Finishes testimony

Michael Cohen finishes testimony and defense calls first witnesses. Catch up on a dramatic day in court

From CNN's Elise Hammond

The prosecution rested its case in the hush money trial against Donald Trump on Monday.

The day started with Trump’s former lawyer and fixer, Michael Cohen, back on the stand as the defense finished its cross-examination and the prosecution worked to patch up doubts on redirect. Cohen admitted to stealing from the Trump Organization and was grilled about his financial interest in the trial.

The defense then called its first witness, Daniel Sitko, a paralegal for defense attorney Todd Blanche, to submit a phone chart into evidence. The calls in the chart were between Cohen and his former legal adviser, Bob Costello.

Costello was then called to the stand as the defense’s second witness.

Here’s a recap of what happened in court today:

Michael Cohen:

• October call: Cohen maintained that he only spoke to Trump on the phone on an October 26 call about the hush money payment to Stormy Daniels. Cohen said he remembers it “because it was important to me.” Last week, Trump Attorney Todd Blanche confronted Cohen with text messages he sent to Keith Schiller two days before on October 24 – whom Cohen had said put Trump on the phone – which were unrelated to the Daniels payment.
• On re-direct: Prosecutor Susan Hoffinger asked Cohen if it was possible that he spoke to Trump about the Daniels payment and brought up other topics in October 2016. Cohen confirmed it was possible.
• Stealing from the Trump Organization: The payments at the center of the case concern the $420,000 Trump paid Cohen throughout 2017. Documents show some of that money was to reimburse Cohen for unrelated tech services to a company called Red Finch. Cohen testified Monday he only paid back Red Finch $20,000 and kept the rest for himself. “So, you stole from the Trump Organization,” Blanche said. Cohen answered, “Yes sir.”
• On re-direct: He said he took part of the money intended for Red Finch because "it was almost like self-help." Cohen confirmed that he did not have a retainer agreement and the $420,000 did not have anything to do with any legal work.
• Other money-making opportunities: Cohen said he made $4 million in 2017 from six other consulting clients that he did “not specifically tell” Trump about. He said he was Trump’s personal attorney at that time. Cohen also said he made about $4.4 million from podcasts and books since 2020. He also testified that he has a “financial interest” in the outcome of the case but that he will talk about whether Trump is convicted or not.
• After the Daniels payment: When the payment to Daniels became public, Cohen testified that he told multiple people and reporters that Trump knew nothing about it. Cohen has been testifying that Trump knew about the payment and that he kept his boss updated.
• On re-direct: Cohen testified that a 2018 letter to the Federal Election Commission (FEC) and a 2018 public statement were misleading because they left out Trump personally. Cohen said Trump approved the substance of the false statements. He also told prosecutors that he would not have paid Daniels if Trump had not signed off.
• Cohen and Costello: Blanche pressed Cohen on his relationship with Bob Costello, trying to argue that Cohen was working with him more than he was letting on. After Cohen was raided by the FBI, he testified Costello wanted him to speak to Rudy Giuliani. He had testified during the prosecution’s direct questioning that Costello offered him back-channel communication to Trump through Giuliani. On cross-examination, Blanche pointed out that it was Cohen who was asking Costello to go to Giuliani for information.

Bob Costello called for the defense:

• Costello testified that Cohen told him “numerous times” that Trump did not know anything about the payment to Daniels. When Costello told Cohen that his legal issues would be resolved if he gave “truthful information” to prosecutors, Cohen told Costello that he didn’t “have anything on Donald Trump.”
• About 14 minutes into defense attorney Emil Bove’s questioning of Costello, Judge Juan Merchan cleared the courtroom over “proper decorum.” Costello could be overheard making comments while attorneys were at a sidebar and over objections and glaring and rolling his eyes at the judge.
• When questioning resumed, Costello said he gave Cohen legal advice during a 96-minute phone call after the raid. He denied putting pressure on Cohen to “do anything” and said he considered Cohen is client.
• During the prosecution’s cross-examination, Costello pushed back on the notion that Costello was excited about potentially representing Cohen. Prosecutor Susan Hoffinger asked Costello if he thought Cohen was being a “drama queen” during their meeting. Costello testified that Cohen was “putting on quite a show.”

What happens next: The prosecution will continue its cross-examination of Costello on Tuesday. Hoffinger said she has up to 45 minutes left of questioning and then the defense will have the opportunity to conduct re-direct. Bove said the defense doesn’t expect to call any more witnesses, which suggests at this point Trump will not testify in his own defense. Merchan said he expects closing arguments will be next Tuesday.