go meet with alan weisberg and figure this whole thing out. >> following that conversation with mr. trump, did you in fact have some discussions about trying to figure out how the payment would be made? >> yes. >> todd blanche is not asked if angle quest about 's discussions -- michael cohen's arrangement of the stormy daniels hush money. he said he would use two hours to finish his questioning of michael cohen monday and todd blanche will surely, then, try to create reasonable doubt about the meeting michael cohen describe , where alan weisberg handwrote the payoff plan on the left side of that bank statement of michael cohen's that showed michael cohen's hundred $30,000 payoff to stormy daniels. todd blanche has to come up with an alternative explanation for that money, written by alan weissberg, on that document, which michael cohen says they then brought into donald trump's office and discussed with donald trump, that very document. the three of them, in the room, looking at that document. did donald, alan, michael. in this trial. michael cohen will be the only person who was in

we are not even alawites hilberg, we are alan weisberg, number two. jeffery can you put that knowledge can you impute that knowledge up? chain of command to donald trump there close the right on the precipice and there's a lot of common sense questions i think like john and jamie, we're raising could did michael carbon really have the power to just extract $400,000 for himself or not that's part of the argument and i think michael collins gonna be the one to make the direct link to donald trump. they're making the leap that michael cohen estimated take your narrower rather than the jury having to take michael collins just in a vacuum now they go. okay. we understand how this work now that the link is a little narrower, that michael cohen estimated yes, quickly one step further, some of this money was coming from donald trump's personal account. i think that ups the ante about how much he cared about it it is brian, i just because we have you here and you were there at the time i want to kind of look at this even holistically going back to the beginnin

but mcconney a testified to a conversation and he had with alan weisberg supported by documents about how they were going to reimburse michael cohen for this $130,000. >> they were going to increase that to offset taxes. >> he also testified though that michael cohen had been complaining about his bonus so that all got baked in and then it came up with this plan to divide this over multiple $35,000 checks. so this is the first time that we've heard about how this plan was hatched to reimburse michael cohen. the problem is, erin, that mcconney testified that he was never directed by a trump to do any of this. in fact, he never talked to trump in the year 2017, which is when these documents were allegedly falsified. and he also testified that trump was incredibly involved in everything related to the trunk organization until 2017. and again, that's a problem for the prosecutors because he said once trump went to the white house, things work chaotic, no surprise, considering we're dealing with chomping. so there were chaotic and even things like getting check sayyed, do they completely c

i don't think it's admirable since he's a criminal, but i mean, it is an amazing gift that alan weisberg has given donald trump just to reemphasize what jeffrey even just said, the trump team didn't want this document to be it will to be used as evidenced at this trial and speaks to i think their level of concern about how the jury will read it. >> my question always with this with trump and with his intent is it's, it comes down to does trump have to say? please falsify these documents in order to pay michael cohen or is there another way to substantiate what he's got? >> he's got to have knowledge because i mean, he may not know other than substantiated michael gold, michael girls you to take the stand and say he told me to do it. and as they said, if i'm the prosecutor, i'm not saying you can't get a convince you of michael colon. what i'm going to take. i'm going to say no vena before he takes the step much more head, including what stormy daniel said just last year about negotiations for getting page or less going to farrow joins us next, he wrote the best-selling book, catch and ki

cheques without reviewing them, and she couldn't recall seeing specific instances where he spoke to alan weisbergak with his chief financial officer even in the white house. so she has been a helpful witness for the defence to try and undercut the prosecution's arguments that this was part of a conspiracy. thank you very much. let's continue. let's speak to rae chornenky, former president of the national federation of republican women and a former superior courtjudge. she's in phoenix, arizona. thank you for being live on bbc news. we are at the end of another week of this trial, your assessment of what we have heard in totality so far? 50 of what we have heard in totality so far? ., ., of what we have heard in totality so far? . ., ., far? so far, the highlight of it all in my opinion. — far? so far, the highlight of it all in my opinion, is _ far? so far, the highlight of it all in my opinion, is the _ far? so far, the highlight of it all i in my opinion, is the discrepancies in my opinion, is the discrepancies in the testimony of stormy daniels. i think that is going to go a long way for theju

alan weisberg's notes. incredibly damaging information.defense decides we will cross-examine those people? not really. we will cross-examine stormy daniels who is largely colorful but irrelevant to the case. i was like, this case is really strong. if it was any other case, i wonder if he would actually call michael cohen because he is so much baggage. we will see cross tomorrow and it will be difficult. i think it's the right call, but it's useful to think about how much evidence the state has that is completely independent of michael cohen. in large measure what michael cohen did today is say things you knew happen, but you are not hearing it. you knew that had to be what happened, but one thing, speculating that must be the case, and actually hearing it from an insider. it's a useful thing. it will come with some downsides and we will find out at the end of the case whether it was the right call. >> lisa, michael cohen brought us in a room we were not going to get into through testimony without him. that was, michael cohen, allen weissel

the other part of the argument was possibly that it was just alan weisberg and michael cohen doing thisd trump. there's no way that has credibility. i think this jury watches this and definitely believes that donald trump knew what the payments were for, was authorizing them. we already saw in court that he signed a majority of the checks that were paid to michael cohen. i don't think any jury is sitting there thinking donald trump is a bystander. >> we have to squeeze in a break but when we come back, adam will give us an update from the late breaking transcript that we just got. go. i'll be honest. by the end of the day, my floors...yeesh. but who has the time to clean? that's why i love my swiffer wetjet. it's a quick and easy way to get my floors clean. wetjet absorbs and locks grime deep inside. look at that! swiffer wetjet. life, diabetes, there's no slowing down. each day is a unique blend of people to see and things to do. that's why you choose glucerna to help manage blood sugar response. uniquely designed with carbsteady. glucerna. bring on the day. (luke) this will be a gold

use the only witness if alan weisberg is not going to be called and you have to do this with cohen.re's no getting around it. >> we are waiting to hear from donald trump who promised he would have something to say when he left the courthouse which could be any second. i want to bring up-to-date on what happened earlier today. 10:31 am not too far from this courthouse that was the exact moment the dow crossed 40,000. first time its ever done that. in case you're keeping track its now up about 6% pack s&p 11% and nasdaq 11%. to put this in perspective, the dow is now essentially doubled from where it was around this time back in 2020. it's gone up about 45% since september 2022. optimism that the federal reserve at least in this latest defence can safely orchestrate what they like to call a soft landing. not too tough and not too easy cut just about right. corporate earnings also coming in as expected but the average on that had been in record territory,'s rendered it and did not end there. sometimes it takes a couple drills before you make it official. we will have more after this i

one person we don't expect to see on the witness stand is former trump organization cfo alan weisberg. he's currently behind bars after admitting to having falsely testified in trump's civil fraud case the one brought by lutetia james, the attorney general of new york is what he had been a better witness than the trump organization witnesses that we saw today? >> no the defense attorneys are probably be praying. >> he doesn't go to the witness stand in closing argument. i would hammer that alan, why sobered, did not step into that courtroom and testify under oath forget his credibility problems. alan yslow berg, if he told the truth probably would have the keys to the kingdom on this agreement. and for the defense attorneys, if he doesn't show up, that is a big seed of reasonable doubt for donald trump because he can explain this whole payment. the foreigner and 20,000 why it went from one 30 and grew like a souffle hey, 2420. it was because he wanted to avoid a taxes. coleman did. so allan weisberg should not be called as a witness. he's a pathological liar, even more than cohen and

the only other person who could speak to it as alan weisberg, he's currently the former cfo, the trump organization. he's in riker's as i am told, there's no plan to call him. michael cohen gaetz on stand. he's going to give the jury he's his version of events. now. he is historically an unreliable narrator. he has given slightly different stories over the year first, but he knows here lucky, he needs to, he needs to earn the trust of the jury and some folks have asked me why trump's lead leuser, todd blanche hasn't done more of the cross examinations in this case that is because he is solely focused on the cross-examination of michael cohen this is going to be really the defense's case in many ways. we're going to hear every tweet, every tiktok, every podcast. where trump, where he has said critical things of trump, where he's called for him to be jailed. this is likely going to go on for three days total with michael cohen. and what we saw with stormy daniels, but they got her to admit that she hates trump, that she'd dance if goes to jail, katara and some contradictory statements ta

trump or vocal able trust, just signed off on by the sun's alan weisberg and then there are nine payments, $315,000 coming out of a personal account of donald trump this is so important because many people know and obviously the jury is familiar with donald trump probably as this celebrity, as the apprentice& as somebody whose reputation his name is on the building. >> whether it's been as his father, otherwise, mali he capitalised for so many years on people believing that he was the person in control. but it was the buck stops there. he controls everything and we heard from testimony and kaitlan like me about really it run kind of as a mom and pop as jim acosta said earlier, i'd say more pop and mom the fact that you've got this playing out, how does that play? you think politically and for this jury, that they assume that he was running the show well, i think politically and for the jury, it is it's a similar big picture question and it is about the intent. and so the jury is having to hear all of this very dry minutiae about documents, not the documents aren't sexy. certainly not sayi

so i don't know if there's anyone other than michael cohen and alan weisberg who actually have that direct? yes. i had a conversation with trump about this reimbursement scheme. we don't know. i mean, unless there's some surprise out there, those are the two guys, which means michael cohen is your only available one. >> they have weisberg in some part though, that riding were yslow burglary, is it all notice? i think it's the biggest document in the case. it's obviously his doing so at that point, it's really got to be the defense theory if they have one that somehow yslow bergen cohen conspired without trumps knowledge. that's a heavy load to lift. >> now i want to point out to you. i want i mean, we obviously don't have any the audio or visual into the courtroom. we're getting a lot of from the transcripts and the judge pointing out that's you of course, the judge pointing out that the jury could visibly see if trump was being contemptuous. let's just look at this a little bit of a graphic we have here to bring everyone inside the courtroom. where this is what it looks like maya saw the

michael cohen invoices that would be there was also a quote in one of the books about alan weisberg and how he's been there by aside for 30 years and how close they are and the book, another page of the book corroborated the story that we heard from geoff mcconney. >> you're fired because he did not feel he was monitoring trumps cash positions closely enough for me the most this is real legal nursery but the most fascinating part of the examination of the publisher was the redirect, because the problem hi scooters later trap on cross blanch said, well, wait a minute, there was a ghostwriter, there was a coauthor, and then the prosecutors came back with all of the personal details of the acknowledged the co-writer was like a young mother who was quoted in there and it just hammered, but also the core right. are wasn't like an established writer who would have just invented all this stuff. it was somebody who was like, part of the system works at trusts organization and sits outside his desk. so the idea that she is making up all these quotes seems highly unlikely. however, katelyn is tot

this is a bank statement that appears to show alan weisman weisberg, the chief financial officer, the trump organization, ellen yslow bergs handwritten notes calculating the amounts cohen needs to be reimbursed are handwritten notes. the notes shows becoming making that calculation what's your reaction uh, not much. >> i mean, look, eliot refers to this stuff is necessary a bit boring. and that's true. and again, the fight is not whether ndas were reached or whether money was paid. the fight is the complicity and the intent when ledgers are entered, that's a legal services instead of legal services, ren da let me just say this. it doesn't always turn out to be boring and necessary and white-collar. i've been around federal prosecution for 25 years here's on both sides and what you really look for in a white-collar case is somebody from the money machine, somebody has cfo, a controller, a comptroller, a cpa that comes in and says, i was shocked to find out that the client didn't tell me these things or i told him this would be a bogus deduction if you're doing a tax case so that's what

yeah, yeah, this is a major, a major situation right now because all week we've been asking about alan weisbergnd that handwriting on that ledger that critical handwriting where he lays out how much michael cohen was going to be reimbursed, not just for what? hey, does stormy daniels, but the taxes and the plus up for a bonus etc. the question that is rightfully being asked right now is why isn't he testifying and has the prosecution made an effort to get him there prosecution council and the judge with george mug shot actually saying, i need to see some evidence that you've actually tried to get information from our weisberg or at least tried to compel him to come testify. the benefit of this beyond giving paula freedom from every commercial break need being like why at the calling out. what's your point? i think it's a question everybody is happening is asking is you're starting to get a sense of the actual answer here, which is that the prosecution saying there is a severance agreement that is in place that limits him from what he can say and probably wouldn't say anything at all and you'll

alan weisberg, everything he did was under my command and control it looks like the second thing they're that they're going for with this book is his comments about the way he viewed women sexual dynamic is always present. i do want to point out a bit of a tactical mistake here, i think by trump's defense, they could have stipulated to this, meaning you just sign a piece of paper saying these are the books he wrote. these books. he wrote these books these are the books and then they go in and sort of dry form. they go in and book form. now what's happening because he refused to stipulate is there as a human being on the stand, sally franklin, and she's reading these excerpts out loud to the jury that they might have avoided this? yes. if they had stipulated, then what would have happened is the books would have come into evidence. a prosecutor would have probably gotten up and read it dry to the to the jury, but instead, they're seeing from a normal human beings, sally franklin, who presumably is relatable and it professional and she's reading these sort of awkward excerpts to the jury.

weisberg noem. >> yes, the notes. but even so, it does not necessarily make that direct link to him knowing it. >> and do you believe knowing what you know and the importance of alan yslow bergen, their relationship, weisberg knew where all the bodies were buried essentially has gone to prison in order and he's not speaking, you can make an educated assumption, but that's the hard part, but the prosecution potentially are the defense wanting to call stormy daniels. >> i don't think that's particularly relevant to the case. >> it's not illegal to have an affair with an adult film star. it's salacious, sexy, it'll get people to tune in, but they have this one link. they need to make without a shadow of a doubt in it. maybe that michael cohen is the only person who can make that link and he's so flawed in this moment i do wonder though if stormy daniels would be able to offer insight into michael cohen not being able to operate without donald trump's authorization and the fact that he was stringing her and keep davidson along. >> they felt like until after the election and saying, well well, i can't get in touch with him. he's out on the campaign trail. are i can't g