Trump's ex-fixer Michael Cohen takes the stand |
Michael Cohen, the man who claims to have facilitated a hush money payment of thousands of dollars to a porn actor during the 2016 presidential campaign to keep her from disclosing an alleged sexual encounter with former President Trump, took the stand Monday as the case's presumed star witness, detailing how he arranged the deal. Cohen, who previously was described as Trump's "fixer," testified that Trump feared Stormy Daniel's story of their alleged tryst during a celebrity golf tournament near Lake Tahoe would be a "disaster for the campaign."
Cohen recalled Trump telling him: "What I want you to do is push it out as long as you can ... Just get past the election. If I lose, I don't really care."
The ex-personal attorney to the former president claimed he paid Daniels by using his home equity line of credit to make the payment to Daniels because withdrawing that much from his bank account would have alerted his wife. Following Trump's election, Cohen met with Trump Organization Chief Financial Officer Allen Weisselberg to work out a reimbursement plan. Cohen also confirmed he, at times, lied for the former president, saying, "The only thing that was on my mind was to accomplish the task to make him happy." Trump is accused of falsifying business documents to catalog the payment to Daniels as a legal fee. Cohen, who has admitted to lying in court in other cases, testified Monday that the money was actually meant to pay Daniels to keep quiet during the campaign. Cohen's history of lying under oath will be closely scrutinized by Trump's legal team when his testimony resumes Tuesday. After the trial adjourned for the day, Trump, who has racked up thousands in fines for violating a gag order meant to prevent him from disparaging people involved in the case, read quotes from attorneys and pundits, including some potential contenders to be his running mate. They slammed the case as a "sham." - "There is no crime," a visibly heated Trump said, looking up from his notes to summarize. "There is no fraud here."
- "The whole world is laughing now at the New York weaponized legal system," he added.
Trump also doubled-down on claims that the trial is meant to keep him off the campaign trial. "They bring it right in the middle of my presidential campaign," he said. Other highlights: - Trump's foe-turned-fixer was disappointed not to be considered for chief of staff, even though he "didn't want the role."
- The former president apparently never had an email address because, "He knows too many people who have gone down as a direct result of having emails that prosecutors can use in a case."
- Cohen suggested Melania Trump, the former president's wife, was the one who suggested the campaign adopt the "locker room talk" angle following the release of the Access Hollywood tape one month before the 2016 election.
- Trump's foe-turned-fixer also said he never expected compensation when he became Trump's personal attorney, saying "I was proud to accept that title, which I wanted."
- When Cohen received his 2016 bonus, he was "furious" that Trump allegedly cut the amount by two-thirds.
- The court also heard a recording of Cohen and Trump discussing a $150,000 payment made to ex-Playboy model Karen McDougal to hide an alleged tryst between her and the former president.
Trial is set to resume on Tuesday, and Trump is expected to take part in a fundraiser in the evening. Check out The Hill's live coverage here.
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Welcome to Evening Report! I'm Liz Crisp, catching you up from the afternoon and what's coming tomorrow. Not on the list? Subscribe here. |
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© The Hill / Allison Robbert |
Jury selection underway in Menendez corruption trial |
Jury selection has begun in Sen. Bob Menendez's corruption trial, with opening arguments likely to start Tuesday. The entire trial, which is taking place in a Manhattan federal courtroom, could take up to seven weeks.
The three-term New Jersey Democrat who previously chaired the powerful Senate Foreign Relations Committee is accused of taking lavish gifts, including gold bars, cash and a Mercedes-Benz convertible, in exchange for political favors benefitting the governments of Egypt and Qatar.
Menendez has denied any wrongdoing. He did not speak to reporters gathered outside the courthouse on the trial's first day.
Two New Jersey businessmen allegedly involved in the scheme are on trial alongside Menendez, while a third businessman has pleaded guilty. Menendez's wife, Nadine, will be tried later.
Prosecutors have accused Menendez and his wife of accepting "hundreds of thousands of dollars" in bribes.
He previously faced corruption charges in 2015, but that case was dropped after the jury couldn't reach a verdict.
Menendez, who was ousted from his Senate leadership post in the fall, has said he won't seek the Democratic nomination if he decides to run for reelection this year.
"I am hopeful that my exoneration will take place this summer and allow me to pursue my candidacy as an independent Democrat in the general election," Menendez told reporters in March. (The Hill)
NOTEWORTHY: Menendez's trial is taking place in a federal courthouse in Manhattan, just blocks away from where former President Trump is on trial over charges that he falsified business documents in a 2016 scheme to cover up an alleged affair with an adult film actor a decade earlier. Related coverage: Hispanic Caucus funds ad for Rep. Menendez amid mudslinging primary |
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Record travel expected this Memorial Day weekend |
A record number of motorists are expected to hit the road this Memorial Day weekend, and airports could be the busiest they've been been since 2005, according to AAA's holiday forecast.
"We haven't seen Memorial Day weekend travel numbers like these in almost 20 years," AAA Travel senior vice president Paula Twidale said in a statement. "We're projecting an additional one million travelers this holiday weekend compared to 2019, which not only means we're exceeding pre-pandemic levels but also signals a very busy summer travel season ahead."
By the numbers, per AA estimates: - 43.8 million will travel 50 miles or more across all modes of transportation — a 4 percent increase from last year.
- 38.4 million people will travel by road — the highest since 2000, when AAA first started tracking.
- 3.5 million will fly - making it the most crowded Memorial Day weekend in nearly two decades.
- 1.9 million are expected to take other forms of travel, including buses, trains and cruises — up 5.6 million from last year.
"This category took the biggest hit during the pandemic with fewer people taking public transportation or not cruising at all," Twidale said. "Now – five years later – we're back to 2019 numbers." (The Hill) Related coverage: United, Delta and American are among the airlines suing the Biden administration over a new fee disclosure rule.
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Israel surges deeper into Rafah as U.S. pauses weaponry supply
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The Israeli military is pressing deeper into the southernmost Gaza city of Rafah as tensions continue to escalate between the U.S. and Israel over the potential for major fighting in a densely populated area where more than million Palestinians are sheltering.
The Hill's Brad Dress reports the latest on Israel's war against Hamas that the operations appear to still be limited, as the U.S. continues its hold on weapons shipments.
From Dress: Secretary of State Antony Blinken repeated the U.S. threat that further weapons shipments could be suspended if Israel launches a wider operation into Rafah.
"What we've been clear about is that if Israel launches this major military operation into Rafah, then there are certain systems that we're not going to be supporting and supplying for that operation," he told CBS's "Face the Nation" on Sunday.
The Israeli army reported Sunday that troops are conducting "precise operations" in specific areas of eastern Rafah. Israeli forces have dismantled tunnel shafts and rocket launchers and killed at least 10 Hamas fighters, according to the army.
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"Trump's 'Sore Loser Syndrome' is spreading throughout the Republican Party," writes Austin Sarat, jurisprudence and political science professor at Amherst College. "Has Kristi Noem fallen into the Sarah Palin trap?" writes political and communications consultant Douglas MacKinnon, who was a writer for Presidents Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush. |
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63 days until the Republican National Convention.
98 days until the Democratic National Convention.
175 days until the 2024 general election. |
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Tuesday: Former President Trump's hush money trial will continue in New York. He will also attend a campaign fundraiser in New York. |
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