because I had the President of the United States protecting me … And so I remained in the camp.” But their relationship soured, and now Mr. Cohen is one of Mr. Trump’s most vocal critics. His testimony is central to the Manhattan case.

Mr. Cohen testified that after paying out $1,30,000 to porn actress Stormy Daniels in order to keep her quiet about an alleged sexual encounter, Mr. Trump promised to reimburse him. He said Mr. Trump was constantly apprised of the behind-the-scenes efforts to bury stories feared to be harmful to the campaign.

Jurors followed along as Ms. Hoffinger, in a methodical and clinical fashion, walked Mr. Cohen through that reimbursement process. It was an attempt to show what prosecutors say was a lengthy deception to mask the true purpose of the payments. As jurors were shown business records and other paperwork, Mr. Cohen explained their purpose and reiterated again and again that the payments were reimbursements for the hush-money. They weren’t for legal services he provided or for a retainer, he said.

It’s an important distinction, because prosecutors allege that the Mr. Trump records falsely described the purpose of the payments as legal expenses. These records form the basis of 34 felony counts charging Mr. Trump with falsifying business records. All told, Mr. Cohen was paid $4,20,000, with funds drawn from a Trump personal account.

“Were the descriptions on this check stub false?” Ms. Hoffinger asked.

“Yes,” Mr. Cohen said.

“And again, there was no retainer agreement,” Ms. Hoffinger asked.

“Correct,” Mr. Cohen replied.

Mr. Trump has pleaded not guilty and also denies that any of the encounters took place.

During his time on the witness stand, Mr. Cohen delivered matter-of-fact testimony that went to the heart of the former President’s trial: “Everything required Mr. Trump’s sign-off,” Mr. Cohen said. He told jurors that Mr. Trump did not want Ms. Daniels’ account of a sexual encounter to get out. At the time, Mr. Trump was especially anxious about how the story would affect his standing with female voters.

A similar episode occurred when Mr. Cohen alerted Mr. Trump that a Playboy model was alleging that she and Mr. Trump had an extramarital affair. “Make sure it doesn’t get released,” was Mr. Cohen’s message to Mr. Trump, according to testimony. The woman, Karen McDougal, was paid $1,50,000 in an arrangement that was made after Mr. Trump received a “complete and total update on everything that transpired.” “What I was doing, I was doing at the direction of and benefit of Mr. Trump,” Mr. Cohen testified.

Prosecutors believe Mr. Cohen’s insider knowledge is critical to their case. But their reliance on a witness with such a checkered past — Mr. Cohen pleaded guilty to federal charges related to the payments — also carries sizable risks with a jury.

The men, once so close that Mr. Cohen boasted that he would “take a bullet” for Mr. Trump, had no visible interaction inside the courtroom. The sedate atmosphere was a marked contrast from their last courtroom faceoff in October, when Mr. Trump walked out of the courtroom after his lawyer finished questioning Mr. Cohen during his civil fraud trial.

Throughout Mr. Cohen’s testimony on May 14, Mr. Trump reclined in his chair with his eyes closed and his head tilted to the side. He shifted from time to time, occasionally leaning forward and opening his eyes, making a comment to his attorney before returning to his recline. Even some of the topics that have animated him the most as he campaigns didn’t stir his attention.

Mr. Trump’s lawyers will get their chance to question Mr. Cohen as early as Tuesday, when they’re expected to attack his credibility. He was disbarred, went to prison and separately pleaded guilty to lying about a Moscow real estate project on Mr. Trump’s behalf.

Former U.S. President Donald Trump, with attorney Todd Blanche, speaks to the press amid his trial for allegedly covering up hush money payments linked to extramarital affairs, at Manhattan Criminal Court in New York City, on May 10, 2024. Trump is accused of falsifying business records in a scheme to cover up an alleged sexual encounter with adult film actress Stormy Daniels to shield his 2016 election campaign from adverse publicity.
| Photo Credit: REUTERS

Donald Trump’s defence attorney and Stormy Daniels went head to head on Thursday during cross-examination of the porn star’s blistering testimony, the line of questioning occasionally meandering into the bizarre and even earning a critique afterwards from the judge.

Under examination that frequently veered hostile, Ms. Daniels was quick on her feet, toeing a tight line between tenacity and vulnerability as jurors watched the defense deride her career and assail her credibility.

She clapped back for hours during the most intense testimony yet in the criminal trial, which centers on whether a $130,000 hush money payment to Ms. Daniels was fraudulently covered up with the intent of influencing the 2016 presidential election.

Mr. Trump’s lawyer Susan Necheles insisted repeatedly through her questioning that Ms. Daniels, 45, had fabricated her story of a one-off sexual encounter with Trump.

“You made all this up, right?” the counsel asked at one point, prompting Ms. Daniels to respond with an emphatic “No.”

Several moments saw Ms. Daniels accuse Ms. Necheles of putting words in her mouth: “You’re trying to make me say it’s changed, but it hasn’t changed,” she said, referring to her account of events.

Team Trump vied to cast Ms. Daniels as money-grubbing, sleazy and deceptive.

Ms. Necheles grilled Ms. Daniels over her decision to pen a book that included depictions of the encounter, and her decision to promote branded products.

“Not unlike Mr. Trump,” Ms. Daniels quipped back.

In one of the more offbeat moments of the nearly eight hours of testimony, Ms. Necheles brought up interest in Ms. Daniels in tarot cards and the paranormal, in an apparent bid to cast her as unhinged.

She then moved to present Ms. Daniels as a fabulist, mocking her work as a screenwriter and director of pornographic films while alleging that it makes her good at twisting the truth.

“So you have a lot of experience in making phony stories about sex appear to be real?” said Ms. Necheles.

“Wow, that’s not how I would put it,” Ms. Daniels said.

“The sex is real. The characters names might be different. But the sex is very real. That’s why it’s pornography,” the witness continued.

If the story with Mr. Trump were untrue, she said, “I would’ve written it to be a lot better.”

Mistrial denied, again

At the close of her marathon testimony which lasted approximately eight hours over two days, the defense asked Ms. Daniels if she knew anything about Mr. Trump’s bookkeeping — the actual crux of the case.

She said she does not.

But that wasn’t the point of calling Ms. Daniels to the stand, one prosecutor said later — she was there to detail why Mr. Trump would’ve wanted to cover up her story at the finish line of his White House bid.

That reasoning came up after jurors had been dismissed for the day, during a motion hearing that saw Team Trump try once more for a mistrial.

It was again denied, but not before Judge Juan Merchan skewered Mr. Trump’s lawyers in front of him.

“I disagree with your narrative that there is any new account here. I disagree that there is any changing story,” he said, audibly irritated.

In his extraordinary dressing down of the defence’s lawyering, Mr. Merchan said their very insistence that Ms. Daniels had made the encounter up cleared the way for the prosecution to include evidence — much of it salacious — to the contrary.

Ms. Necheles spent much of her cross-hammering on the very details they were holding up as grounds for a mistrial, Mr. Merchan said, “drilling it over and over and over again into the jury’s ears.”

“I don’t understand the reason for that,” he said during his dramatic critique, asking why the defence had not objected to the presentation of those details during direct questioning.

And that Mr. Trump’s team has been attacking Ms. Daniels from the very beginning, including during opening statements, “pits your client’s word against Ms. Daniels’ word,” Mr. Merchan said.

“That, in my mind, allows The People to do what they can to rehabilitate her and corroborate her story,” he said, using a term for the prosecution.

“Your motion for a mistrial is denied.”