blanche be.rategy to meander to wear down michael cohen and get him frustrated, tired, angry, off his game a little bit. but i think that on a redirect, you would want to be a little more focused. cover just the important matters, get in, get out and sit down. >> michael cohen was rubbing his eyes a bit during the cross-examination earlier today. that was hours ago. >> now, going back into the courtroom, barbara and everyone here at the table, when you met with the da pomeranz, the d.a. who thought this should have been prosecuted and actually quit, wrote about it, do you remember saying you believed ms. daniels was engaging in extort. yes, that they were extorting mr. trump. blanche, in your mind, there are two choices, pay or don't pay. you went a long time without paying, cohen, yes. blanche, you went a long time without paying. you referred to it as a hush money payment, a payoff, cohen, correct. blanche, you recall prosecutors saying it was a payoff. cohen, yes. blanche, make no mistake, it

blanche asked the question, cohen, yes, sir.and blanche, when you said that, you were driving yourself as david and the president as goliath, correct? cohen, correct, and you said you have goliath on his back? cohen, sounds right. blanche, may we approach, your honor? merchan, no. so the judge says no. you can't approach. that's interesting. todd blanche continues. rosenberg, referring to the defr from the d.a.'s office. rosenberg complimented you and said fantastic interview. blanche, do you remember going on tv on march 31st going on with joy reid when detective rosenberg complimented you on your interview with joy reid. cohen, yes, sir. blanche, that was at the same time that the manhattan d.a.'s office was telling you not to do tv, correct? cohen, correct. blanche, right around that time, going on the mea culpa podcast and talking about the indictment. cohen, yes, sir. >> what do you see in this exchange? >> michael cohen does not work for the d.a.'s office and this seems to be one of many different lines of questioning in t

blanche says mr. cohen, president trump are literally talking past each other about what's going on. so he is hoping blend says trump is in real estate. he is hoping that jurors, once they are back, are going to replay this conversation and starts and think, oh well, was that 150 donald trump said, or was it something else that is this conversation, what it, what it was presented to us as blanche just saying you can buy a building with cash. it doesn't mean that you're going into the closing with a duffel bag filled with greenblatt and says blends, that was mr. cohen line to your painting, a picture that fits his narrative? not the truth, raising the idea that when donald trump in that phone conversation said cash meaning would make those payments to karen mcdougal and cash and michael cohen says, no, no, no. trump did and really mean cash. cash can mean different things in various trends transactions linda, just in terms of the level of detail going down into this kind of level of detail asking, hopi

todd blanche has not proved that. todd blanche has not asked a single question about the money michael cohen received, for which michael cohen says he did absolutely no work and that it was, indeed, payback for which michael cohen has provided allen weisselberg's handwritten notes. calculating the payback. so the essence of the charges in this case have not been touched by todd blanche is cross-examination yet. this is a case of falsification of 34 business records, which were falsified as part of a conspiracy to illegally affect an election. donald trump's handwriting is on 11 of those false business records. the 11 checks made out to michael cohen. there is nothing in cross- examination that is going to get donald trump's signature off of those checks. 12 other falsified business records according to the indictment are ledger entries in the trump bookkeeping system. no, donald trump did not personally make those ledger entries in the bookkeeping system. the bookkeepers who made those entries have testified about how

blanche, long time friend of yours, yes. you went to visit steve in jail around the time the story of you making the payment to stormy was leaked. cohen, correct. blanche, you insisted president trump knew nothing about it. you told cronan that. cohen, i don't recall specifically saying that but it would have been what i said at the time yes, sir. you said you made a deal and trump did not know. cohen, no, sir. you called melania, you told her trump didn't know about it. not that i recall, says cohen. blanche, you don't recall saying that to your friend. you were told you should keep that quiet? not that i recall, no, sir. putting aside whether you were told that, you didn't keep it quiet. i did not. you spoke to ms. haberman, reporter with the "new york times," and told her president trump did not know about it, and you said that on the recordment cohen, yes, said on the record. and then blanche continues this line of questioning, trying to say, you know, you told all of these people. trump knew nothing about the payment. >

blanche? the point is, michael cohen hates and desperately wants the defendant donald trump in prison. let me give you what i would have started with. we'd like to play armchair prosecuted now that we're no longer actual prosecutors first question would have been mr. cohen, are you a perjure? okay. if he says yes, great, folks. he's a perjure. he says no, then you just hidden with dozens of leinz that he's like he is a perjure. i mean, that's a fact. >> so it leaves them it's a win-win. >> you want to start safe. i thought it was a misstep by blanche. i actually was not impressed with blanche's cross the two hours or so that either on tuesday at all, i thought it was meandering an unfocused. >> so tim, there is some talk of whether the defense is going to present its own case and a robust finishing or small fashion. it's not unprecedented by the way, obviously, as you know, but maybe not for our viewers to just say they haven't proven their case, the defense rest to what usually my preference

blanche.. not dirt. >> more derogatory. dictator, derogatory word, bag. you said he should go back to where he belongs in an f-ing cage like an f-ing animal. recall saying that? cohen says i recall saying that. the government has repeatedly asked you to stop talking publicly about this case. cohen says they might have, yes. prosecutors from the manhattan d.a.'s office have repeatedly asked you to stop talking. cohen says presumably he's going to say yes. so they're trying to say what catherine you mentioned, that he hates trump. he's calling him names. >> which should have come out on direct but now it's coming out. this is not the court reporter, some of his answer. possible, you know, yes. his answer should be yes, i did this. yes. so they might have told me, he was told numerous times stop speaking to the press. stop with the tiktoks. so he has to on cross, be more, you know, honest. >> if you're being prepared for that, does the person preparing you say don't say i recall saying that. just

blanche said that six times.e made some little clarifications. >> it has been a week, and luckily we don't have to go back to the courthouse till monday. we needed that rest. we will be right back. that res. we will be right back. when your gut is out of balance, your body gives you signs. so if you're frustrated with occasional bloating... ♪♪ [stomach noises] gas... or abdominal discomfort... help stop the frustration and start taking align every day. align probiotic was specifically designed by gastroenterologists to help relieve your occasional digestive upsets. so you can enjoy life. when you feel the signs, it's time to try align. let's get the rest of these plants in. organic soil from miracle-gro has grown me the best garden i have ever had. good soil, and you get good results. this soil will blow you away. it's the martha stewart of soil. choose advil liqui-gels for faster, stronger and longer-lasting relief than tylenol rapid release gels because advil targets pain at the source of inflammation. so for f

that's a red flag, blanche says. blanche goes on to say, something he wrote when a book assisted by ghost writers, proof beyond a reasonable doubt does not include passages from a book decades earlier. there is a problem in the proof. what do you make of that and do you think that's a strong argument that trump didn't know anything about these particular documents in question, and you can't rely on what he has said about how he looks at finances from a decade earlier? >> so i think the weakest part of the prosecution's case thus far is connecting trump to the falsification of the records. i think that's the part where they're most dependent on the credibility of michael cohen's testimony, he was in the room with donald trump talking about this falsification scheme. according to michael cohen, allen weisselberg was there too, but the jury hasn't heard from allen weisselberg. >> which they pointed out in the closing arguments. they said, where was dylan howard, where was keith schiller, where was allen weisselberg. >>

he, i wonder that if blanche and blanche probably knows this from his conversations from people who know michael cohen well including donald trump. there's a way to get under his skin. to call him names. to call him a liar. you weren't being honest. you weren't as valuable as you thought you were. you weren't acting on the orders. donald trump didn't need you as much you thought he needed you. you weren't valued. you weren't valuable. that's the sort of thing i imagine if i were a defense attorney going after michael cohen that i would use. i don't know if blanche is going to use the same. catherine, you said very interestingly he's going to get another talking to tonight from his personal attorney. >> i believe i read that his wife is in the audience, which is another reason not want to in front of your wife say things that maybe you were not truthful, you were inaccurate about to her. so now she's sitting her. probably wasn't a good thing to have her there. >> it's difficult to be on stand and to be confronted by somebody whose whole goal is to discredit you. barbara mcquaid is standin

blanche. blanche had better throw out that big notebook that he brought with him today, tear it up and start again tomorrow because it ain't workin was there any rhyme or reason to me because my notes today, i kept actually taking something that he would say, but how much money did you make on a book? and then i would just go put it up next to my notes about how much did you make on a different book because blanche kept coming back to the same points seemingly without purpose was the purpose to throw michael cohen, i mean, or was it just not well organized? >> well, anna was start with this. this is the third time i'm agreeing with norm. i don't know what that means, but i do think cohen's stood up very well and i do think blanche did a poor job. he was all over the place. maybe he wanted to throw cohen off, but i think he's throwing the jury off. you need to go sequentially. you need the jury to understand what your point star and his points were. you're making money off of this, you're biase

i'm wondering about todd blanche.n though you can't read the minds of jurors, you know when a lawyer is connecting. you know when a witness is connecting. you know when they are paying close attention. what's your thought today and particularly about todd blanche and the way the jury is observing him? >> well, i think the color that katy tur gave is my impression as well. there was, i agree, the striking moment when you heard the voice of michael cohen on his podcast, which was distinctly different than the in-court michael cohen. that doesn't mean michael cohen is lying on the stand. but it is useful for the jury to see that that is not what -- he is not always in the mode that he is in the courtroom. for every day that he has been on, whether on direct or cross, he is unflappable. even on cross-examination that mentions his wife and as andrea pointed out, cross-examination with texts with his daughter, which i personally think is playing poorly. the cross there is about essentially the daughter thinking how great he

blanche pushing cohen about mr. trump's reaction the first time the former president learned of daniels shopping her story. blanche asking, "the first thing that president trump said to you is that his family wouldn't like very much." cohen saying, "that's true." the self-described former trump fixer turned foe maintaining his composure on the stand when pressed at length about his criminal history. cohen has been convicted of lying under oath and disbarred. the defense arguing he has a motivation to lie now and a history of doing it. quote, you lied under oath, correct, blanche asking him? "yes, sir," cohen says. the defense saying cohen is also not telling the full story about his desire or for a white house job, which mr. trump never offered him. "you were disappointed that after all the work you had done for president trump for 9 1/2 years, nobody, including president trump offered you a position in the white house?" blanche asked. "that's not accurate, cohen said. >> i think it was a very interesting day. it wa

it is not, says blanche. her attorney said the same thing. it was not just one side, says blanche. her attorney told you he did not. again, it's not a catch and kill. her friend forced her hand, and to be clear it was not ms. mcdougal's intention to public her story. >> let's go to vaughn hillyard outside the courthouse. >> reporter: i actually stepped outside the courthouse after being in there in the first hour in todd blanche's closing argument, and he's emphasizing to the jury that michael cohen should not be the trusted source, that they make the determination on the 34 felony counts. it's sort of a shift between the way in which he talked about the falsification of the business records allegation and making the case that there was no intent to defraud on behalf of his client, saying that not only did he tweet in 2018 about this arrangement, but also he noted in a 2018 ethics report, financial disclosure report that there were reimbursements made and also that the trump organization, they denoted the payments were made to michael cohen. so it will be up to the jury to determin

and in fact, todd blanche says as much.ould like to do is go through the time line of what you testified on monday in 2011 you came across a poll that suggested trump should run for president. cohen, that's correct. that poll was actually late 2010. yes, sir. at the time is it fair to say that the press regarded this as a stunt by president trump. yes, sir. for michael cohen, he was one of the most early supporters, convincers, at some point later in '16, i think it was, fundraisers of, and there goes the can of hair spray, fundraisers for donald trump. >> yeah, definitely. i mean, listen, donald trump had been flirting with this idea of running for office for a few decades, 2000 when he's being interviewed about what his platform would be. he was technically sort of running at the time, even though he never got to the official act of it. so 2011 is "national enquirer" poll where they sort of, you know, juice the respondents to try to get donald trump to wade in. cohen was by his side for decades and cohen looked up to him,

blanche read previous text messages. cone had received shortly before he texted schiller they show that cohen was responding to a 14-year-old crank color who had been pranking him by phone for days. cohen texted schiller and him about the prank calls and wanting help from schiller about the calls. and that appears is why he then called schiller blanche appeared to have trapped cohen arguing that the subsequent call between him and schiller last only 90 six seconds in question whether in this quote comes to us from our reporters in the room, you had enough time to update schiller about all the problems you were having and also update president trump about the status of the stormy daniels situation. it's important to remember that cohen had never mentioned this 14-year-old crank color and testimony. blanche directly stated that he lied under oath earlier this week think about speaking within candidate trump on that day. it was a major moment on a de that's all several other notable developments, including the sources tell

todd blanche, i will say that in some of those more shrill todd blanche moments, including the two athe end where he confronted cohen and there was an objection and the objection was sustained. >> those were moments the jury paid. i thought hard to discern attention. they were very attentive. you couldn't read them. they were visibly annoyed with blanche. i saw eye rolling a real looking away. it was too much and it detracted. it shows his lack of experience because it actually detracted from the point he was making, he would have been better to let the revelation that he had elicited from cohen breathe rather than being objected to and so so loud and unpleasant added it looked to me like the jury was not liking todd blanche very much in those moments while editorializing while you're cross-examining a witness is usually a bad idea. i mean, that's not what you're there to do. >> your bad from a legal standpoint or just from a product jury impact from a tactical jury impacts zero point. the jury's not interested in your editorializing. they want to try to get to the facts just like eve

blanche is wrong as a matter of law. jury can convict just on testimony of michael cohen if they so choose. there's a standard instruction -- i know in federal criminal law -- that the jury can -- if they find the testimony of a single cooperating witness credible, inpactful, then that alone can be the basis for their conviction. they are told it's an option. if you believe michael cohen, then that could be sufficient. >> todd blanche has sat down. if you focus just on the evidence you heard in the courtroom, this is a very quick and easy not guilty verdict. thank you. joining us now, i want to bring in former u.s. attorney joyce vance, who has been watching this and reading all of this. joyce, what do you think of the defense's summation? >> like chuck, i'm not a big fan of lists. it seems a little bit cute and pat. it was more structured than much of todd blanche's closing argument, which i took to have three buckets of reasonable doubt. i heard him saying, you can't convict because these documents aren't fraudulent. t

and those two issues were really not addressed by todd blanche. i'm not faulting him, i'm not sure what he could say, but he didn't address either of those two things. and that's where i think if you are actually thinking logically about what you heard, it left a big hole in the defense case. >> stylistically do you want to talk about that? we all know that when you're going to talk for hours, you need to be able to be the person who engages, the one consistent thing we read in the document he would raise his voice when he would call him a liar or make another disparaging remark, but did you find it -- did you find him to be compelling? >> that's a great question. so, one, there was actually a fair amount of sort of decorum in the courtroom until about the last half hour or so, where todd really focused on michael cohen, and understandably when he was saying he's a liar, raised his voice and tried to use with his body language, in his inflection, trying to get the jury more engaged. that was understandable. but it was notably absent before that, a

blanche got the answer he wanted, it was a bad answer. a witness on the stand, under oath, admitted he had a personal interest in the outcome the case. the witness's interest in the case should be to tell the truth. and that justice be done. cohen said, no, i really care what happens here, i want this guy in jail, i want this guy convicted, so, blanche took the answer as we were taught to do as prosecutors, put it in his pocket, and moved on. i'm not sure it is a terrible strategy, frankly. because, ana, if you want to dwell on the good answer that you just got, it could get worse, right? maybe cohen recognizes what he did and said and then tries to clean it up, if you ask him another question. you got answer you want, move on. >> on summation, that's a great point, on summation now, you can say, you know why he said that, here are the reasons why, it is not in evidence and you're allowed to tell your story on summation. why we got that answer is not in evidence and that's a great tool for the defense on summation to hit on and hit on and

blanche is a meander. he is not a linear person. we saw this in his cross-examination of michael cohen, was that strategy? here's just lack of experience and it was a strategy because he wanted to hone in on all the places where there can be reasonable in the order. he thought of the difficulty of bruce. he wanted to go from stronger, less strong to weak as he hit them with the best shot but it did meander at times, the jury does not. i think the jury does not like todd blanche. i think they prefer mo beauvais. they like susan necheles better. i don't think they're fond of your leg by the way, this jury that this is a jury that does not show a lot. >> so that tells me you have been analyzed and smile several times as steinglass was making his way. it did go on at length and there were some dry moments where he was going through the documents, but he also would pepper in these quotes, like the one where he said donald trump didn't pay a porn star or pay a lawyer, but he was paying a porn star and funneling think the money through an

that is exactly what todd blanche did. >> john: all right, so -- blanche is trying to paint a picture he lied on the stand? and a lot of people believe that cohen was not truthful in what he said that he made the recording of trump to show to david pecker peary why would you do that some think it's his own purposes and then the phone call with the chief of security, cut them at keith scholer which they said was about stormy daniels but blanche is now saying or eliciting from cohen it was about a 14-year-old print color. does this go to the potential instruction from the judge that if the jury believes cohen has lied about anything on the stand they can discount the entirety of his testimony? >> there is a perfect jury instruction i choose in every single trial falseness in human falseness employer about meaning false and one false and everything. if the jury, endless is if the judge allows this instruction which generally speaking it is allowed, if the jury believes michael cohen has lied under oath in this trial inc. can discount the entire testimony. it's very broad and sweeping wit

blanche asked yes, sir. cohen says cohen has testified previously the prosecution knew that this would obviously goh line of questioning about why it was so much higher. in addition, he basically said he was also just trying to make money off of this now, did testify to that. >> yeah. he was mad about his bonus there. we're looking to make him whole and if you look at that, that sort of scribbling on the piece of paper that is one of the most important pieces of evidence here. but that is not the handwriting of the defendant. and there is no direct link between the and this alleged conspiracy that scribble down on that piece of paper here, cohen is as close as we get, and that's why blanche is going to really go at him on what was written down on that piece of paper. it's really one of the most significant pieces of evidence. again, this is an alleged paperwork crime at the heart of it. arguably the most important testimony that we've heard so far has been from the trump organization accountants were the one

blanche, to his job. he's and the judge will will charge to this jury, jake, that if a witness has a bias our skin in the game? you take that testimony with caution when supposed to say they rob the bank, they drove the car. it was blue and it was raining out. not i want him in jail. i got a little silly little tee shirt on this cohen is reprehensible. so cohen is asked if he loves being on tv. he says, yes but more so when he was on tv on trump's behalf less now, blanche confirms with cohen he did not meet with the manhattan da's office between such and such dates, cohen's manner is still very even were told would you just rest your case if you were the defense, the prosecution, let's assume they finish their case whenever this crossing examinations over. and there's a redirect, et cetera, et cetera, and the prosecution says, okay, the prosecution rests. would you if you were todd blanche say what we rest to like they didn't they didn't meet their burden. i think there's a good argument in favor of doing

blanche, you meant it when you said it then, now.sir, blanche, you're willing to lie under oath if it affects your personal life. i asked whether it was true if you were willing to lie under oath. there's objection, sustained. blanche, this trial affects your personal life? cohen, yes, sir. >> very quickly, i'm sorry. there's also this line of questioning. blanche says do you have a financial interest in the outcome of this case? cohen, yes, sir. >> here's the hope. you start strong, you end strong. he ended strong. so if the jury tuned out for the entire thing but listened to this last group of questions, they can find cohen to be not credible. therefore, the prosecutor doesn't win. bravo on ending on a high note. what the jury will actually make of it is what we have to see and going back to those jury instructions being so critical as to how they analyze this. the jury can consider bias, motive. they consider people lying but they can also say they've done all those things and we still credit their testimony. >> we only have about

worse for todd blanche? donald trump found a way to make it worse today. donald trump went out in the hallway at the end of the day and in effect ridiculed todd blanche's defense of donald trump's violations of the gag order. apparently todd blanche had no intention of even addressing the worst violation of the gag order presented by the prosecutors, which was donald trump's comments and attacks against the jury who he accuses of being 95% democrat without having any idea how many of those jurors might be democrats, how many might be republicans. 12% of them voted for donald trump. judge merchan is not an inpatient judge. there are some who could accuse him of being too patient, like this morning. he let todd blanche say nothing for over 20 minutes today before the judge finally had to interrupt him and say, can i ask you to address the comments that were made about the jury? todd blanche began with the stupidest possible response about the actual words donald trump said. donald trump told the judge, it was

i think todd blanche will make a mistake. he said it's going to go to the end of the day today, to bring it to the end of the day today. unless there's something new we don't know about, and i don't think there is, less is more, and there probably won't be much of a redirect. >> and vaughn hillyard, you're there at the courthouse, you have had a parade of house republicans today, the speaker yesterday, which was controversial. and he made some statements, scott long on the hill interviewed him afterwards and he repeated some statements from donald trump about the whole area being warded off and according to your reporting, there have been about 20 people there, you know, pro trump supporters, but nobody is blocking them from getting anywhere close. in any case, so today you've got sort of a parade of stars. i use that in air quotes, lauren, matt gaetz, far right caucus, right? >> reporter: you had these individuals, matt gaetz, lauren boebert, bob good, eli crane, andy biggs leave the courtroom and address reporters, and esse

his instruction was written by the prosecution and todd blanche did not object to it, because blancheof it really struck me. the judge said to the jurors, i want to give you an instruction. you heard mr. blanche asking and substance that you not send the defendant to prison. you must disregard it. you may not discuss, consider, or even speculate about matters relating to sentence or punishment. if there is a verdict of guilty, it will be my responsibility to impose an appropriate sentence. and then this last line of it. a prison sentence is not required for the charges in this case in the event of a guilty verdict. i read that sentence as devastating to the defense, because the judge said to the jury, in effect, you can find this defendant guilty and he might not go to prison at all, which lightens the burden of the jury. >> okay, so, a couple of things. one, judge merchan in terms of what he did outside the presence of the jury, he said i want the government to propose something. so he did not automatically do it. i totally agree with you that todd blanche, knowing how improper it wa

a bad situation for todd blanche.on't think this is his best look. >> i don't feel sorry for him. as long as he got his money in advance. katie phang, melissa murray who i will always remind you is the person who quoted making attorneys get attorneys, which i steal all the time, harry lipman, joyce vance. thank you. >>> stay with us for much more on the closing arguments in the trump criminal trial. thanks to you... we're getting bottles back... and we've developed a way to make new ones from 100% recycled plastic. new bottles - made using no new plastic. you'll be seeing more of these bottles in more places. and when we get more of them back... ...we can use less new plastic. see how our bottles are made to be remade. millions of children are fighting to survive due to inequality, conflict, poverty and the climate crisis. save the children® is working alongside communities to provide a better life for children. and there's a way you can help. please call or go online to give just $10 a month. only $0.33 a day. we urg

blanche showed the text messages. cohen said, who can i speak to regarding harassing calls to my cell in office, the dope forgot to block because number schiller responded, call me. cohen told the defense attorney today he didn't remember the harassing phone calls, but after confronted with them, maintained, he spoke to schiller and also trump blanche pacing the courtroom, his arms flailing and his voice rising, set to cohen. that was a lie. you did not talk to president trump on that? night. you talk to keith schiller about what we just went through admitted cohen commonly replied, no, sir. i don't know that it's accurate blanche moved to show the jury texts between cohen and the team, cohen writing this number has just been sent to secret service for your ongoing and continuous harassing calls over the past three days. if you are a minor, i suggest you notify your parents or guardian the prankster replied, i didn't do it. i'm 14. uh, please don't. cohen responded, please have your parent or guardian contact me befor

todd blanche.is happening behind me when i am crossing a witness. i don't have any control of that. i mean, they are members of the public. to be clear, the lawmakers are not sitting in public seats. they are sitting in seats reserved for donald trump's defense team. joining me now is adam schiff, member of the house judiciary committee. congressman schiff, thank you for being here. i imagine you have some thoughts about your fellow house colleagues who have been trekking up to new york city to stand outside of the courtroom and weigh in on this trial. >> i have so many thoughts, and let me start with the speaker. because i have to say, i was flabbergasted that he would go and make that pilgrimage, stand outside the courthouse, and basically lie about what was going on inside the building. it is bad enough that he lacks the self-respect, that he feels he needs to go and kiss the ring in such a public and abasing way, but also for him to denigrate the justice system, for him to make, to knowingly ma

blanche is saying it's hearsay.s saying, well, the relevance -- and that it's not relevance. he said i'm not concerned about the relevance, he'll look into the hearsay after the lunch break. i'm not sure how it can be hearsay, if it actually happened, it's a clip from c-span. >> it's a very highly technical hearsay claim, and it is technically correct, the question of whether there's enough foundation to overcome that hearsay objection. the hearsay, andrea, is actually to the time stamp on the video. the time stamp is going to say 7:57 p.m. what the defense means by hearsay legitimately in that situation is how do we know that it's 7:57 p.m., who is telling us that? there's not a witness here telling us it was 7:57 p.m. what they have had, they've already had a c-span witness come on and verify how c-span time stamps everything. what the prosecution is arguing is look, the foundational testimony we got from c-span official already explains exactly how that time stamp went on there. we can do all that again, drag the

his response in the hallway today directly contradicted todd blanche , directly destroyed todd blanche's credibility, and again, in the principal argument in the defense of his violations of the gag order, were somewhat weak after the judge tells todd blanche he's lost that ability. how can it get worse for todd blanche? donald trump found a way to make it worse today. donald trump went out in the hallway at the end of the day and in effect, ridiculed todd blanche's defense of his own violations of the gag order. apparently, todd blanche had no intention of even addressing the worst violation of the gag order presented by the prosecutors , which were donald trump's comments and attacks against the jury, who he accuses of being 95% democrat even though we have no idea how many of them might be democrat or republican. 12% may have voted for donald trump. judge merchan is not an inpatient judge. there are some who could accuse him of being too patient, like this morning, he let todd blanche say nothing for over 20 minutes today, before the judge finally had to interrupt him and say, "can i

blanche online that prompted a sidebar with the judge who asked blanche, blanche?hy are you making this about yourself? the attorneys said he that he wasn't and he had a quote, right to show the witnesses bias. the judge sustained the objection. the trial got back underway, but it was wasn't long before blanche returned to cohen's propensity to mouth off on social media. blanche has cohen quote, and on that same tiktok. so again, on april 23rd, you referred to present then trump, when he left the courtroom, you said that he goes right into that little cage which is where he belongs in. and i'm going to clean up the language here, effing caves like an animal. do you recall saying that blanche asked cohen, responded, quote, i recall saying that it's sort of set the tone for the rest of the hearing where the former president's attorney, a former federal prosecutor, tried to undermine cohen's credibility, as well as his recall of conversations with the former president wasn't the only drama either its allies of the former president, including house speaker mike johnson

blanche actually said, this is not the type of witness you want.didn't choose michael cohen to be our witness. we didn't pick him up at the witness store. the defendant chose michael cohen to be his fixer because he was willing to lie and cheat on mr. trump's behalf. mr. trump chose mr. cohen for the same qualities that his attorneys now urge you to reject his testimony because of. >> yes, i thought that was really well done because although andrew has been telling us for months, i agree, that this is going to happen, the way that josh did that, by finding a quote from blanche and then tying it to that to illustrate, we didn't pick this guy. that guy picked this guy. he chose him for the very reasons his attorneys are telling you now that he can't be trusted. that is absolutely true. he went on to say that cohen was always more of a fixer than a lawyer, that he never really served a legal function, that he was always there to do the jobs nobody else wanted to do, the jobs that trump wanted to keep quiet because cohen's number one quality above ever

blanche says, let's go with 50.o obviously, not being in the room, we can't interpret was that some sort of a snark? well, whatever you see, i'm going to cut it in half because you're a serial wire or what point he's making. >> but they're still talking about these calls. i think the point he's trying to make this on my understanding of the strategy is how many calls even conservatively michael cohen was making in 2016 and 2017. and i think they came to 14,000 a year and then blanche asked, how is it possible that you remember specific details, right? these phone calls are things that i've been talking about for the past six years. cohen says in response to this question calling them extremely important. so blanche, trying to call into question whether cohen is able to accurately remember conversations you had with trump or david pecker eight years ago, cohen is responding that these were important to me, which is why i remember that. and it's gonna be up to the jury to decide died which side of that story they beli

you might see todd blanche slow rolling it. just to get there because before that reason because they want because then there's gonna be some distance and there's gonna be a three-day weekend because there's no court on friday. michael cohen fades a little bit and then i don't know what the defense case is going to be. they say they're going to put on an expert witness. i don't know expert as to what i mean. they've created a situation where they're disputing that these were reimbursements, they're saying they were legit legal fees. that is the factual battleground. that the defense has established. so i don't know what experts but they say they might or did they say that they definitely he says that he had dissipated tablet, said twice he and his weight's going until the end of day on thursday, which means that our monday though, michael cohen would still technically be on the witness stand if the prosecution wants to do the redirect, the question is, is if they don't feel like todd blanche then all that effective. if the pros

but the crushing blow to todd blanche's motion and to todd blanche's work as a lawyer in this case came when the judge explained to him with donald trump sitting there listening, that todd blanche lost this motion for a mistrial with the very first thing he said in this trial on the first day. judge merchan. mr. blanche, in your opening statement, your denial puts the jury in a position of having to choose who they believe. donald trump who denies there was an encounter and stormy daniels who says there was. the people did not have to prove that a sexual encounter occurred. they have the right to rehabilitate ms. daniel's credibility and corroborate her story which was immediately attacked. the more specificity she can provide, the more the jury can weigh to determine whether the encounter did occur and if so, whether they choose to credit her story. judge merchan pointed out that he himself objected on behalf of the trump lawyers in instances when they failed to object. and on his own, he stopped lines of questioning. judge merchan explained that stormy daniels had explained in her int

but judge merchan said that in todd blanche's opening statement, todd blanche made the mistake of making this a case about sex. andrew weissmann, lisa rubin, adam klasfeld were all at the courthouse today and they join us next. us next. nothing dims my light like a migraine. with nurtec odt, i found relief. the only migraine medication that helps treat and prevent, all in one. to those with migraine, i see you. for the acute treatment of migraine with or without aura and the preventive treatment of episodic migraine in adults. don't take if allergic to nurtec odt. allergic reactions can occur, even days after using. most common side effects were nausea, indigestion, and stomach pain. it's time we all shine. talk to a healthcare provider about nurtec odt from pfizer. ♪ i have type 2 diabetes, but i manage it well ♪ ♪ jardiance! ♪ ♪ it's a little pill with a big story to tell ♪ ♪ i take once-daily jardiance ♪ ♪ at each day's start! ♪ ♪ as time went on it was easy to see ♪ ♪ i'm lowering my a1c! ♪ jardiance works twenty-four seven in your body to flush out some sugar. and for adults with ty

todd blanche comes back up. you were asked about a question about your life being turned upside down because you changed your view about trump. this is an objection, it's sustained. blanche, you were asked about the consequences of your conduct, lost your law license. is that president trump's fault. cohen says in part. coenhad, lost my law license because of the totality, including campaign finance violations, lying to congress. blanche, is one of the reasons you lost your law license because of tax crimes. asked and answered, objection sustained. blanche, convicted of a felony in new york so you automatically lost your law license. but you still blame president trump for that? cohen, correct. this is what blanche was trying to do early on in the cross-examination to say that michael cohen never takes responsibility for his own actions. he's always looking for a scapegoat, the judge. he's blaming donald trump for actions, he lost his law license not because of donald trump but because of tax crimes. >> his answ

. >> it turned into a methodical this section of code when by defense attorney todd blanche blanche presented text messages between cohen and trump's bodyguard, keith schiller from october 24, 2016. now on monday, cone to characterize these exchanges with schiller as a way to just to get to then candidate trump, to get trump on the phone and get final approval for the stormy daniels payment scheme. instead, the texts do not speak of that. rather they show that cohen wanted schiller's help with a 14-year-old crank color who had apparently been antagonizing cohen for days are short time ago, cohen's texts with the 14-year-old were shown that were shown in court were released cohen text. this number has just been sent to secret service for your ongoing and continuous harassment to both my cell as well as to the organizations main line the person then responds, it wasn't me. my friend told me to call. i'm sorry for this. i won't do it again. cohen then replies, you will need to explain this to secret service as we have been receiving dozens of these harassing calls over the past three days. if yo

>> what was blanche like? because i know him. i go back to the southern district of new york with him. he was a pretty mild personality, like all of us, you can get more more jacked up for the courtroom. what was he like after that sort of initial aggressive questioning? yeah. it was much more mild. >> i mean, it wasn't timid. it wasn't he wasn't afraid of cohen, but it was called it was he was clearly prepared. he'd clearly been practicing for this moment but he wasn't attacking cohen. >> it's interesting for the most part you've seen a lot of the trial up close. >> do you feel that there is an explanation for this $420,000? fleurs other than what the prosecution has said that money is four i mean, what's the defense argument for what this $420,000 is for it just because donald trump felt like giving it to michael cohen. >> i think prosecutors were trying to squash a few possible defense arguments today. in their questioning, they talked about the legal work that cohen had done or even consulting work sort of post trump's electi

have we cohen we have not. >> blanche but you know who i am, don't you? cohen? i do. blanche. as a matter of fact, on april 23. so after the trial started in this case, you went on tiktok and called me a crying little didn't you? cohen sounds like something i would say that immediately objection, your honor. the defense object it. pardon me. the prosecution objected here and the court said sustained, sustains the objection and calls them up that why the objection was lodged. there was because what michael cohen's views are of an attorney are irrelevant the defense attorney probably like keeps saying the defense very probably knew full well, that this was not an appropriate question. asked that the answer was not going to be admissible, but he wanted to get in front of the jury and also get under the witnesses skin. and he did. >> well, i should just note in the transcript, we now know what the judge said to todd blanche in that sidebar where he said, why are you making this all about yourself? >> also irrelevant. like what, what but in a witness thinks about an attorney person

blanche, you blame your accountant cohen, correct? blanche, at times you blame the bank. cohen, correct. blanche, you blame federal prosecutors cohen? yes, sir. why don't you added judges and donald trump to which cohen also responded? yes. >> how do you think this landed with the jury? alyssa i'm not sure it landed. well, listen, michael cohen had some very human moment. i'm when they talked about his exchanges earlier with his daughter when he did kind of fess up to his past, lives and owned it the best thing that he should have done. i think has started the day doing was owning that he is unknown life there. he is previously perjured himself. but i think that is attitude shifted as the defense got more aggressive throughout the day. again, we're i'm hearing this through transcripts. so how it actually played in a courtroom for jury could be very different but he pretty much confirmed for the defense what's been building for weeks on end, which is he's a known liar who points the finger at other people i couldn't help thinking of that line that hope hicks had in her tes

blanche was pacing back and forth. his arms were flailing, saying a one-minute and 36 second phone call and you had enough time to update schiller about all the problems you were having and also update president trump about the status of the stormy daniels situation? >> well this, is, a crucial day and back to the timing of a minute and 36 seconds. >> it really does depend how the jury sees it. it's either not enough time to talk about two topics, any way, shape, or form, or it is. i mean in television a minute, 36 seconds is a hell of a lot of time. it's an entire report or story. if a topic has already had a lot of back-and-forth, a minute, 36 seconds is a lot of time to resolve a payment and talk about an unrelated issue. it depends how the jury sees it blanche, today told the jury that the only way to see it is the code is a liar and his version of the call was a lie. in fact, blanche repeatedly called cohen a or to his face, just as trump publicly did when the trial began in violation of his gag order what are the