A fmr White House aide who worked closely w/ #Trump returned to the stand to testify about a significant meeting between Trump & #MichaelCohen his personal lawyer that is at the center of Trump’s #criminal trial.
#Westerhout, described on Thurs setting up an #OvalOffice meeting in Feb 2017 between #Trump & his fixer, #MichaelCohen, where prosecutors say they discussed a #HushMoney payment to #StormyDaniels, a porn star who said she had sex w/ Trump in 2006 at a hotel in Lake Tahoe, NV. Cohen paid her $130k to stay silent about the liaison in the days before the 2016 presidential #election, & falsified business records to further hide it.
#Westerhout who worked for #Trump in the #WhiteHouse is back on the stand. Trump atty #Necheles —whose day ended yesterday w/the judge harshly criticizing her, saying she did not object as she should have to some of #StormyDaniels’s testimony— is back questioning this witness.
The prosecutors called Westerhout to testify about Trump’s behavior once in the WH, specifically whether he met w/ #MichaelCohen & how he dealt w/checks.
Defense lawyers have sought to use #Westerhout's testimony for their purposes, asking her about her experience during the 2016 campaign. She didn’t testify about that period for the prosecution much — but the defense clearly thinks her knowledge of the campaign could be helpful.
#Trump atty #Necheles is seeking to use Westerhout's testimony to suggest that Trump & #AllenWeisselberg may not have spoken much in 2017, when the alleged falsification of business records occurred.
#Trump’s vanity & actual (despite his “enemy of the people” propaganda) affection for the #NewYorkTimes front page is front & center as the defense displayed a photo depicting then-President Trump saluting on a tarmac — though the article it accompanied is not flattering — the headline: “#Tax Plan Sows Confusion As #Border Tensions Soar.”
Nonetheless, #Westerhout testifies that Trump sent copies of it to many people, indicating he liked the photo (& probably didn’t read it)
While #Westerhout is testifying about Trump’s travel schedule, #Trump has been glancing down to read his printed puff pieces.
Part of the reason aides supply Trump w/these articles during trials — & they did it at his civil fraud trial last year as well — is to keep him occupied during the proeedings.
#Necheles is now again trying to suggest there were things happening in the chain of custody of mail sent to Trump that would have been out of Westerhout’s view.
The defense lawyer #Necheles is steering the witness, #Westerhout, toward describing the mailing arrangement for #Trump in the WH as a system that was set up merely to get mail to him quickly. She is seeking to suggest that there was nothing nefarious about it.
Necheles asks whether there was a similar set-up in previous presidential admins as well. Westerhout says that she doesn’t have personal knowledge about this but adds: “I can’t imagine it would have been any different.”
#Necheles is now taking up a second, familiar defense line, asking #Westerhout to describe #Trump as a multi-tasker who did not pay close attn while signing checks.
Overall, Necheles is seeking to cast doubt on the narrative the prosecution sought to establish yesterday: That Trump kept a close eye on private financial matters even while at the WH, & — in an unusual move — kept the checks out of the normal flow of WH mail by sending them to underlings.
#Westerhout testifies #Trump would sign checks while on the phone or in meetings.
#Necheles gets Westerhout to say that Trump felt strongly that he needed to get back to people quickly & was frustrated w/the slow pace of the mail in the WH. He found it disrespectful to friends who were trying to reach him — implying that the workaround to the WH’s mail — used for #HushMoney reimbursement — was not designed to conceal illegality, but bc he wanted to promptly responding to mail.
Importantly, #Necheles’s is again not addressing the #criminal charges #Trump faces — the fact that there was a system in place that maybe was about getting Trump his mail promptly — or suggesting that #Westerhout couldn’t see everything he was doing, or all the places checks/mail may have gotten to — all of it, unrelated to the actual charges.
While they only may suggest that there could be some alternate explanation for events, they never say what that explanation is.
Trump atty #Necheles turned to the subject of #StormyDaniels. #Westerhout testifies that the “whole situation” w/Daniels was “very unpleasant.”
But she does not seem to go where Necheles was hoping she would. Necheles asked if #Trump brought up his family in relation to Daniels's claims, but Westerhout said that he did not.
This is important because defense is seeking to suggest that Trump was motivated to pay #HushMoney because of concerns about his family, not the election.
#Mangold, the prosecutor, questions #Westerhout again during re-direct, & suggests that her actual knowledge about the reaction to the #AccessHollywood tape was nonexistent because she wasn't working for #Trump at the time.
👀🚨 Westerhout admits that she spoke to the defense lawyer #Necheles 2 nights ago. Another indication that she is trying to be a helpful witness to the defense.
Briefly, as she concluded re-direct, #Mangold sought to show the #jury that #Westerhout was a #Republican loyalist, noting that her current boss, too, is a veteran of the #Trump admin.
Westerhout finished testifying.
The next witness, #DanielDixon, is from #Florida. He will be questioned by the prosecutor #ChrisConroy. Dixon testifies that he is an #ATT employee, & that he is a lead compliance analyst at the company. He’s done that work for 6-7 yrs.
The prosecution asks that the defense be precluded from asking #StormyDaniels whether she was arrested. Justice #Merchan agrees w/the prosecutors, saying that “anybody can be arrested” & that it “doesn’t prove anything.”
The people call Stormy Daniels back to the stand
#Trump atty #Necheles begins questioning by saying that in 2011, Daniels denied having had sex w/Trump.
Rebecca #Mangold, the prosecutor, asks #Westerhout whether she had a nickname in the press, & Westerhout says that she was known as "the greeter girl."
Westerhout acknowledges she knew #MichaelCohen, who paid #HushMoney to #StormyDaniels. She talks about when she began to work in the #WhiteHouse. She says her boss asked her if she had any interest "in sitting outside the #OvalOffice." Westerhout says she responded: "Yes, I do, that sounds like it would be a very cool job."
The prosecution has established that in 2017 Madeleine #Westerhout was part of #Trump's very small inner circle.
Westerhout has turned to describing Trump's work habits. Rebecca #Mangold, the prosecutor, asks if she developed an understanding of his preferences & Westerhout responds, "I hope so."
She then says that he preferred to either speak w/people on the phone or meet w/them in person.
Expect her to testify that one person she saw him meet w/in person was #MichaelCohen. If she testifies as prosecutors are hoping, she will say that happened in Feb 2017.
#Trump smiles & nods when #Westerhout says he took "a lot" of calls during the day & late into the night.
Trump has always seen his extensive phone chats as evidence he's a hard worker. (Cuz it’s the only evidence)
#Westerhout explains how #Trump started working in a small dining room off the Oval Office, where he had any number of people visit him over the yrs.
The morning's testimony was from a porn star who spoke about having had sex w/Trump, & the lead-up to the encounter. This is a dry description of the Oval Office & Trump's work habits — it is another example of how Trump has a public persona he presents as a leader, & a seamier one focused on gossip & women.
Since #Westerhout resigned from the WH, she has talked about how warmly she feels towards #Trump, especially in her book. Trump has praised Westerhout & her book - signaling no bad blood.
Westerhout testifies about frequent interactions w/the #TrumpOrganization. She says she would pass their questions to Trump — who said he’d cut off his relationship w/his business.
Info traveled thru Westerhout & on the other side #RhonaGraff, his asst at the company, who already testified.
#Westerhout testified that #Trump would dictate tweets to her & would sometimes ask to review her work & make changes. She recalls that he liked to capitalize certain words like "country," use exclamation points & was a fan of the Oxford comma.
Westerhout is talking about Trump wanting "the girls" to put together a list of people he normally spoke to. "The girls" were the assistants who worked under Graff at TrumpOrg, apparently Trump & his underlings- called them that for yrs.
The prosecutor asks #Westerhout: "Was it your understanding that Mr. Trump & Mr. Cohen had a close relationship in 2017?"
Westerhout: “At that time, yes." She's now reading an email between herself & #MichaelCohen in which she's asking for his info in order to have him cleared to enter the #WhiteHouse. "Mr. Cohen was coming in to meet with the president," she adds.
A different email is presented from #Westerhout to #RhonaGraff, saying that #Trump - who often calls the media “the enemy of the people" - proudly sent a NYT photo of himself boarding Air Force One for the first time to his family & wanted Weisselberg to see it.
In addition to corroborating a lot of other testimony, Westerhout links that testimony to what she saw Trump do while he was in the WH. Stapled packets of checks & invoices were sent to the WH to sign.
#Westerhout testifies that she sometimes saw #Trump sign checks in his office, & that he signed them individually by hand.
Rhona Graff, Trump's fmr TrumpOrg asst, asked whether he wanted to suspend a golf club membership or pay his dues, which totaled ~$6k. Westerhout says she passed this question along to him in a stack of checks he was given. Trump responded himself, by hand, asking that Graff pay the membership. Trump —while president— did not ignore ANYTHING to do w/money.
#Westerhout is testifying about how important #Trump's wife, #Melania, is to him, echoing #HopeHicks as she says they had a relationship of "mutual respect" & Trump cared a lot about his wife's opinion. "There was really no one else who could put him in his place," she laughs, addressing the jury directly. "He was my boss but she was definitely the one in charge."
Then Westerhout starts to cry as she recounts her experience of being forced out of the WH for being indiscreet.
#Westerhout is the 2nd fmr Trump aide to cry during this trial. 🥱 The first was #HopeHicks, whose desk was right near Westerhout's outside the Oval Office.
The DA is using people who were very close to Trump in order to build their case that he committed #crimes. Both Westerhout & Hicks were witnesses sympathetic to Trump but still delivered damaging testimony against him.
Westerhout has made it very clear how much she cares about & respects Trump. 🙄
#Westerhout’s testimony - including about the email scheduling the meeting w/ #MichaelCohen & #Trump's close attention to his finances while in the White House are very bad for her fmr boss.
Prosecution is done.
Trump lawyer, #Necheles cross-examines Westerhout, she brings up the fact that Trump wasn't Westerhout’s preferred candidate when he was elected president.
Many people have described her as crying on election night.
The defense is asking for a mistrial & that #Trump be allowed to respond in public (not court) to #StormyDaniels's testimony. To be clear. Trump is asking the court to lift the #legal restrictions of the #GagOrder, so he can publicly attack a witness’s testimony.