Michael Cohen Finishes Testimony & Prosecution Rests Its Case In Trump Hush Money Trial — Update

deadline.com:

UPDATE: Prosecutors have rested their case in the Trump hush money trial in New York after its star witness, Michael Cohen, ended his testimony.

The defense called its first witness, Daniel Sitko, a paralegal in the firm of Todd Blanche’s Trump’s lead lawyer. Still unclear is whether Trump himself will testify, but Blanche has indicated that the defense’s case will be short. PREVIOUSLY: Michael Cohen finished three days of cross-examination today in the hush money trial of his former boss, Donald Trump, facing another barrage of questions from defense lawyer Todd Blanche about his credibility as the Manhattan District Attorney’s star witness.  RELATED: ‘The Apprentice’ Cannes Film Festival Premiere Photos: Sebastian Stan, Ali Abbasi, Maria Bakalova & More Cohen admitted for a second time on the stand that he stole $30,000 from the Trump Organization by overcharging for expenses.

He also said that after news broke in 2018 that he had paid $130,000 to porn star Stormy Daniels for her silence about a claim of a sexual liaison with Trump, he told several people in confidence that Trump knew nothing about the payment.  “It would have been what I would have said at that time,” Cohen told defense lawyer Todd Blanche  At one point Cohen was asked by Blanche if he ever filed taxes for the $420,000 that Trump paid him, allegedly as reimbursement for $130,000 in hush money.

The reimbursement is the centerpiece of the DA’s case against Trump, because Cohen testified its purpose was to cover up the hush money payment in a phony legal retainer agreement using falsified business records.