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☆ Prosecutors Say Immunity Ruling Has No Bearing on Trump’s Conviction
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-25 | by ( Ben Protess | Jesse Mckinley | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Manhattan prosecutors are urging the judge who oversaw Donald J. Trump’s criminal hush-money trial to uphold his conviction, seeking to cast doubt on the former president’s long-shot bid to overturn the case because of a recent Supreme Court ruling. Instead, the Manhattan prosecutors noted, he was convicted in May of covering up a sex scandal that had threatened to derail his 2016 campaign, a personal and political crisis that did not involve his conduct as president. Mr. Trump’s lawyers, seeking to link the two cases, have mounted a novel argument. In a recent filing to the judge who presided over the Manhattan trial, Juan M. Merchan, they contended that the Supreme Court’s decision had invalidated at least some of the evidence presented in Manhattan, including the testimony of former White House employees and tweets that Mr. Trump sent as president. The Supreme Court, they noted, had held that official acts could be inadmissible as evidence — even if a case concerned private misconduct.

Persons: Donald J, Trump, Juan M Organizations: White, Manhattan, White House Locations: Manhattan, Washington

☆ Cohen Asks the Supreme Court to Let Him Sue Trump Over His Imprisonment
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-10 | by ( Ben Protess | Maggie Haberman | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Former President Donald J. Trump is riding a winning streak at the Supreme Court. Mr. Cohen had been released for health reasons in 2020, but the Trump administration brought him back to prison after he announced plans to write a scathing book about Mr. Trump. Ultimately, a federal judge ordered his release and rebuked the Trump administration for its “retaliatory” action. Mr. Cohen then sued Mr. Trump and other federal officials, a case that has gained significance after the former president’s pledges to seek retribution and prosecute political enemies. Lower courts dismissed the lawsuit early on in the case, setting up Wednesday’s request that the Supreme Court take it up and send it back for a trial.

Persons: Donald J, Trump, Michael D, Cohen, Cohen’s Organizations: Supreme, Wednesday, Mr

On Today’s Episode:Biden’s Lapses Are Said to Be Increasingly Common and Worrisome, by Peter Baker, David E. Sanger, Zolan Kanno-Youngs and Katie RogersDemocrats Go Public With Panic About Biden Amid Fears of an Electoral Debacle, by Catie Edmondson, Kellen Browning and Nicholas NehamasJudge Delays Trump’s Sentencing Until Sept. 18 After Immunity Claim, by Ben Protess, William K. Rashbaum, Kate Christobek and Wesley Parnell

Persons: Said, Peter Baker, David E, Sanger, Zolan Kanno, Katie Rogers, Biden, Catie Edmondson, Kellen Browning, Nicholas Nehamas, Ben Protess, William K, Rashbaum, Kate Christobek, Wesley Parnell Organizations: Go

☆ Trump Can Now Criticize Witnesses Who Testified Against Him, Judge Rules
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-25 | by ( Ben Protess | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

A judge on Tuesday loosened a gag order on Donald J. Trump in his Manhattan criminal case, allowing the former president to criticize witnesses who took the stand against him as well as others involved in the trial that led to his conviction. The judge, Juan M. Merchan, who presided over Mr. Trump’s seven-week trial this spring, ruled that Mr. Trump is now free to complain about the prosecution’s witnesses, including his former fixer, Michael D. Cohen. Once Mr. Trump is sentenced on July 11, the judge ruled, he can publicly assail others who are currently covered by the gag order, including prosecutors and their relatives. Mr. Trump, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, is still subject to a different order prohibiting him from releasing the identities of jurors, or publicly attacking them by name. But under Justice Merchan’s ruling, Mr. Trump can now complain broadly about the jury that convicted him.

Persons: Donald J, Trump, Juan M, Merchan, Trump’s, Michael D, Cohen, Merchan’s Organizations: Mr

“This is long from over,” Donald J. Trump, the former president and current felon, declared on Thursday, moments after a Manhattan jury convicted him on 34 counts of falsifying records to cover up a sex scandal. Mr. Trump, the first American president to be branded a criminal, is banking on the jury not having the final word on his legal fate or his political fortunes. He will now appeal, both to a higher court and the American people, seeking to contain the fallout as he campaigns for the White House. But even if the former — and possibly future — president persuades voters to toss his conviction aside, the appellate courts might not be so sympathetic.

Persons: ” Donald J, Trump Organizations: White

Donald J. Trump was convicted on Thursday of falsifying records to cover up a sex scandal that threatened to derail his 2016 presidential campaign, capping an extraordinary trial that tested the resilience of the American justice system and transformed the former commander in chief into a felon. The guilty verdict in Manhattan — across the board, on all 34 counts — will reverberate throughout the nation and the world as it ushers in a new era of presidential politics. Mr. Trump will carry the stain of the verdict during his third run for the White House as voters now choose between an unpopular incumbent and a convicted criminal. While it was once unthinkable that Americans would elect a felon as their leader, Mr. Trump’s insurgent behavior delights his supporters as he bulldozes the country’s norms. Now, the man who refused to accept his 2020 election loss is already seeking to delegitimize his conviction, attempting to assert the primacy of his raw political power over the nation’s rule of law.

Persons: Donald J, Trump Organizations: White Locations: American, Manhattan —

☆ Live Updates: Jury to Consider Felony Charges Against Trump
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-29 | by ( Ben Protess | Jonah E. Bromwich | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +6 min

Mr. Bragg has accused Mr. Trump of concealing a federal campaign finance violation and a state election-law crime. The defense argued that Mr. Trump was a victim of extortion, led by Mr. Cohen. The defense’s main witness was a lawyer linked to Mr. Trump’s circle, Robert J. Costello, who in 2018 had acted as Mr. Cohen’s back channel to Mr. Trump’s legal team. The maximum sentenceThe charges against Mr. Trump are all Class E felonies, the lowest category of felonies in New York. But nothing in the law requires Justice Merchan to imprison Mr. Trump if he’s convicted by a jury.

Persons: Donald J, Trump, Stormy Daniels, Trump’s, Michael D, Cohen, Daniels, Alvin L, Bragg, Juan M, Karen McDougal, Playboy’s, ”, McDougal, Cohen’s, Hope Hicks, Mr, Robert J . Costello, Merchan, Justice Merchan Organizations: Prosecutors, The National Enquirer, Trump Tower, White, Trump, Defense, Mr Locations: New York City, Manhattan, Nevada, New York

☆ Jury Will Consider Felony Charges Against Trump on Wednesday
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-29 | by ( Ben Protess | Jonah E. Bromwich | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

Jurors in Donald J. Trump’s criminal trial will begin deliberations on Wednesday after hearing hours of closing arguments that portrayed the case in stark and irreconcilable terms. It could take hours, days or even weeks for the 12 New Yorkers to reach a verdict in the first criminal trial of an American president. And before they begin deliberating, the jurors will receive instructions from the judge on the relevant law. This last stage of the weekslong case comes a day after the jurors watched both sides deliver their final flurry of arguments. The woman, Stormy Daniels, kept quiet after Mr. Trump’s onetime fixer, Michael D. Cohen, bought her silence with a $130,000 hush-money deal.

Persons: Donald J, Joshua Steinglass, Trump, Stormy Daniels, Trump’s, Michael D, Cohen

Jurors in Donald J. Trump’s criminal trial will begin deliberations after hearing hours of closing arguments that portrayed the case in stark and irreconcilable terms. Credit... Adam Gray for The New York Times

Persons: Donald J, Adam Gray Organizations: The New York

☆ Defense Lawyers to Begin Closing Arguments in Trump’s Criminal Trial
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-28 | by ( Jonah E. Bromwich | Ben Protess | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Former President Donald J. Trump’s Manhattan criminal trial will enter its final stage Tuesday as defense lawyers and prosecutors deliver their closing arguments in a last attempt to sway the 12 New Yorkers who will decide his fate. First the defense and then the prosecution will spend hours weaving disparate strands of evidence into a cohesive story that they hope will resonate with the jurors. The undisputed facts concern that $130,000 transaction; Mr. Cohen paid the porn star, Stormy Daniels, to silence her story of a sexual encounter with Mr. Trump. Prosecutors have argued that Mr. Trump directed Mr. Cohen to pay Ms. Daniels and approved a criminal scheme to reimburse Mr. Cohen, disguising the repayments by saying that they were made for legal services that in fact were nonexistent. Their case is backed by the testimony of Mr. Cohen himself, as well as Ms. Daniels, several other witnesses and phone records, text messages and emails.

Persons: Donald J, Yorkers, Trump, Michael D, Cohen, Stormy Daniels, Daniels, Mr Organizations: Prosecutors

☆ Live Updates: Closing Arguments to Begin in Trump Criminal Trial
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-28 | by ( Jonah E. Bromwich | Ben Protess | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +15 min

The defense did not call Mr. Weisselberg either, nor did Mr. Trump take the stand in his own defense. And for weeks, Mr. Weisselberg’s absence has loomed large over Mr. Trump’s case, the first criminal trial of an American president. And when Mr. Trump was sworn in as president in 2017, he entrusted Mr. Weisselberg, along with Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump, with running his company. Mr. Trump, Mr. Cohen told the jury, “approved” of the arrangement and knew that they would falsify records to cover it up. Over the course of their decades together, Mr. Cohen knew, Mr. Trump and Mr. Weisselberg had become more or less symbiotic.

Persons: Donald J, Allen Weisselberg, Trump, Michael D, Cohen, Allen H, Weisselberg, Trump’s moneyman, Trump’s, lucre —, Eduardo Munoz, Stormy Daniels, Weisselberg’s, beholden, ” Emil Bove, Juan M, Justice Merchan, “, Evan Vucci, Fred Trump, Donald Trump, Donald Trump Jr, Eric Trump, ” Mr, ” “, Mr, Jefferson Siegel, —, Arthur F, Engoron, Justice Engoron, ”, ‘ Frick, Frack, Cohen’s, Daniels, Susan Hoffinger, Todd Blanche, Dave Sanders, Blanche, Kate Christobek Organizations: Prosecutors, New York Times, Trump, Mr, Reuters, Manhattan, Trump Organization, “ Trump, New, The New York Times, The Trump Organization, Credit, Frick Locations: Washington, New York, Trump, Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, York, tatters

For nearly three hours on Tuesday, Donald J. Trump’s lawyer did his level best to persuade the jury to acquit his client, wielding a scalpel to attack nearly every strand of the criminal case against the former president. Rather than using a fine blade, he swung a sledgehammer. The prosecutor, Joshua Steinglass, wove together witness testimony and documents to drive home the key points of the weekslong case, the first criminal trial of an American president. Facing the judge’s 8 p.m. deadline, Mr. Steinglass raced to the wire, stopping only to take a gulp of water as the sky darkened outside the towering courtroom windows. “Everything Mr. Trump and his cohorts did in this case was cloaked in lies,” Mr. Steinglass said as the jurors, who had been glued to most of his presentation, began to fidget in their seats.

Persons: Donald J, Trump, Joshua Steinglass, Steinglass, ” Mr

They met on the 26th floor of Trump Tower, Mr. Cohen says, and struck a $420,000 deal. Seven years later, Mr. Trump’s criminal trial in Manhattan hinges on that fleeting encounter, which is both critically important and completely in dispute. Mr. Cohen says he paid off a porn star at his boss’s behest, and in that meeting, he and Mr. Trump settled on a plan to repay him and conceal the reimbursement as legal expenses. But prosecutors say there was a third man in the room that day: Allen H. Weisselberg, Mr. Trump’s moneyman, the keeper of the balance sheet. Prosecutors never called Mr. Weisselberg to testify, because, although he knows the truth, he has not always told it.

Persons: Donald J, Trump, Michael D, Cohen, Allen H, Weisselberg, Trump’s moneyman Organizations: Prosecutors Locations: Washington, New York, Trump, Manhattan

But in the end, the 12 New Yorkers weighing the fate of Donald J. Trump did not see him testify. On Tuesday, the defense rested its case after Mr. Trump declined to take the stand at his own criminal trial, forfeiting his only opportunity to defend himself but also avoiding what could have been a calamitous error. Defendants rarely testify, but Mr. Trump stands apart as the only American president to ever face a criminal trial, a serial litigant who thinks of himself as his own best advocate. Mr. Trump, who is once again the presumptive Republican nominee, had said repeatedly that he wanted to testify. But on Tuesday morning, Mr. Trump said in front of television cameras in the courthouse hallway that his lawyers would rest without his taking the stand.

Persons: Donald J, Trump, Robert J . Costello, Michael D, Cohen Organizations: Yorkers, Republican

covers the Biden administration and national security. He has been a Times journalist for more than four decades and has written several books on challenges to American national security.

Persons: Biden

Once Mr. Trump was elected, he agreed to repay Mr. Cohen for the $130,000 hush-money deal and more. And at a meeting in Trump Tower just weeks before he was sworn in, Mr. Trump signed off on the fakery, Mr. Cohen recounted from the stand. “What, if anything, did Mr. Trump say at that time?” a prosecutor asked Mr. Cohen. There, he said, Mr. Trump’s chief financial officer, Allen Weisselberg, explained how Mr. Trump would reimburse Mr. Cohen for the payoff. To reach Mr. Trump, Mr. Cohen testified, he called the candidate’s bodyguard, Keith Schiller.

Persons: Donald J, Todd Blanche, Blanche, Michael D, Cohen, Trump, Trump’s, —, Alvin L, Bragg, Cohen —, Marc F, Scholl, ”, ” Mr, Stormy Daniels, Mr, “, Michael M, Joshua Steinglass, Juan M, Merchan —, “ Trump, David Pecker, Pecker, Hope Hicks, Penny, Daniels, Allen Weisselberg, Weisselberg, Susan Hoffinger, Cohen’s, Keith Schiller, Schiller, William K, Rashbaum Organizations: Trump, Mr, Trump “, New, National Enquirer, Playboy, fixer Locations: Manhattan, New York

☆ Cohen Endures Cross-Examination Under the Eyes of Trump’s Entourage
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-20 | by ( Ben Protess | Jonah E. Bromwich | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

The star witness against Donald J. Trump took the stand on Monday for a fourth and final day at the former president’s criminal trial in Manhattan, fending off a fusillade of attacks from defense lawyers and acknowledging that he once stole from Mr. Trump’s company. The witness — Michael D. Cohen, Mr. Trump’s onetime personal lawyer and longtime henchman — capped the case for the prosecution, which rested once he left the stand. Over his week of testimony, Mr. Cohen was the only person to offer firsthand evidence directly linking Mr. Trump to the falsified records that underpin the charges against him. Mr. Trump, he said, approved a plan to fake the records to cover up a sex scandal involving a porn star.

Persons: Donald J, Trump, — Michael D, Cohen, Trump’s, — Locations: Manhattan

☆ Prosecutors Poised to Conclude Trump Case as Trial Enters Final Days
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-20 | by ( Jonah E. Bromwich | Ben Protess | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Donald J. Trump’s Manhattan criminal trial will enter its final phase on Monday with the prosecution poised to complete its case and the defense considering whether to call witnesses of its own. The witness, Michael D. Cohen, has already testified over the course of three days, telling jurors that in 2015 he entered a conspiracy to suppress information damaging to the presidential campaign of his then-boss, Mr. Trump. Mr. Cohen, who was Mr. Trump’s personal lawyer and fixer, suppressed one of those stories himself, paying $130,000 to a porn star, Stormy Daniels, just weeks before the election to bury her story of having had sex with Mr. Trump. After the election, Mr. Cohen testified, the president-elect approved a plan to reimburse him for the payment, knowing that the reimbursements would be classified as ordinary legal expenses. The Manhattan district attorney’s office has charged Mr. Trump with 34 felonies, arguing that what Mr. Cohen described was a crime: the falsification of business records.

Persons: Donald J, Michael D, Cohen, Trump, Stormy Daniels Locations: Manhattan

☆ As Trump Trial Nears Its End, the Law May Give Prosecutors an Edge
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-19 | by ( Ben Protess | Jonah E. Bromwich | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Over the course of his monthlong criminal trial, the evidence against Donald J. Trump has piled up. And a parade of 18 witnesses who together told a compelling story: that Mr. Trump orchestrated a conspiracy to suppress sex scandals during the 2016 election, and after winning, sought to bury a porn star’s story for good. But the 19th and final witness of their case — the only one to directly link Mr. Trump to the 34 business records he is charged with falsifying — is Michael D. Cohen. Though Mr. Cohen got off to a strong start, Mr. Trump’s lawyer eventually hammered his credibility, highlighting his criminal record and painting him as a serial liar bent on taking down the former president. Between the reams of circumstantial evidence and some very favorable laws underpinning the charges, the Manhattan district attorney, Alvin L. Bragg, has retained inherent advantages.

Persons: Donald J, Trump, Michael D, Cohen, Trump’s, —, Alvin L, Bragg Organizations: Trump Locations: Manhattan

A state ethics panel quietly dismissed a complaint last summer against the New York judge presiding over the criminal trial of Donald J. Trump, issuing a warning over small donations the judge had made to groups supporting Democrats, including the campaign of Joseph R. Biden. The judge, Juan M. Merchan, donated a total of $35 to the groups in 2020, including a $15 donation earmarked for the Biden campaign, and $10 to a group called “Stop Republicans.”Political contributions of any kind are prohibited under state judicial ethics rules. “Justice Merchan said the complaint, from more than a year ago, was dismissed in July with a caution,” the spokesman for the court system, Al Baker, said in a statement. A caution does not include any penalty, but it can be considered in any future cases reviewed by the state’s Commission on Judicial Conduct. A letter outlining the caution was not released because of the commission’s rules, and Justice Merchan did not make the letter available.

Persons: Donald J, Joseph R, Biden, Juan M, ”, Merchan, Al Baker Organizations: New, Trump, Republicans, state’s, Judicial Locations: New York

Donald J. Trump’s criminal trial entered a critical and combative phase on Thursday as his lawyer grilled the prosecution’s star witness, Michael D. Cohen, about a medley of misrepresentations, manipulations and outright lies. Trying to destroy Mr. Cohen’s credibility with the jury, the lawyer, Todd Blanche, portrayed him as an unrepentant criminal and a serial deceiver who took the stand only to exact revenge on Mr. Trump. “There’s no doubt that you know what perjury means, correct?” Mr. Blanche asked Mr. Cohen. During the 2016 presidential campaign, he made a $130,000 payment to a porn star to suppress her account of a sexual liaison with Mr. Trump, who later reimbursed Mr. Cohen from the White House. Prosecutors accused Mr. Trump, who denies the sex, of falsifying related records so he could cover up the scandal for good.

Persons: Donald J, Michael D, Cohen, Todd Blanche, Trump, Mr, Trump’s, “, Blanche, Cohen’s Organizations: Mr

Little more than two weeks into Donald J. Trump’s presidency, he and his personal lawyer met in the Oval Office for a private conversation about money. “He asked me if I needed money,” Mr. Cohen added, and volunteered that a check would be forthcoming. When monthly checks started arriving — most bearing Mr. Trump’s signature — they disguised the nature of the payments, Mr. Cohen testified. The stubs described the checks as part of a legal “retainer” agreement, but they were in fact reimbursements for hush money that Mr. Cohen had paid to silence a porn star’s story of sex with Mr. Trump. Mr. Cohen said that Mr. Trump was present when a plan to fictionalize the records was cooked up weeks earlier in New York.

Persons: Donald J, Trump’s, “, President Trump, Michael D, Cohen, ” Mr, Trump Locations: New York

☆ Cohen Pleaded Guilty to Federal Crimes Tied to Trump Before Testifying
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-13 | by ( Ben Protess | More About Ben Protess | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

He also pleaded guilty to personal financial crimes unrelated to Mr. Trump, including tax evasion. Three months later, Mr. Cohen was back in federal court to plead guilty once again. That time, he accepted responsibility for lying to Congress about plans to build a Trump Tower in Moscow, saying he did so out of loyalty to Mr. Trump. His loyalty faded in 2018 as the authorities closed in on Mr. Cohen, and Mr. Trump shunned him. Mr. Cohen is now the star witness in Mr. Trump’s criminal trial in Manhattan, which centers on a hush-money deal.

Persons: Michael D, Cohen’s, Cohen, Donald J, Trump, Mr Organizations: Trump, Mr Locations: Moscow, Manhattan, Otisville, New York City

☆ Trump vs. His Nemesis: Michael Cohen to Take the Stand Monday
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-13 | by ( Jonah E. Bromwich | Ben Protess | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

And on Monday, as Donald J. Trump’s criminal trial enters its fifth week, they will finally meet him: Michael D. Cohen, Mr. Trump’s former fixer and the prosecutions’s star witness. Mr. Cohen, once Mr. Trump’s loyal attack dog and now his dedicated antagonist, will take the stand in the first criminal trial of an American president. He is expected to testify that he did so at Mr. Trump’s direction. He is also likely to say that, once Mr. Trump was in the White House, the president reimbursed him after the two met in the Oval Office in February 2017. And he will almost certainly confirm the crux of the prosecution’s case: that Mr. Trump orchestrated a plan to falsify records that disguised the reimbursement as ordinary legal expenses.

Persons: Donald J, Michael D, Cohen, Trump’s, Trump

☆ Live Updates: Michael Cohen, Trump’s Ex-Fixer and His Nemesis, to Testify at His Trial
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-13 | by ( Jonah E. Bromwich | Ben Protess | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +18 min

This week, however, Mr. Cohen is poised to unfix Mr. Trump’s life. And, on occasion, Mr. Cohen has said, Mr. Trump put Mr. Cohen on the phone with his wife, Melania, to reassure her that he hadn’t been unfaithful. Mr. Cohen was no longer a Trump Organization employee, and Mr. Trump had excluded him from a job in Washington. When one of Mr. Trump’s friends asked Mr. Trump why he kept Mr. Cohen so close, Mr. Trump replied, “He has his purpose.”Image In 2016, Mr. Cohen campaigned for Mr. Trump, but he did not get a job in the administration. At that meeting, Mr. Cohen has said, he and Mr. Trump confirmed their plan to falsify the records.

Persons: Michael D, Cohen, Donald J, Trump, litigators, Cohen’s, Trump’s, Stormy Daniels, Mr, lackey, ”, Jim Cole, —, Donny Deutsch, ” Mr, Deutsch, “ Donald, Trump’s “, “, ” ‘, T.J . Kirkpatrick, ” Jeffrey McConney, dryly, Roy M, Cohn, Joseph McCarthy, Rosie O’Donnell, John Taggart, Barron, Donald Trump Jr, hadn’t, Black, Karen McDougal, Daniels, Jonathan Ernst, Cohen puttered, Lanny J, Davis, doesn’t revel, Omarosa Manigault Newman, Michael, Jim Lo Scalzo, You’re, ’, Alina Habba, perjured, isn’t, Habba, Ms, “ You’re, Hope Hicks, scoffed, “ Michael Cohen Organizations: York, Prosecutors, Mr, Trump, Associated, The New York Times, Trump Organization, CNBC, Communist, National Enquirer, Playboy, Credit, Nike, “ Fox & Friends, Democratic, Federal Bureau of Prisons, White, New Locations: Manhattan, New York, Long, Trump’s New York, Trump, Miami, Moscow, Iowa, Washington, Otisville

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