Fraud trial resumes

Cohen back on the stand as fraud trial resumes

From CNN's Jeremy Herb

Michael Cohen, Donald Trump’s former lawyer and fixer, is back on the stand in the former president’s New York civil fraud trial Wednesday morning.

Trump is also back in the courtroom, sitting at the defendant’s table just feet from Cohen.

During his testimony on Tuesday, Cohen implicated his former boss, describing how he manipulated Trump’s financial statements under instruction from Trump -- “reverse-engineering” them to hit an arbitrary net worth.

But Cohen got into testy exchanges with Trump lawyer Alina Habba once she began her cross-examination late in the day Tuesday – objecting to several of her questions as Habba walked Cohen through his 2018 federal charges and the loss of his law license. It’s a dynamic that could continue to play out Wednesday as Habba is likely to address Cohen’s testimony about Trump’s financial statements under questioning from the New York attorney general’s office.

Cohen is a key witness for New York attorney general Letitia James in her civil case against Trump and his business. The New York attorney general is seeking $250 million in damages and to bar Trump from doing business in New York.