Cross-examination of #MichaelCohen resumes, an opportunity for the defense to poke holes in his testimony & perhaps trip up or provoke the state’s key witness. The questioning of Cohen, #Trump’s fmr fixer, is the beginning of the end of Trump’s #criminal trial, which began April 15 & might conclude before Memorial Day weekend at this pace.
#Blanche notes that #MichaelCohen said under oath that he accepted responsibility & then later undermined that outside of court. (Something #Trump constantly does)
A similar tack tripped Cohen up when he was questioned about his federal guilty pleas at Trump’s #civil#fraud trial. He was led into saying he had lied about one of the pleas itself. But earlier in the trial he clarified that he thought he had not been charged,but was not objecting to the underlying facts
#Blanche is using #MichaelCohen’s claims of widespread corruption — in which Cohen has accused not just Manhattan federal prosecutors but the judge in his case of being out to get him — against him. He is also using his previous testimony that he didn’t commit the #crimes to which he pleaded against him.
Blanche finally arrives at the moment that prosecutors sought to prep the jury for: That Cohen said under oath at #Trump's civil #fraud trial he had lied to a federal judge.
#Trump has his posse again. Today it’s more #Republican elected officials. Today, Trump will be joined by the #House speaker, #MikeJohnson, as well as #NorthDakota’s governor, #DougBurgum, a contender to be Trump's running mate. Also present will be Representatives #ByronDonalds & #CoryMills of Florida, & #VivekRamaswamy, who was one of Trump's primary rivals this year. Both Donalds & Ramaswamy are longshot hopefuls to be Trump's running mate.
In 2023, during #MichaelCohen’s testimony at #Trump’s #civil#fraud trial, the defense was able to trip him up while asking him about one of his federal guilty pleas. There, he seemed to suggest that he wasn’t actually #guilty of one of the #crimes he had pleaded guilty to. Ever since, Trump’s lawyers have accused him of perjury.
#MichaelCohen is still calm, but focused, & turning around #Blanche’s questions wherever possible. He’s not being defiant, as he was during his shaky cross-examination in #Trump's #civil#fraud trial. Some of his answers, perhaps unintentionally, are funny, which could be taking the sting out of some of Blanche’s insinuations. The jurors look amused. One is smiling.
#Trump May Owe $100 Million From #DoubleDip Tax Breaks, Audit Shows
A previously unknown focus of an #IRS audit is a dubious accounting maneuver that effectively meant taking the same write-offs twice on his #Chicago skyscraper.
The first write-off came on Trump’s #tax return for 2008. With sales lagging far behind projections, he claimed that his investment in the condo-hotel tower met the tax code definition of “worthless,” because his #debt on the project meant he would never see a profit. That move resulted in #Trump reporting losses as high as $651 million for the year, The Times & ProPublica found.
…The outcome of #Trump’s dispute could set a precedent for #wealthy people seeking #tax benefits from the laws governing partnerships. Those #laws are notoriously complex, riddled with uncertainty & under constant assault by lawyers pushing boundaries for their clients. The #IRS has inadvertently further invited aggressive positions by rarely auditing partnership tax returns.
Beyond the 2 episodes under audit, reporting by The NYTimes in recent years has found that, across his business career, #Trump has often used what experts described as highly aggressive — & at times, legally suspect — accounting maneuvers to avoid paying #taxes. To the 6 #tax experts consulted for this article, Trump’s #Chicago accounting maneuvers appeared to be questionable & unlikely to withstand scrutiny.
#MichaelCohen is called. Susan #Hoffinger, the head of investigations at the Manhattan DA's office, will handle the questioning for the prosecution. She was in the courtroom when Cohen testified in #Trump’s #civil#fraud trial — he did well during direct examination but not-so-much during cross.
Hoffinger starts by asking Cohen about his background, & he says he’s a descendant of Holocaust survivors. He “really didn’t want to be a lawyer,” but that his family is filled w/them.
I just got emails that sure looked like official messages from my bank saying I'd added a Zelle recipient and sent him a bunch of money.
Of course I didn't click on any of the links; I just went to my bank's website and checked my accounts, and everything is fine. Also: The Zelle messages referenced an account ending in four digits which match none of my bank accounts.
So a warning that fake messages like this are circulating.
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.
How does this dude not get punched in the face every time he steps out of his house? He's claiming that "lots" of #undocumentedImmigrants are #voting in #federalElections, despite the fact that it's already illegal for them to vote. And his evidence for this massive #fraud is that there's no evidence. If you or I said something like this at work we'd be fired for incompetence.
The decision to hear the appeal reopens the possibility that#FaniWillis, the Fulton County district attorney, could be disqualified from prosecuting Trump & 14 #CoConspirators over efforts to overturn the 2020 election.
At issue is a romantic relationship she had w/ #NathanWade, a lawyer she hired to handle the prosecution of #Trump. Defense lawyers argued that the relationship amounted to an untenable conflict of interest, & that DA #FaniWillis & her entire office should be removed from the case.