Both sides rest cases without Trump testifying in hush money trial

The parties are debating over language about the jury’s requirement to find the prosecutors proved that Donald Trump participated in the alleged conspiracy.

Prosecutor Matthew Colangelo said that there’s “extensive corroboration” for example that Trump was at the Trump Tower 2015 meeting with David Pecker that goes to his participation in the conspiracy.

Trump attorney Emil Bove says, “Our perspective, what was discussed in that meeting — if you credit the people’s witnesses — were a series of pretty standard campaign activities that were not criminal and were being practiced by candidates across the country for decades.”

Bove continued, “the defense’s position is there’s nothing criminal at all” about what was discussed at that meeting.

Judge Juan Merchan asked, “If there’s nothing criminal about it what difference does it make if he’s present or not?”

Colangelo pushed back on this, in a preview of what’s to come at closing arguments next week. He said that Bove’s argument that the 2015 meeting was “benign” and a “high-minded” discussion about democracy did not match the trial record, pointing to evidence that Pecker told just a few people about the meeting and told them to keep it secret, and then “proceeded to do all the steps of the conspiracy” that prosecutors argue was unlawful.

Remember: Trump was first indicted in March 2023 by the Manhattan district attorney on state charges related to a hush-money payment to an adult film star in 2016. Prosecutors allege Trump was a part of an illegal conspiracy to undermine the integrity of the 2016 election. Further, they allege he was part of an unlawful plan to suppress negative information, including the $130,000 payment. Trump has pleaded not guilty.

Trump’s attorney Emil Bove says the defense doesn’t think the underlying tax crime predicate should go to the jury.

But if it does, it should include language that says the jury must find prosecutors proved Donald Trump acted willfully with the intent to conceal a tax crime.

Prosecutor Matthew Colangelo says the alleged grossing-up agreement and intent to conceal the reimbursement to Michael Cohen that was income clearly goes to that underlying tax crime.

They’re moving onto another submission that Judge Juan Merchan says he received at 1:05 p.m. today from the parties.

As they debate the law and the language to use to instruct the jury, the lawyers are often referencing “yellow” and “blue” edits on the document.

When they disagree, each side can use a color to propose disputed language that is then submitted to the judge to hash out at this conference.

Judge Juan Merchan and lawyers for the defense and prosecution are meeting to work on jury instructions for the 12-person panel. During the charge conference, both sides are hashing out instructions on the law, which the judge will eventually read to the jury before deliberations begin.

Here are some key disputes:

Candidate status: The prosecutors asked to tell jurors that status of the presidential candidate doesn’t have to be the sole or only motivation for the third-party, hush money payment. The defense argued if the payment was made without candidacy, it shouldn’t be treated as a “contribution.” The judge is reserving his decision.

Campaign finance violations: The defense and prosecutors went back and forth on specific language around campaign finance violations for the jury instructions. Merchan decided not to include specific election-related language related to the Federal Election Campaign Act, saying that some of the issues around it are confusing enough for the jury. The judge also also declined to jury instructions on the lack of limitations to candidates’ personal contributions to their campaign.

The word too hard to pronounce: In a lighter moment, Merchan said the word “eleemosynary,” which means charitable, can be struck from definitions both sides proposed reading to the jury.

Both sides agreed.

Judge Juan Merchan is now moving onto the final issue in the section, which he says he has particular concerns about. The section reads that the defendant did so with the intent to defraud that included an intent to commit or conceal another crime.

Merchan says that the defense proposes an additional line: Thus, for this second element the people must establish beyond a reasonable doubt two separate intents, the intent to defraud and the intent to commit or conceal the aid of another crime.

The judge says he’s specifically concerned about this section. Defense attorney Emil Bove said he understands that their proposed language is not the official criminal jury instructions.

Prosecutor Matthew Colangelo argued the defense version is inconsistent with the text of the statute and “there’s nothing in the statute about two separate intents.”

Merchan said he’d keep the standard language on the issue.

Judge Juan Merchan is addressing language related to intent to conceal or commit another crime.

Trump attorney Emil Bove is objecting to language proposed by prosecutors that he says calls the jury’s attention to things that the government does not have to prove.

“What we perceive here is a risk of burden-shifting,” Bove says.

Merchan says he’s not going to rule immediately on Bove’s objection.

Donald Trump’s team wants the judge to read an expanded jury instruction on intent and also an instruction on intent to defraud.

Judge Juan Merchan asks why they need the “intent to defraud” charge in addition to the intent charge.

Trump attorney Emil Bove argues there’s a “significant issue with instructing to the jury that intent to defraud could include defrauding the government and the voting public, based on the facts of this case.”

Merchan says prosecutors have to prove there was “intent to deprive another, they don’t have to prove that it’s property or money, they have to prove that it was something.”

Prosecutor Matthew Colangelo says the wording they are seeking is “the controlling definition of intent to defraud and given the facts of this case it’s important the jury be instructed on it.”

Merchan said earlier he was inclined to use a line the prosecutors suggested to explain “intent to defraud can extend beyond economic concerns.” Bove contended that they have to tell the jury what it is, not what it is not.

He asked that if they include it, that the judge use the defense language that includes the language “lead another into error or disadvantage.”

Colangelo said that language is not a part of the official language in the standard legal definition.

Now there’s a discussion about how they will instruct the jury on how a person causes a false entry in business records and what that means.

Trump attorney Emil Bove objected to prosecutors’ language, saying they want to strike the phrase “a person causes a false entry when…”

Bove argues:

Judge Juan Merchan agrees with the defense but then hears prosecutor Matthew Colangelo.

Colangelo says it is “an extremely important concept” because Trump’s lawyers argued in openings that Trump did not deal directly with the business records. Colangelo says Trump could have acted in concert with Weisselberg to cause the false entry.

Merchan responds, “Isn’t this already covered in the definition of accomplice liability?”

Merchan is reserving decision but says his inclination is to strike the line as Trump’s team requested.

Judge Juan Merchan is now reviewing some instructions jointly submitted by the parties earlier today.

In a moment of levity he says the word “eleemosynary” can be struck from definitions they proposed reading to the jury.

Merchan joked that he tried to pronounce it several times but cannot and so spelled it for the court reporter. He also said it means “charitable.” Prosecutor Matthew Colangelo laughing said they’re fine with that.

Judge Juan Merchan is now discussing another language dispute that appears to be related to Michael Cohen’s crimes.

The defense wants a sentence in the jury instructions to read “participated in a crime.”

The prosecution wants “participated in and was convicted of two crimes.”

Merchan agrees with the defense to tweak it to say “participated in crimes” (plural) and remove the language about being convicted.

They also are debating including “accomplice” versus “culprit” in the sentence.

“You should know going forward for the rest of this conference and beyond where there is standard pattern jury instructions I don’t deviate,” Merchan said.

Prosecutor Joshua Steinglass said that the defense’s suggestion of culprit had deviated from standard jury instructions.

The prosecution and defense are discussing a definition involving legitimate press function, a broad concept of normal tasks such as solicitation letters or seeking new subscribers to a publication.

In this case, it’s about AMI, the publisher of the National Enquirer.

Trump’s attorney Emil Bove argues that the defense wants to make clear that AMI did publish articles and do things for Karen McDougal, pursuant to the agreement within normal legitimate press function.

Judge Juan Merchan says:

“Why can’t we just strike the phrase legitimate press function is a broad concept. I can keep what you have before that and what you have after that.”

Prosecutor Matthew Colangelo says he thinks some of the other language is “unnecessary.”

Merchan says there’s no harm in including the line. 

Trump is leaning back in his chair, his eyes sometimes open and sometimes closed, as the lawyers go back and forth on the language that will be used during jury instructions.

He’s reviewing sheets of paper from the multiple stacks in front of him on the defense table.

Robert Costello’s disastrous testimony may not have a serious impact since the jury will have a week to think and reset before deliberating, Robert Hirschhorn, a jury consultant and attorney, said on CNN.

He continued, “So, it normally be a really big problem for the defense but here’s the difference this one week is going to work as a reset.”

Hirschhorn added, however, that he believes this one week off might actually help the defense instead of the prosecution.

Judge Juan Merchan is now moving on to a request from prosecutors to tell jurors that candidate status does not have to be the sole or only motivation for the third-party payment, “so long as the payment would not have been made but for the candidate status” of the candidate for federal office.

Merchan is reading part of the Trump team’s proposed language that he said sums it up very well:

Trump’s team wants to include some examples.

“This is an area that’s technical and somewhat confusing,” Trump attorney Emil Bove argues.

Bove again says this is something they would have asked former Federal Election Commissioner Brad Smith about if they had been allowed to.

Merchan is reserving decision but said he’s inclined to use Trump’s last sentence and a line from the prosecution.

The defense wants the jury instructions to include a line: “for the purpose of influencing any election requires proof that the activity clearly and unambiguously related to President Trump’s campaign.”

Defense attorney Emil Bove says they were seeking to provide this type of content through the testimony of campaign finance expert Brad Smith had they been allowed to, so they are asking Judge Juan Merchan to include it.

Prosecutor Matthew Colangelo disputes Bove’s claim that the phrase is a fact of law.

Colangelo says the jury probably needs less — not more when it comes to the Federal Election Campaign Act (FECA) terms.

What Merchan ruled: He says he won’t include it, noting that some of these issues related to FECA are confusing enough for the jury.

He says other portions of the instructions will accomplish what Trump’s attorneys are looking to do with that phrase.

Judge Juan Merchan says he’s reserving his decision on the willful issue.

The defense argued that any violation of federal campaign finance laws had to be willful and that the word needed to be included in the jury instruction.

The prosecution said there was no need to add the word “willful.”

Both sides are now discussing the language the defense wants to include in jury instructions.

The defense wants the jury to be told that in 2015 and 2016, there was no limit on a candidate’s ability to contribute personal funds to his or her campaign.

“It has nothing to do with the case and is extraneous and would probably be confusing to the jury,” Prosecutor Matthew Colangelo argues with regards to the language on candidates’ personal contributions. 

Merchan said he will not give the jury instruction on the issue.

He tells the defense they can say in closing arguments that “if your client has certain wealth he could have paid for this himself.”

Judge Juan Merchan says falsifying business records in the first degree “requires that there be an intent to defraud that includes the intent to commit another crime.”

Prosecutor Matthew Colangelo says the other crime is the election law violation that is created through the alleged conspiracy.

But the prosecutor says the object crime doesn’t need to be completed. There just needs to be intent to commit the underlying crime.

Matthew Colangelo is arguing about the language regarding federal election law on behalf of the prosecution.

“The other crime here is the election law violation which becomes a criminal violation when two or more persons conspire to promote” a candidate for election by unlawful means, Colangelo added.

Remember: Prosecutors allege Trump was a part of an illegal conspiracy to undermine the integrity of the 2016 election. They allege he was part of an unlawful plan to suppress negative information, including the $130,000 hush money payment to Stormy Daniels.

Donald Trump’s attorney Emil Bove is up and they’re discussing campaign finance violations.

Bove says the defense wants Judge Juan Merchan to instruct the jury about the federal election law that there needs to be a willful violation.

Otherwise, “it would allow the jury to think about the predicate offense in civil terms.”

Trump has moved into the third chair at the defense table. Bove and fellow Trump attorney Todd Blanche are sitting next to each other for the charging conference.

Judge Juan Merchan and lawyers for the defense and prosecution are meeting now in the Manhattan courtroom to work on jury instructions.

During the charge conference, the parties will hash out instructions on the law that the judge will eventually read to the jury as he charges them to begin deliberations, which could start next week.

The jury is not present for these proceedings. The defense rested its case Tuesday morning, just one day after the prosecution rested its case.

Trump is back in the courtroom with a group of supporters behind him including his son Don Jr. It’s unclear how long the charging conference will last.

What happens next: Attorneys for the prosecution and defense are expected to deliver closing arguments Tuesday as they appeal to the jury.

Because they have the burden of proof, prosecutors address the jury first but they also get the last word, so the prosecution will give a rebuttal argument after the defense closing argument.

Read up on the steps of the trial.

CNN’s Katherine Sullivan contributed reporting to this post.

Heading back into the courtroom Tuesday afternoon, former President Donald Trump called for the hush money case against him to be dismissed.

Both sides have rested their case and closing arguments are expected to start next Tuesday, according to Judge Juan Merchan.

Trump, speaking to reporters, called Merchan “complicated and conflicted,” echoing language he has been repeating throughout the trial. He also continued to claim there is “no crime.”

The former president also said the next few hours will be important. The lawyers and Merchan will work through the instructions that will be given to the jury.

The defense rested its case in Donald Trump’s criminal hush money trial on Tuesday after roughly 90 minutes of testimony – and without the former president taking the stand.

Trump’s attorneys called two witnesses: a paralegal who entered phone records into evidence and Robert Costello, an attorney who was in talks with Michael Cohen to represent him after the FBI raided his home and office in 2018. 

Here are key takeaways from the final day of testimony:

Read more about the takeaways from Trump’s defense.

Ahead of the hush money trial, Judge Juan Merchan imposed a gag order on Donald Trump which blocks him from speaking out about potential witnesses and most people in or associated with the court or the New York district attorney’s office.

In that initial order — imposed in March — Merchan also said that Trump can’t make statements about attorneys, court staff or the family members of prosecutors or lawyers intended to interfere with the case. Trump is also barred from making statements about any potential or actual juror.

The ruling also prevents Trump from criticizing his former attorney, Michael Cohen, or adult film star Stormy Daniels, both witnesses in the trial.

The former president, Merchan said in his order, has a history of making “threatening, inflammatory, denigrating” statements against people at all levels of the justice system, including jurors.

The order does not prevent Trump from talking about New York District Attorney Alvin Bragg, who is a public figure, or Merchan himself.

The gag order was imposed after Trump repeatedly attacked the district attorney’s case and those involved with it ahead of what would be the first criminal trial of a former president. Trump criticized Merchan, his daughter and one of Bragg’s prosecutors in the hours before Merchan issued his order in March.

Since then, Trump has been fined for violating the order 10 times and the judge warned on May 6 that “this court will have to consider a jail sanction” if the former president violates it again.

Merchan fined Trump $1,000 for the violation ruling on May 6. A week prior, the judge fined Trump $9,000 for nine previous violations of the judge’s gag order. Violations of the gag order are punishable by a fine of up to $1,000, by jail time of up to 30 days, or both.

During remarks before entering the courtroom for the trial’s proceedings, Trump has repeatedly railed against the gag order and the case. He has also relied on allies to deliver attacks outside the court.

Jury instructions are the last thing the jury hears before they go into the room to deliberate. In them, the judge outlines how they should reach their decision and what they need to do to reach a verdict.

The time before the charging instructions are given is an opportunity for the lawyers of both sides to argue about things they think should be told to the jury before they go into deliberations, CNN’s senior legal analyst Elie Honig said.

This afternoon when the court reconvenes, the judge will go through with both the prosecution and defense what can be included in the charging instructions, and what the judge will tell the jury about issues raised throughout the case, the former federal and state prosecutor said.

Read more about the steps of a trial.

No cameras are allowed inside the Manhattan courtroom where Donald Trump’s hush money trial is underway, but sketch artists are capturing the scenes.

The final defense witness in Trump hush money case, Robert Costello, questioned by prosecutor Susan Hoffinger.

A total of 22 witnesses testified in Donald Trump’s criminal hush money trial. Prosecutors called 20 witnesses over 19 days in court, totaling over 50 hours of testimony.

Defense attorneys called two witnesses over two days, with around two hours of testimony.

Trump’s ex-attorney and fixer Michael Cohen, adult film actress Stormy Daniels and former White House aide Hope Hicks were among the high-profile witnesses who took the stand.

Here’s who the jury heard from throughout the trial:

Jim Trusty, Donald Trump’s former attorney, said it was a good move from the defense for Trump to not testify. 

“There’s a number of reasons not to do it,” he told CNN’s Kaitlan Collins, including that other elements from Trump’s life, including the E. Jean Carroll case, where Trump was found guilty of sexually abusing Carroll in a civil trial, could be raised. 

Trusty said instead, the defense focused on making the case all about Trump’s former attorney Michael Cohen.

“And I think if you put President Trump on the stand, you’re just inviting a comparison game. You’re actually watering down the effectiveness of your cross against Cohen so right decision whether or not the president fought it behind scenes,” he said.

Remember: Trump had repeatedly said that he would be willing to testify in his own defense. The former president did testify in his New York civil fraud trial last year.

Through witness testimony and exhibits, prosecutors tried to prove that Donald Trump falsified business records to cover up hush money payments made to prevent adult film star Stormy Daniel’s claim of an affair with Trump from becoming public before the 2016 presidential election.

Through their main witness, Trump’s ex-attorney and fixer Michael Cohen, and other high-profile witnesses, prosecutors aimed to tie together key dates at the heart of the case.

Soon the decision of whether to convict Trump will be in the hands of the 12-panel jury.

Here’s a timeline CNN compiled of key events in the hush money case:

See a full timeline on the case.

Donald Trump has been accused of taking part in an illegal conspiracy to undermine the integrity of the 2016 election and an unlawful plan to suppress negative information, which included a hush money payment made to adult film actress Stormy Daniels to hide an affair.

Prosecutors allege that Trump disguised the transaction as a legal payment and falsified business records numerous times to “promote his candidacy.” Trump faces 34 counts of falsifying business records. He has pleaded not guilty and denied the affair with Daniels.

The prosecution and defense have rested their case. Prosecutors called 20 witnesses to the stand over several weeks, including high-profile witnesses that included Daniels, Trump’s ex-attorney Michael Cohen and former White House aide Hope Hicks in an effort to convince jurors of their case. Defense attorneys called two witnesses over two days.

Read up on the key players in the trial:

Robert Costello, a lawyer who advised Michael Cohen, testified for over an hour today. He discussed his connection with former Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani and the difficulty he had working with Cohen.

Here are the highlights of his testimony:

Relationship with Giuliani: Prosecutors presented evidence to show Costello’s connection with Giuliani and how Costello said that could prove useful to Cohen. Here are some highlights:

Did he backchannel to Trump? Costello repeatedly denied he was pushing Cohen to retain him because he could provide a backchannel to Trump.

The comment elicited laughs in the courtroom.

Later on, defense attorney Emil Bove asked who first used the word “backchannel,” to which Costello responded, “Rudy Giuliani, in response to my telling him we couldn’t make this public because that’s what Michael Cohen said to me.”

Costello said they’d let Trump’s inner circle know through the backchannel that Costello would represent Cohen, but Cohen expressed concern, saying, “We don’t want to go public with this, it would cause a press uproar.”

Working with Cohen: Costello’s emails outlined some of the difficulty he encountered while working with Cohen. Here are the key points:

“That’s ridiculous”: Costello said he doesn’t have animosity toward Cohen, but that he believes Cohen is not telling the truth. The defense asked Costello about his testimony before a House committee last week and if that was an effort to intimidate Cohen. “That’s ridiculous, no,” Costello responded.

Correction: An earlier version of this post misstated who testified before a House committee. It was Robert Costello.

A total of 22 witnesses testified in Donald Trump’s criminal hush money trial.

Prosecutors called 20 witnesses over 19 days in court, totaling over 50 hours of testimony.

Defense attorneys called two witnesses over two days, with around two hours of testimony.

Robert Costello’s testimony seemed to backfire for the defense, several legal experts said on CNN.

Costello’s demeanor toward Judge Juan Merchan caused the courtroom to be cleared on Monday and his back and forth with prosecutors may not be working in the defense’s favor.

“It’s just terrible the way it went down and the weird thing is is that Costello knows better, right?” David Oscar Markus, a criminal defense attorney, said. “He’s a lawyer, he’s been in that courtroom, that courthouse. He knows better so just an awful, awful day. And you know the defense took a big risk here and struck out very badly.”

“The prosecutor is undermining through this,” Coates said, “and not allowing him, frankly, on this very tight leash, to try to talk his way out of what the documents say. Now the idea, the color we had in the courtroom before about him telling her to ‘speak up, talk louder’ not going over maybe well with the juror,” Coates said.

“He is now not able to explain away what the documents say. That’s where you want your witness to be if you want to undermine them,” she added.

The district attorney is “gradually but surely turning Bob Costello into a prosecution witness,” CNN senior legal analyst Elie Honig said, “because Costello is talking about a crucial moment in time” in April 2018 when the emails indicate Costello was trying to keep Cohen in the fold and not flip. “This shady effort to keep Michael Cohen from not flipping is coming back to the floor. It’s bad for the defense and good for the prosecution.”

William J. Brennan, former Trump Payroll Corp. attorney, also said that Costello’s testimony is not in favor of the defense. “It’s just really sad for the defense that this is what we’re focused on now when you had a couple of days that don’t often happen in a criminal trial. You know Cohen was just, you know, a gift.”

Brennan continued, now they put Costello on, “he’s imploded, he fought with the judge, he’s dancing with her (Susan Hoffinger), it’s just not a great way to end.”

Donald Trump is leaving the courtroom.

He walks by cameras in the hallway and throws up a fist pump, giving no comments.

The jury has left the courtroom, and Judge Juan Merchan is off the bench.

“Thank you, I’ll see you in a week,” Merchan tells the jury as they depart.

Merchan says they would be back at 2:15 p.m. to discuss the charging instructions.

Robert Costello, a lawyer who advised Michael Cohen, testified for 1 hour and 14 minutes.

He was the final witness in Donald Trump’s historic criminal hush money trial.

Judge Juan Merchan is now instructing the jury on timing.

He says he expects the summations will take at least a day and he prefers not to break them up if possible.

There’s no way to do this in a cohesive manner this week, Merchan says.

He says the best thing to do is adjourn now and hear summations on Tuesday.

“It might be tempting to think now that both sides have rested you can kind of let up a bit, but in fact these instructions take on even greater significance,” Merchan tells the jury of his instructions not to talk about or research the case.

He also asks them to think about if they can work late next Tuesday, since he’s “not 100% sure we’re going to get both summations done by 4:30 (p.m. ET).”

Prosecutors have no rebuttal witnesses.

“Nothing further judge,” Prosecutor Joshua Steinglass says.

Trump attorney Todd Blanche has rested the defense’s case.

The defense’s case lasted just over two hours compared to weeks for the prosecution.

While the prosecution called 20 witnesses to testify, the defense decided to call a paralegal from Blanche’s law firm for brief testimony before calling Cohen’s former legal advisor Robert Costello to rebuff some of Cohen’s testimony.

Despite repeatedly saying that he would be willing to testify in his own defense, Trump ultimately did not take the stand. 

He is charged with 34 counts of falsifying business records to cover up a hush money payment to adult film actress Stormy Daniels shortly before the 2016 election. 

Closing arguments are expected to take place next Tuesday, the day after Memorial Day weekend.

CNN’s Laura Dolan contributed reporting to this post.

In a June 13, 2018, email that Trump attorney Emil Bove is reviewing, Robert Costello wrote: “You have the ability to make that communication when you want to. Whether you exercise that ability is totally up to you.”

More context: Trump’s attorneys called Costello to the stand as a way to try to rebut Cohen’s testimony about the pressure he was receiving in 2018 when the FBI searched his home and office.

Costello advised Cohen in the weeks after the search, though Cohen did not sign a retainer agreement and did not pay Costello, who touted in email communications his close connections with Rudy Giuliani. The former New York mayor also joined Trump’s legal team in 2018.

Trump attorney Emil Bove is now asking Robert Costello about the “backchannel” email.

Bove asks, “Who first used the word backchannel?”

Costello says, “Rudy Giuliani, in response to my telling him we couldn’t make this public because that’s what Michael Cohen said to me.”

Prosecutor Susan Hoffinger a bit earlier asked Costello if he was pushing Michael Cohen to retain him because he could provide a backchannel to Trump, which Costello denied.

Costello says they’d let Trump’s inner circle know through the backchannel that Costello would represent Cohen, but Cohen expressed concern, saying, “We don’t want to go public with this, it would cause a press uproar.”

Bove confirms with Costello that the first mention about a backchannel was sent in an email the day after Costello told his son he’d be representing Cohen, showing him the statement Cohen was set to release.

Trump attorney Emil Bove asks Robert Costello to explain what he meant when he wrote to Michael Cohen he thought they had been played in that June 13, 2018, email.

Prosecutor Susan Hoffinger objects, but Judge Juan Merchan allows him to explain.

Costello says that he was referring to Cohen not signing the retainer agreement that his partner Jeff Citron had given Cohen after their initial meeting.

“Every time Jeff asked him about the retainer, ‘Michael did you sign the retainer yet?’ he gave us an excuse,” Costello said.

Bove asks, “Were you concerned you were representing Michael Cohen when he wouldn’t sign the retainer agreement?”

“Yeah, sure,” Costello said.

Trump attorney Emil Bove pulled up the August 2018 email to Robert Costello and his partner Jeff Citron in which Michael Cohen said:

“Please cease contacting me as you do not and have never represented me in this or any other matter.”

Bove asks Costello, “From your perspective, was that true or false?”

“False,” Costello says.

Prosecutor Susan Hoffinger just wrapped up her cross-examination of Robert Costello and Trump attorney Emil Bove is back up at the podium again.

Prosecutor Susan Hoffinger is asking Robert Costello if he has animosity toward Michael Cohen.

Costello is also asked about his testimony before a House committee last week and if that was an effort to intimidate Cohen.

While reviewing Robert Costello’s emails, prosecutor Susan Hoffinger asked Costello if he was upset that Michael Cohen was playing him.

Costello said “That’s the wrong word” and “No, I was informed.”

A 2018 email suggested that Costello was complaining that Cohen was not working with him.

The email reads in part, “Jeff. This is the response I received from Michael after sending him a detailed text followed by a voicemail one hour later at 4 pm. Turn into CNN and see how they are playing this up. Cohen has to know this yet he continues to slow play us and the president – is he totally nuts???”

“What should I say to this a**hole? He is playing with the most powerful man on the planet,” the email says.

The email “speaks for itself, does it not Mr. Costello?” Hoffinger asks.

“Yes it does,” Costello says.

“You lost control of Michael Cohen?” Hoffinger said.

“Absolutely not,” Costello says.

Hoffinger continued to press him asking if he lost control of Cohen when he pleaded guilty in federal court in 2018.

Costello said, “I certainly didn’t have any control when he plead guilty.”

Prosecutor Susan Hoffinger asks Robert Costello to look at an email.

She asks, “in this email aren’t you encouraging him not to cooperate, yes or no?”

“No,” Costello says

She showed a June 14, 2018, email the jury has already seen.

“If you really believe you are not being supported properly by your former boss, then you should make your position known. If you really want certain things to happen, you should make that known,” the email continues.

Hoffinger pressed Costello, saying: “You also were asked by Bove (Trump’s attorney), ‘did you care about President Trump’s interest while you were dealing with Cohen?’ Your answer was, ‘no my obligation was to Michael Cohen.’”

“Yes and that’s correct,” Costello said in response to that question.

Prosecutor Susan Hoffinger turns to another email from Robert Costello on June 13, 2018, which we’ve seen previously:

Costello says of that email: “I was encouraging Michael Cohen, as I just explained to you in my previous answer, to express any of his complaints, and he had several, so that I could bring them to (Rudy) Giuliani, and get them worked out, whatever they were.”

Former Federal Election Commissioner Brad Smith has posted a lengthy thread on X, detailing his objection to not being allowed to testify at the hush money trial.

In one post, Smith said that he had planned to testify to the “reporting schedules, showing that even if they thought it was a campaign expenditure to be reported, expenditure made on October 27 (when $$ sent to Daniels atty) would not, under law, be reported until Dec. 8, a full 30 days after election,” he wrote.

Smith also complained that the judge allowed Michael Cohen to discuss whether he violated the Federal Employees’ Compensation Act (FECA).

“While judge wouldn’t let me testify on meaning of law, he allowed Michael Cohen to go on at length about whether and how his activity violated FECA. So effectively, the jury got its instructions on FECA from Michael Cohen!” he wrote.

In summarizing his thread, Smith claimed that Merchan’s “bias is very evident.”

The prosecution is now showing a May 15, 2018, email between Robert Costello and his partner about Michael Cohen.

Asked about the email Costello says, “No, not to follow instructions but to get everybody on the same page because Michael Cohen had been complaining incessantly that Rudy Giuliani was making statements in the press.”

Another portion of the email reads, “We must reverse the Avenatti effect and restore this to a far more simple investigation of things that while they might not look good politically and nevertheless legal.”

Prosecutor Susan Hoffinger then asked Costello, parroting what he said yesterday on the stand, “the emails speak for themselves.”

Costello responded, “sometimes.”

Prosecutor Susan Hoffinger continues to walk through Robert Costello’s emails to Michael Cohen, including an email in which Cohen said he could rest easy because he had “friends in high places.”

Costello confirms that “definitely refers to President Trump, yes.”

Donald Trump is watching Costello’s testimony while leaning back in his chair with his arm draped over the back of it.

Prosecutor Susan Hoffinger has asked Robert Costello if he was pushing Michael Cohen to retain him because he could provide a backchannel to Trump. Costello again denied it.

Hoffinger then showed Costello and the jury an email he sent to Cohen mentioning a backchannel.

The comment elicited laughs in the courtroom.

Prosecutor Susan Hoffinger shows the jury an email from Robert Costello to Michael Cohen on April 19, 2018, indicating that Rudy Giuliani was joining Trump’s team.

“I am sure you saw the news that Rudy is joining the Trump legal team. I told you my relationship with Rudy which could be very very useful for you,” Costello emailed Cohen.

Hoffinger went on to show Costello another email he sent to Jeff Citron on April 19, 2018: “All the more reason for Cohen to hire me because of my connection to Giuliani, which I mentioned to him in our meeting.”

“That was your email, correct?” Hoffinger asks.

“Correct,” Costello says.

Prosecutor Susan Hoffinger asks Robert Costello whether he discussed with Michael Cohen how connected he was to Rudy Giuliani at their first meeting at the Regency Hotel.

“That’s not true,” Costello says.

Costello says that he did not say that at the first meeting, but mentioned Giuliani later.

Hoffinger confirms with Costello that Giuliani was at his wedding.

The jury is being shown an email dated August 8, 2018.

Michael Cohen emailed Robert Costello and Jeff Citron stating, “Gentleman

Please cease contacting me as you do not and have never represented me in this or any other matter.”

The email continues: “Your interest and offers to become part of the team and to serve as a contact was subject to existing counsel, Guy Petrillo (cc’d) approval, which was denied.”

Prosecutor Susan Hoffinger has resumed her cross-examination of Robert Costello.

Hoffinger begins by asking Costello about the fact that Michael Cohen ultimately hired another firm to represent him, and not Costello’s firm.

More context: Trump’s attorneys called Costello to the stand as a way to try to rebut Cohen’s testimony about the pressure he was receiving in 2018 when the FBI searched his home and office.

Costello advised Cohen in the weeks after the search, though Cohen did not sign a retainer agreement and did not pay Costello, who touted in email communications his close connections with Rudy Giuliani. The former New York mayor also joined Trump’s legal team in 2018.

The jury is entering the courtroom.

While waiting for the jury, prosecutor Joshua Steinglass asks Judge Juan Merchan whether he wants to ask them about their availability for next Wednesday. Merchan says he will ask before they go home for the day.

Robert Costello has entered the courtroom and walked to the witness stand without looking at Trump’s table.

“Good morning Mr Costello. Welcome back. I remind you that you’re still under oath,” Judge Juan Merchan says to him.

Costello just spoke with Merchan, but it was off mic.

Judge Juan Merchan has returned to the bench this morning and court is in session.

Merchan has called for the defense’s witness, Robert Costello.

In comments before entering the courtroom, former President Donald Trump described the hush money case as a “witch hunt” and took aim at the court, calling it a “kangaroo court.”

He is in court on the 20th day of the criminal hush money trial against him.

Repeatedly, ahead of his court appearances, Trump has claimed that he should instead be spending his time campaigning, and said that there is no case against him.

“They have no case and there’s no crime,” Trump said again Tuesday morning.

Former President Donald Trump is in the Manhattan courtroom as Robert Costello, a lawyer who advised Michael Cohen, is set to resume his testimony soon.

Trump walked down the center aisle and turned to acknowledge journalist Andrea Mitchell who is in the galley today.

Donald Trump Jr. is seated in the first row behind the defense table.

Trump attorney Emil Bove said Monday that the defense doesn’t expect to call any more witnesses after Robert Costello is off the the stand. Donald Trump is not required to testify at the trial, as all criminal defendants have a right to remain silent and decline to testify in their own defense.

Judge Juan Merchan indicated that he expects closing arguments to take place next Tuesday. Here’s a look at what happens in the trial after the defense rests its case:

Prosecution’s rebuttal case: Prosecutors can present additional evidence specifically tailored to respond to the defense’s case. The prosecution is not required to present any rebuttal evidence.

Closing arguments: Attorneys for the prosecution and defense each give a closing argument appealing to the jury that will soon consider the case. Because they have the burden of proof, prosecutors address the jury first but they also get the last word, so the prosecution will give a rebuttal argument after the defense closing argument.

Jury instruction or jury charge: The judge instructs the jury as to the charges they must consider against the defendant and the laws governing their deliberations.

Jury deliberation: A panel of 12 jurors considers the evidence presented at trial and charges against the defendant. The jury must be unanimous in its decision. The jury can communicate with the court and ask questions about the case with the court through handwritten notes.

Verdict: The jury will notify the court that they’ve reached a verdict. The verdict will then be read in court and jurors will be polled to confirm the verdict read in court reflects their own vote.

Sentencing: If the jury reaches a guilty verdict, the judge sentences the defendant, typically after a sentencing hearing at a later date.

Donald Trump departed Trump Tower moments ago and is headed to the Manhattan criminal court, where all eyes will be on Robert Costello, the theatrical witness and lawyer who advised Michael Cohen.

Costello is expected to resume his testimony after a testy exchange Monday with the judge Monday.

Court starts at 9:30 a.m. ET Tuesday with prosecutor Susan Hoffinger continuing her questioning of Costello in cross-examination. Both parties have said they do not expect to go too much longer. 

According to former President Donald Trump’s presidential campaign, the following people will join Trump in court today for his criminal hush money trial:

Several of Trump’s allies have been flocking to the Manhattan court throughout the trial to display their support for the former president.

Robert Costello, an attorney connected with Michael Cohen, will resume his testimony today on the witness stand after yesterday’s contentious exchange with the judge.

Costello, who is a witness for the defense, was admonished by Judge Juan Merchan after he audibly complained when the judge sustained objections to the questions he was being asked.

Costello has been brought up numerous times during the trial, including Monday, when Donald Trump’s attorney Todd Blanche asked Cohen to confirm instances in which the two communicated and met.

Costello testified on May 15 in front of a House Judiciary subcommittee and consistently criticized Cohen, saying “virtually every statement” Cohen made on the stand about Costello was a lie. Following the testimony, Trump’s team reached out to Costello.

Costello previously appeared as the only defense witness before the grand jury investigating the case in March 2023.

Trump’s attorneys called Costello as a way to try to rebut Cohen’s testimony about the pressure he was receiving in 2018 when the FBI searched his home and office.

Costello advised Cohen in the weeks after the search, though Cohen did not sign a retainer agreement and did not pay Costello, who touted in email communications his close connections with Rudy Giuliani. The former New York mayor also joined Trump’s legal team in 2018.

Read more about Costello’s testimony yesterday in the Trump trial.

CNN’s Jeremy Herb, Lauren del Valle and Kara Scannell contributed reporting to this post.

Twelve New Yorkers are on deck.

As Donald Trump’s first criminal trial races toward its climax, his attorneys are previewing how they will beseech a jury next week to spare their client the shame of being the first ex-president to be convicted of a crime.

On a wild day in court Monday, Judge Juan Merchan accused one disrespectful defense witness of trying to stare him down, while the ex-president’s former fixer, Michael Cohen, sensationally admitted to stealing thousands of dollars from his old boss’ firm.

But beneath the uproar, there is also a clear sense that this trial – which is intertwined with the country’s future, given Trump’s bid to reclaim the White House – is now in its fateful endgame.

The presumptive Republican nominee’s lawyers made a long-shot bid for the dismissal of his first criminal trial before the jury has even been asked to deliberate. The gambit is a familiar one for defense teams that rarely works, but it offered a glimpse into the narrative Trump’s lawyers will place before the jury, likely next Tuesday, after the Memorial Day holiday.

Read the full analysis.

The prosecution rested its case Monday in the Donald Trump hush money trial, which is barreling toward a conclusion. Michael Cohen’s testimony wrapped up after four days on the witness stand.

It wasn’t long after the defense began its case for things to get heated. Judge Juan Merchan admonished a witness for the defense, Robert Costello, after he audibly complained when the judge sustained objections to the questions he was being asked.

Here are the key takeaways:

We are in the sixth week of court proceedings in Donald Trump’s historic hush money criminal trial.

To refresh your memory, here are the key moments and witnesses from the trial so far:

April 15: Trial began with jury selection.

April 19: A panel of 12 jurors and six alternates was selected.

April 22: The prosecution and defense made their opening statements. Former tabloid boss David Pecker was called to testify.

April 23: Judge Juan Merchan held a Sandoval hearing for Trump’s alleged gag order violations, but reserved his decision. Pecker continued his testimony.

April 25: While Trump sat in the Manhattan courtroom listening to Pecker’s testimony, the Supreme Court in Washington, D.C., heard arguments on the matter of his immunity in special counsel Jack Smith’s election subversion case against him.

April 26: Pecker’s direct questioning and cross-examination concluded. Trump’s former longtime assistant Rhona Graff was called to testify briefly. Michael Cohen’s former banker Gary Farro was then called to the stand.

April 30: Farro’s testimony concluded. Prosecutors then called Dr. Robert Browning, the executive director of C-SPAN archives, and Philip Thompson who works for a court reporting company. Then, Keith Davidson, the former attorney for Daniels and McDougal, took the stand. Also, Merchan fined Trump $9,000 for violating a gag order.

May 2: Davidson’s testimony concluded. Digital evidence analyst Douglas Daus was called to testify.

May 3: After Daus finished testifying, Georgia Longstreet, a paralegal at the district attorney’s office, spoke about reviewing Trump’s social media posts for this case. She was followed by Hope Hicks, once a longtime Trump aide. Her highly-anticipated testimony was a little less than three hours.

May 6: Prosecutors called two witnesses who worked in accounting in the Trump Organization: Jeffrey McConney, a former Trump Org. controller, and Deborah Tarasoff, an accounts payable supervisor.

May 7: Prosecutors called Sally Franklin, the senior vice president and executive managing editor for Penguin Random House publishing group. After her testimony, Stormy Daniels was called to the stand.

May 9: Stormy Daniels finished her testimony, with the defense trying to undermine her credibility by pointing out inconsistencies in her story on cross-examination.

May 10: Former White House aide Madeleine Westerhout’s testimony concluded. Then prosecution called several custodial witnesses to the stand.

May 13: Former Trump attorney and the prosecution’s key witness, Michael Cohen, started testifying.

May 14: The prosecution completed direct questioning of Cohen and Trump’s defense began cross-examination.

May 16: Trump’s defense grilled Cohen, putting into question a key 2016 October call and asking him about the times he lied under oath.

May 20: Cohen wrapped up his testimony and the prosecution rested its case. The defense called its first witness, Daniel Sitko, a paralegal for defense attorney Todd Blanche. After a short round of questioning, the defense called up Robert Costello, a lawyer with a connection to Cohen. He may be the final witness, according to the prosecution.

Read a full timeline of key moments here.

Donald Trump’s legal team is led by Todd Blanche and Emil Bove, two former federal prosecutors from New York, and Susan Necheles, a veteran criminal defense lawyer with deep experience in New York and with appearing before Judge Juan Merchan.

Here are the key things to know about Trump’s legal team:

The prosecution rested its case in the hush money trial against Donald Trump on Monday.

The day started with Trump’s former lawyer and fixer, Michael Cohen, back on the stand as the defense finished its cross-examination and the prosecution worked to patch up doubts on redirect. Cohen admitted to stealing from the Trump Organization and was grilled about his financial interest in the trial.

The defense then called its first witness, Daniel Sitko, a paralegal for defense attorney Todd Blanche, to submit a phone chart into evidence. The calls in the chart were between Cohen and his former legal adviser, Bob Costello.

Costello was then called to the stand as the defense’s second witness.

Here’s a recap of what happened in court today:

Michael Cohen:

Bob Costello called for the defense:

What happens next: The prosecution will continue its cross-examination of Costello today. Hoffinger said she has up to 45 minutes left of questioning and then the defense will have the opportunity to conduct re-direct. Bove said the defense doesn’t expect to call any more witnesses, which suggests Trump will not testify in his defense. Merchan said he expects closing arguments will be next Tuesday.

Prosecutors and the defense have been zeroing in on the hush money payment at the center of the case, with Donald Trump’s lawyers trying to poke holes in Michael Cohen’s testimony.

According to prosecutors, on October 27, 2016, Cohen paid Stormy Daniels $130,000 to her attorney through a shell company in exchange for her silence about an affair she allegedly had with Trump in 2006.

Trump has publicly denied having an affair with Daniels and denied making the payments.

Prosecutors say Daniels first brought her story to American Media Inc., whose executives brought the story to Cohen on Trump’s behalf.

According to prosecutors, Trump directed Cohen to delay making the payment as long as possible, telling him if they delayed paying until after the election they could avoid paying it at all.

The former president has been accused of taking part in an illegal conspiracy to undermine the integrity of the 2016 election and an unlawful plan to suppress negative information, which included the payment to Daniels.

Prosecutors allege that Trump allegedly disguised the transaction as a legal payment and falsified business records numerous times to “promote his candidacy.”

Read a full timeline of the hush money case.

The hush money criminal case against former President Donald Trump is just one of four criminal cases he faces while juggling his presidential campaign.

The former president faces at least 88 charges over the four criminal indictments in Georgia, New York, Washington, DC, and Florida. Trump has pleaded not guilty to every charge in these cases. 

Here’s a recap of each case: 

Read more about the four criminal cases Trump faces.