Trump Dozes Off at Hush Money Trial as Michael Cohen Testifies, Reports Say: Here’s A Timeline of When He’s Fallen Asleep.

With former president Donald Trump’s attorney Michael Cohen taking the stand, the sixth week of the criminal trial in New York came to a close.

Todd Blanche, the defense attorney, grilled Cohen, the main witness in the Trump case, sharply about his past lying on oath, his memory of crucial incidents, his contacts with the media, and what spurred him to turn against his old employer.

Cohen, the trial’s main witness, was subjected to seven hours of torturous cross-examination during which he was portrayed as a chronic liar who was desperate to see his former employer put in jail while also hoping to profit financially from the case.

A video of Cohen discussing Trump was seen by Trump’s legal representative last year, just before the Manhattan grand jury charged him.

At one point on the video, Cohen was heard stating, “I really, really hope that this man ends up in prison.” “You better believe I want this man to go down and rot inside for what he did to my family.

Earlier last week, when the prosecution questioned Cohen, he claimed he thought Trump would shield him from federal charges if he continued to be loyal and that he had lied to Stormy Daniels about paying $130,000 in “hush money” before the 2016 election. According to Cohen’s testimony, Trump gave his approval to a scheme that would see Cohen get his money back over the course of the next year.

The jury has been shown the invoices, vouchers, and checks that are matched to each criminal offense that Trump is accused of committing. The prosecution claims that 34 company records were fabricated to conceal the payment to Daniels. The ex-president entered a not guilty plea.

In 2018, Cohen entered a guilty plea to federal charges related to the transaction, which included breaches of campaign finance laws and bank fraud.

On Monday, when the trial is scheduled to convene, Cohen’s cross-examination is scheduled to resume, according to Trump’s legal team. This is how the testimony on Thursday went:

With the largest entourage to date following him, Trump walked into court just before 9:30 a.m. with his shoulders bent and a grim expression on his face.

The former president is being joined in court by a number of Republican members of Congress, the most recent of several GOP leaders who have come to express their support for the party’s presumed presidential nominee.

Rep. Matt Gaetz, Bob Good, Andy Biggs, Lauren Boebert, and Anna Paulina Luna were among of the lawmakers present at the courthouse when Trump arrived.

“To accommodate members’ schedules,” a committee staffer stated, the House Oversight Committee in Washington postponed its scheduled session.

Sen. Rick Scott, a Republican from Florida, joined Trump in court last week, which appears to have started the trend. Vivek Ramaswamy, Rep. Byron Donalds, Sens. J.D. Vance and Tommy Tuberville, and Senator Tommy Tuberville have all visited since Scott’s visit.

Although he visited the courthouse, House Speaker Mike Johnson stayed outside the chamber.

Trump’s friends have defended the former president in interviews with the media during their travels.

Boebert wrote on X earlier on Thursday, saying: “President Trump could have been muzzled. I wasn’t gamed by them. The others weren’t gagmed by them.

For the second day in a row, there was a long sidebar before anything started. A group of almost all the lawyers in the room could be seen animatedly disputing between Todd Blanche, the Trump attorney, and Susan Hoffinger, the prosecutor.

According to the transcript, prosecutors informed the court that Cohen would be their final direct witness during a sidebar that started the day on Tuesday. According to Trump’s attorneys, they weren’t sure whether to summon Trump as an expert witness, both, or none at all.

“I’m sorry there was so much whispering. I believe we could get going,” Merchan remarked.

The jury may need to reconvene on Wednesday, the judge informs them.

After apologizing to the jurors for the extended sidebar that caused delays in the morning’s proceedings, Merchan told them that they might need to report to work on Wednesday, the day this trial normally ends.

The jurors were directed by the judge to inform the court deputy of their availability or if it would be difficult to convene on Wednesday of next week.

Merchan reports that due to a previous engagement of one of the jurors, the court is anticipated to adjourn early today at 4 p.m.

Back on the stand, Cohen is questioned by Blanche once again.

Following the sidebar, Blanche put Cohen on the stand to begin the day’s questioning. He started by inquiring about Cohen’s relationships with a detective employed by the district attorney’s office.

Cohen is being questioned about when he learned that Trump had been indicted.

Blanche recognized Jeremy Rosenberg as the detective. Cohen said that at the time of Trump’s indictment by a New York grand jury last year, he texted Rosenberg.

After displaying a few of the messages to him, Blanche inquired as to if Rosenberg had informed Cohen that the indictment had been returned prior to its unsealing. Cohen said that it was the New York Times story—not the detective that informed him about the indictment.

Before the indictment was made public, Cohen’s remarks of having “Goliath on his back” were questioned by Trump’s legal representative. Cohen admitted that Rosenberg had given him positive feedback on his TV appearances.

Several times, prosecutor Susan Hoffinger objected to Blanche’s inquiries, with varying degrees of success.

On March 30, 2023, the grand jury delivered an indictment against Trump; the same day, the court made public the news that the indictment had been authorized. The district attorney’s office quickly released a statement upon the confirmation of Trump’s charges by his counsel. Only after Trump was arraigned on April 4th, the indictment itself was made public.

Cohen’s podcast is played by Trump’s attorneys, who declare, “You better believe I want this man to go down”

Two recordings from Cohen’s 2023 podcast, in which he expressed gratitude to Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg for filing charges against Trump, were aired by Blanche.

On the recording, Cohen is heard stating, “I sincerely f–king hope that this man winds up in prison.” Although the year he “lost” in prison would not be restored by the accusations, he declared, “You better believe I want this man to go down and rot inside for what he did to my family.

In contrast to his dull tone throughout his testimony, Cohen seemed animated in the podcast recording.

Reminding the jury of Cohen’s past instances of lying under oath, Blanche

The instances since 2017 that Cohen has acknowledged lying under oath were reviewed by Trump’s legal representative. The following year, he entered a guilty plea to lying to Congress on negotiations for a Trump Moscow real estate venture. Cohen also admitted lying to federal investigators working for the office of special counsel Robert Mueller.

Blanche questioned Cohen on whether he believed the meaning of the pledge to speak the truth varied based on the setting.

“The oath doesn’t change depending on the location, does it?” Blanche enquired. In response, Cohen said, “No, it does not.”

Cohen’s prior testimony in which he acknowledged responsibility for his activities but claimed he was trying to shield Trump was questioned by Trump’s legal representative. Cohen restated his acceptance of accountability.

However, Blanche also persuaded Cohen to admit that, in his opinion, he shouldn’t have been prosecuted for some of the federal offenses he encountered in 2018, such as tax evasion allegations pertaining to his purchases of taxi medallions in New York City.

You believed you did not commit tax fraud, but in order to keep your wife and family safe, you felt compelled to enter a guilty plea. Blanche enquired.

Correct, said Cohen.

Blanche reminded the jury about Cohen’s past of lying under oath, to which Cohen mainly responded with one-word responses.

Cohen acknowledges lying to the judge before to the 2018 charges’ sentence.

Blanche persisted in her questions, asking Cohen about his admission to tax evasion and bank fraud charges in 2018 as well as his claims that he shouldn’t have been prosecuted at all.

“I never refuted the fundamental truths. I simply didn’t think that either of those two or, I should say, six infractions should have resulted in criminal charges against me,” Cohen stated.

Blanche said that up until the point of sentence, Cohen refused to accept responsibility and instead placed the blame elsewhere.

You justified your actions, much as you did today, by claiming that you honestly didn’t believe you had done the tax infraction, correct? Blanche stated, and Cohen concurred. “And then, now, almost right away, right after that sentence, you started saying that you actually had not committed the tax crime you pled guilty to.”

Blanche inquired as to if Cohen had subsequently stated that he thought William Pauley III, the judge, was “in on it,” alluding to a purported plot to coerce him into pleading guilty. According to Cohen, he does. Blanche went on to inquire if he was aware that Pauley had passed away. According to Cohen, he does.