NEW YORK — The star witness against former President Donald Trump, Michael Cohen, admitted Monday that he stole $30,000 from the Trump Organization, further damaging his credibility.
Mr. Cohen, a former Trump attorney and now his chief antagonist, said he pocketed $30,000 of a $50,000 payment to Red Finch, a technology company that did work for Mr. Trump and his company.
Mr. Cohen said he handed over only $20,000 cash in a paper bag to Red Finch.
“So you stole from the Trump Organization?” Trump attorney Todd Blanche asked.
“Yes, sir,” Mr. Cohen said.
He explained that he stole the money because he was upset that his annual bonus was cut after he fronted $130,000 to buy adult film actress Stormy Daniels’ silence about an alleged sex romp with Mr. Trump.
SEE ALSO: Trump team hits Michael Cohen as having selective memory of 2016
Later, Mr. Blanche argued for the judge to grant an “early dismissal” of the charges. He said the prosecution failed to make its case and their star witness is unreliable. The prosecution said there is ample evidence of Mr. Trump’s guilt.
State Supreme Court Judge Juan Merchan said he would rule on the motion for a directed verdict later.
After court action ended for the day, Mr. Trump told reporters outside the courthouse that the hush money trial was a “witch hunt.”
“This case should be dropped by the judge,” he said. “I think the judge, if he did that, would gain the respect back.”
Prosecutors spent much of the day trying to restore Mr. Cohen’s credibility after the bombshell admission about the money and earlier issues in Mr. Cohen’s testimony about phone calls with Mr. Trump.
Prosecutors rested their case after Mr. Cohen stepped down from the witness stand Monday afternoon.
Their case hinges on whether Mr. Trump was actively involved in the Daniels payment to avoid bad press before the 2016 election and whether he took part in an alleged scheme to conceal the money through reimbursements to Mr. Cohen.
Mr. Cohen said there is “no doubt” Mr. Trump was an active participant. He said they spoke about Ms. Daniels more than 20 times in October 2016 alone.
Yet, in a marathon cross-examination, the defense cast Mr. Cohen as someone who profited from Mr. Trump’s legal misery, lied freely and was busy with other matters at the time he claimed to be coordinating the Daniels payoff with Mr. Trump.
The stolen money was part of a larger tranche that Mr. Cohen received in 2017 and forms the backbone of the case against Mr. Trump.
“Did you ever pay back the Trump Organization for the money you stole from them?” Mr. Blanche asked.
“No, sir,” Mr. Cohen said.
Prosecutors, hoping to restore Mr. Cohen’s image for the jury, focused on the most critical part of his allegations.
“Were you too busy to get approval [from Mr. Trump] to finalize that payoff?” prosecutor Susan Hoffinger asked on redirect.
“No, ma’am,” Mr. Cohen said.
The defense is not expected to call many witnesses, and there is no indication Mr. Trump will take the stand. Closing arguments will not be held until the Tuesday after Memorial Day.
Judge Merchan said he didn’t want a major holiday gap between summations and jury instructions and the start of deliberations.
The defense called Robert Costello, a lawyer who advised Mr. Cohen in 2018 after the FBI raided his apartment and hotel room. He said the feds were really after Mr. Trump and he told Mr. Cohen that he could get off scot-free by cooperating.
“I swear to God, Bob, I don’t have anything on Donald Trump,” Mr. Costello recalled Mr. Cohen saying repeatedly during a “manic” meeting at the Regency Hotel in Manhattan.
Mr. Costello had been testifying for only minutes when he said “Jeez” and “Strike it” over one of Judge Merchan’s rulings to an objection.
Judge Merchan excused the jury and scolded Mr. Costello.
“Are you staring me down?” the judge asked. “Clear the courtroom!”
The kerfuffle created confusion as officers cleared reporters and others out of the courtroom. Mr. Costello seemed more subdued when the gallery audience returned and court resumed.
Mr. Cohen testified earlier that he did not trust Mr. Costello when they talked in 2018 and was worried that he served as a back channel, through former New York City Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani, to Mr. Trump.
Mr. Costello, who testified before a House committee last week, could undercut the prosecution’s claim that Mr. Trump was an active participant in the Daniels payment scheme.
Prosecutors allege Mr. Trump concealed the payments through nearly a dozen reimbursement checks in 2017.
Whether the jury believes Mr. Cohen could determine whether Mr. Trump, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, is convicted on 34 counts of falsifying business records.
Mr. Blanche said Mr. Cohen was helping Mr. Trump’s daughter Tiffany avoid a blackmail threat in October 2016. The fixer was also trying to shore up endorsements for Mr. Trump and focused on personal business deals tied to property and taxi medallion interests.
Pressed on why Mr. Cohen would have remembered phone calls about Ms. Daniels on those busy days, Mr. Cohen said: “Because they were important to me.”
Last week, Mr. Blanche called into question whether a key phone call between Mr. Trump and Mr. Cohen focused on Ms. Daniels, as the star witness claimed, or centered on a complaint Mr. Cohen had about a young prank caller.
It was a pivotal moment in the cross-examination, as the defense suggests Mr. Cohen fabricated details to try to convict Mr. Trump.
Tensions rose as both sides warred over the final pieces of evidence in the case.
At one point, prosecutors said they needed to fly a C-SPAN archivist back to New York to lay the groundwork for a photo of Mr. Trump with his bodyguard Keith Schiller in October 2016.
They want jurors to believe Mr. Cohen’s testimony that he spoke to Mr. Schiller about the prankster before seeking Mr. Trump’s approval for the Daniels payment. The parties found a workaround to submit the photo while Mr. Cohen was on the stand.
The defense alleges Mr. Cohen paid Ms. Daniels on his own and said as much to people during the Trump presidency, though Mr. Cohen now insists he was protecting Mr. Trump at the time.
Attorneys also insist Mr. Trump thought he was paying legal expenses to Mr. Cohen in 2017, not conducting a cover-up.
Mr. Blanche questioned whether Mr. Cohen continued to seek publicity from serving as Mr. Trump’s chief enemy, pointing to his moneymaking books, podcast and a possible TV show called “The Fixer.”
Mr. Cohen said the show started filming but hasn’t been picked up.
Mr. Trump looked straight ahead and crossed his arms at times during Mr. Cohen’s testimony. The witness spoke calmly and tended to ponder things before answering Mr. Blanche’s rapid-fire questions.
Several House Republican lawmakers attended court in support of Mr. Trump alongside lawyer Alan Dershowitz, who represented Mr. Trump at his first impeachment trial.
The prosecution tried to put the focus back on the defendant, Mr. Trump, and noted that Mr. Cohen was a witness brought to court under a subpoena.
“Are you charged with any crimes in this case?” Ms. Hoffinger asked.
“No, ma’am,” Mr. Cohen said.
• Tom Howell Jr. can be reached at thowell@washingtontimes.com.
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