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On redirect, Michael Cohen insists Trump Org payments were not a retainer at hush money trial

Molly Crane-Newman and Josephine Stratman, New York Daily News on

Published in Political News

“It’s better if he’s not because it gives me more to talk about in the future,” Cohen said a beat later, of the former president’s possible conviction.

Blanche again got Cohen to say that he would lie out of loyalty.

“Your testimony remains the same that you gave last Tuesday — that notwithstanding everything you’ve said over the years, you have a specific recollection of having conversations on the phone with then-candidate Trump about the Stormy Daniels matter?” Blanche asked.

“Yes, sir,” Cohen replied, adding that there was “no doubt” in his mind.

And with that, Cohen’s three days of cross-examination by the defense came to a close.

Trump lawyer challenges Cohen on retainer

 

Defense lawyer Todd Blanche pulled up a 2017 email where then-Trump CFO Allen Weisselberg asked Cohen to “please prepare the agreement” for a monthly payment, suggesting this disputed Cohen’s previous testimony that there was no retainer agreement with Trump or the Trump Org.

Cohen has testified that the $35,000 monthly checks he received were reimbursements for the payment he made to buy porn star Stormy Daniels’ silence on an alleged tryst with Trump, not for his work as personal attorney to the president, which he said actually encompassed about 10 hours of labor for the whole year. He has said the invoices he billed the company for a “retainer” were fraudulent.

Blanche also went over Cohen’s other legal work for Trump, including helping wife Melania Trump with an issue relating to her wax statue at Madame Tussauds’ museum in Manhattan.

He grilled Cohen about millions of dollars he made in 2017 on lucrative consulting gigs for companies including AT&T and Columbus Nova — appearing to be comparing them to Cohen’s job role for the then-president.

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