Cohen confirms not having retainer agreement with Trump Organization: "I never expected to get paid"
Michael Cohen again confirms he never put together a retainer agreement for Trump when he left the Trump Organization and became Trump's personal attorney, "because I never expected to get paid."
Cohen added, "You’re an employee it’s not necessary."
Cohen explains why Trump's trial is different from his own charges
Michael Cohen testified that the former president's trial is different from his own situation in 2018 because he said his "life was on the line, my liberty, and here, I'm just a non party subpoenaed witness."
Cohen pled guilty to charges in 2018 on campaign finance violations related to the Stormy Daniels payment.
Earlier, prosecutor Susan Hoffinger asked, "I know it may feel like you’re on trial here after cross-examination but are you actually on trial," Hoffinger asked.
"No ma’am," Cohen said.
Judge Juan Merchan overruled an objection from defense attorney Todd Blanche. Trump smiled at this and did another stretch.
Cohen says Trump approved the substance of the false statements
"Did Mr. Trump approve the substance of these false statements by you?" prosecutor Susan Hoffinger asks Michael Cohen.
Cohen replies, "Yes ma'am."
"Under the circ*mstances of this NDA with Stormy Daniels that you testified to, was it perfectly legal under those circ*mstances?" Hoffinger asks.
"No ma’am," Cohen says.
Cohen confirmed he pled guilty to charges in 2018 on campaign finance violations related to the payment.
Cohen again says 2018 statement about Daniels' payment was false and FEC letter was intended to be misleading
Prosecutor Susan Hoffinger is now pulling up the2018 public statement Cohen released explaining the Stormy Daniels payment.
The letter ends saying "Just because something isn't true doesn't mean that it can't cause you harm or damage. I will always protect Mr. Trump."
Hoffinger asks if the statement is largely false. Cohen says it was.
Cohen confirms it was misleading in the same way as the Federal Election Commission (FEC) letter by leaving out Trump and just saying the Trump campaign and the Trump Organization.
He again confirmed that he intended it to be misleading.
Judge Merchan instructs jury can consider FEC letter to evaluate Cohen's credibility
Judge Juan Merchan instructs the jury that they can consider Michael Cohen's attorney's letter to the Federal Election Commission (FEC) in evaluating Cohen's credibility.
"Mr. Cohen’s plea is not evidence of the defendant's guilt and you may not consider it it when determining" Trump's innocence or guilt," Merchan said.
Prosecutor reads line from FEC statement
Prosecutor Susan Hoffinger reads a line from his attorney's letter to the Federal Election Commission (FEC), "The payment in question does not constitute a campaign contribution."
"Was that a true statement?" she asks Michael Cohen.
"No ma’am," he says.
Cohen says the FEC letter on the Stormy Daniels payment omitted that it was paid for by Trump
Prosecutor Susan Hoffinger is returning to the letter Michael Cohen's attorney sent to the Federal Election Commission (FEC) in 2018 on the Stormy Daniels payment.
Cohen had testified under cross-examination that he said there was an "omission" in that letter, Hoffinger notes, and during direct that it was misleading and deceptive.
Cohen says, "What's omitted is the fact that it was paid for by Mr. Trump or the Trump trust."
"And did you intend for it to be misleading in that way?" the prosecutor asks.
"I did," Cohen says.
Trump has a pen in his hand and is tapping the back of it on the paper in front of him on the desk.
"I just felt it was almost like self-help," Cohen explains why he took higher pay back for Red Finch
Michael Cohen was asked why he took a $50,000 pay back from former Trump Org. CFO Allen Weisselberg for Red Finch, even though he only paid the guy $20,000.
"For a long time, I had been telling him about the 50,000 so that I could collect it for the president of Red Finch," Cohen said.
"I was angered because of the reduction in the bonus, and so I just felt it was almost like self-help. I wasn’t going to let him have the benefit (of) this way as well. I wasn’t going to correct the conversation I was having with Allen about it. I had not only protected him to the best that I could, but I had also laid out money to Red Finch a year and a half earlier and again $130,000 to have my bonus cut by two-thirds was very upsetting to say the least," Cohen continued.
Hoffinger then asked, "but you admitted on cross that it was wrong."
"It was," Cohen says.
Cohen explains what Red Finch did for Trump and why he did not initially pay the tech company
Prosecutor Susan Hoffinger asked Michael Cohen what Red Finch did for Trump.
Cohen said Trump was polling low in the CNBC poll.
"And it upset him,” Cohen says."And he had me come to his office and provide me a sheet of paper that showed it."
"I reached out to Red Finch who assured me he was able to go through the acquisitions of IP addresses to create an algorithm that would ensure Mr. Trump would rise and rise significantly into this poll,” Cohen added.
Cohen is now looking directly at the jury as he's answering Hoffinger's question to explain the Red Finch situation. Cohen said Trump wanted to be number one in the poll but after Red Finch's work, he ended up at nine.
The former Trump fixer said"despite cheating" Trump felt he didn't get his money's worth for the work.
Cohen added that Trump did not pay Red Finch because CNBC ended up not moving forward with this poll, "and so he didn’t feel he had gotten the benefit" for the services they had provided.
