The judge presiding over Donald Trump’s fraud trial briefly paused proceedings on Wednesday to scold the former president for publicly attacking him and his aides outside the court as “partisan.”
In the middle of Michael Cohen’s cross-examination, Judge Arthur Engoron broke off to address Trump’s “blatant, dangerous disobedience” of his court order not to talk about his associates.
Reading an Associated Press report, he referenced Trump’s quotes in which he called the judge “very partisan” and the person sitting next to him “even more partisan” – apparently referring to his clerk, Allison Greenfield .
The comments, made outside the courtroom during the morning recess, came after Trump was fined $5,000 last week for violating Engoron’s confidentiality agreement, which prohibited him from disparaging court staff during the trial.
On Wednesday, Judge Engoron revisited the matter, saying he issued his order because “I don’t want anyone to be killed.”
It would be “very easy for anyone to figure out who this person is,” the judge said.
Trump lawyer Christopher Kise said Trump was referring to Cohen, who sat to the judge’s left in the witness stand.
When the judge asked if Trump could explain who he was talking about, Kise said he had already asked him.
Judge Engoron said he believed it was his clerk and “seemed clear to me,” pointing out that there was a physical barrier between him and the witness in the courtroom.
The judge said he would “advise” the matter and not decide whether “serious” sanctions should be imposed.
Cohen, who cut ties with Trump five years ago, took the witness stand again on Wednesday to face further cross-examination from defense attorneys who sought to undermine his credibility by portraying him as a convicted felon and serial liar.
Judge Arthur Engoron is presiding over former President Donald Trump’s civil white-collar fraud trial in the New York Supreme Court on Wednesday
The exchange began tensely as Trump’s lawyer Alina Habba questioned Cohen again about his previous convictions and highlighted his admission that he perjured himself before a judge when he was charged with tax evasion and other crimes in 2018.
Prosecutor Colleen Faherty said she was “concerned” and that the “acting” by Trump’s lawyers “should not be allowed.”
As Alina Habba, who cross-examined Cohen, smiled and shook her head, Faherty said, “I would ask for civility and respect, and we move forward without this display of words like perjury.”
Clifford Robert, another Trump lawyer, said the perjury was about the “credibility of the witness” and that they plan to talk about “other acts of perjury today.”
“A serial liar is a serial liar.” “The attorney general’s case hinges on his perjured witness who lied to everyone he ever spoke to,” he said.
Judge Arthur Engorgon told Robert “not to make any speeches.”
He said: “I believe that perjury requires conviction.”
“You want to say he’s lying, say he’s lying, but let’s not use the word perjury.”
Tensions flared again moments later when Cohen rejected a question posed to him by Habba.
She shot back, “I’m sure you’ll do that to me every time and I don’t care.”
The exchange began tensely when Trump’s lawyer Alina Habba (left) asked Cohen again about his previous convictions
Michael Cohen arrives for the second day of his testimony at former President Donald Trump’s civil fraud trial in New York
Eric Trump was also seen returning to court for a court appearance on Wednesday. His father, brother Don Jr. and the Trump family business are accused of artificially inflating the value of real estate in New York Attorney General Letitia James’ civil lawsuit
The court was shown Trump’s 2015 financial reports, which listed his net worth at $6.5 billion.
Lawyers then pointed to Cohen’s CNN appearance at the time in which he stated that Trump was worth over $10 billion – even calling the number “a low estimate.”
Asked if he made those comments in the interview, Cohen replied: “That’s what Mr. Trump wanted me to say, yes.”
Habba fired back that she was “not surprised” by his reaction and said Cohen was “very good at blaming others.”
The court was shown the interview on CNN in which the interviewer asked: “Why does Donald Trump want to talk so much about how rich he is?”
The clip sparked laughter in the court, but Trump did not appear to react.
Habba asked Cohen if he recognized himself, and he said he did, even though he was “less gray.”
Habba further asked whether Cohen knew Robert Costello, a New York-based lawyer. Cohen repeatedly said this was not the case.
Cohen denied telling Costello, “I swear to God, I have nothing against Donald Trump” and that he would “do whatever it takes to avoid prison time.”
Addressing Cohen’s cooperation with the attorney general’s office, Habba said she had “personally thanked you” for being one of the “central reasons” for her case.
Cohen looked at New York Attorney General Letitia James, who was sitting in the public gallery, and said, “You’re welcome.”
Habba said his comment was “insightful” and Cohen replied that it was “weird.”
Habba asked Cohen why he was never named as a defendant in the case, even though he claimed to play a central role in the fraud.
She said: “The attorney general can’t believe your story is credible?”
Cohen said: “You are drawing a conclusion that I do not know.” You can ask Miss James.
From the public gallery, James raised her hand and said: “Object,” prompting laughter in court.
Habba then addressed Cohen’s comments praising Trump in the past.
Cohen agreed that he “held Trump in very high regard” before they fell out and that he “has praised him for a long time.”
Habba said: “Your opinion of Mr. Trump was so high that you once said you would take a bullet on him?”
Cohen said it came from a Vanity Fair article.
Cohen also agreed that he once said he was the man to “protect the president and his family” and insisted that he would “never run away from Donald Trump,” as Habba put it.
Habba suggested that Cohen became frustrated with Trump during his time in the White House when he did not appoint him as his chief of staff.
Cohen scoffed, saying he didn’t ask for the post and that it was a “joke” because of his closeness to Trump. He requested and received the role of personal attorney to the president, he said.
The court was shown text messages sent between Cohen and a person known as “Person 4” from March 2017 discussing who would be the next chief of staff.
Person 4 said that Ivanka Trump and her husband Jared Kushner were “too close” to Trump.
Cohen said, “Keep guessing, stupid.”
Person 4 wrote: “Stop!!! You???’
Cohen said, “I’ll give you a hint…yeah.”
Person 4 said: “Omg. Please be honest. Are you serious, you have to do it’
Cohen said: “He has to ask. ‘I would never (ask)’.
When asked by Habba about the exchange, Cohen said he was happy with the job he got and that there was “no shame in being the president’s personal attorney.”
Turning to Cohen’s finances, Habba said he started a consulting firm after the election to “make money” from his relationship with Trump.
The court was shown a section of Cohen’s 2020 book, “Disloyal,” in which he described how he received lucrative contracts from companies like Novartis and AT&T that were “desperate for intelligence and connections to the president and were ready.” “to pay for my support.”
Cohen wrote: “Did I benefit from my relationship with Trump?” Of course I did. What would you do?
Habba asked, “You formed a personal business called Essential Consultants LLC to profit from your relationship with the President of the United States.”
Cohen said, “That’s not correct.”
Habba asked, “Did you use this company to get lucrative customers?”
Cohen said, “Insights and connections, yes.”
Still, Cohen confirmed that he had received more than $4 million in payments to his consulting firm.
Habba turned to Cohen’s feelings toward Trump, asking if he has “significant animosity toward President Trump?”
He replied, ‘Do I have animosity towards him?’ Yes, I do.’
Trump, sitting at a table with his lawyers 15 feet away, did not respond.
Habba asked if Cohen vented his hostility on social media. He confirmed he used social media, but that alone was not enough to express “all my animosity” towards his former boss, prompting laughter in court.
Cohen laughed when Habba asked if he continued to benefit financially from Trump.
But he acknowledged that, as Habba put it, he had “made a career out of publicly attacking President Trump.”
At the start of Wednesday’s proceedings, Habba complained of “eye rolling and constant whispering” between the judge and his clerk, Allison Greenfield.
Habba said it was “incredibly distracting” as she tried to cross-examine Michael Cohen, Trump’s former fixer and personal attorney.
Judge Engoron said, “Okay, granted.” The judge had previously fined Trump $5,000 for posting online about Greenfield in violation of an order not to do so.
The order was issued after Trump claimed that Greenfield was dating Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, although Greenfield provided no evidence and denied it.
Cohen took the stand Tuesday and testified that Trump “arbitrarily” inflated the value of the Trump Organization’s real estate assets to secure cheap insurance premiums.
He told the court that he manipulated financial reports so that property values matched “every number that Mr. Trump gave us.”
Speaking to the court, he said: “Mr. Trump tasked me with increasing total assets based on a number he arbitrarily chose, and my job along with Allen Weisselberg (former Trump Organization CFO) was to reverse engineer the various assets.” “Different asset classes, increase those assets “To reach the number that Mr. Trump has asked us to do.”
Cohen testified that Trump would subpoena him and Weisselberg and say, for example, “He would look at the total assets (on financial status) and say I’m not really worth four and a half billion dollars, I’m actually worth more than six.”
“He instructed Allen and I to return to Allen’s office and return once we had accomplished our desired destination.”
Michael Cohen looks at former President Donald Trump as he is questioned by Colleen Faherty, a lawyer for the attorney general’s office, on Tuesday
Early in his testimony, Cohen acknowledged his own troubles with the law in 2018 and confirmed that he pleaded guilty to eight counts related to campaign finance violations and lying to Congress that year, resulting in a three-year prison sentence.
When asked who he worked for during his crimes, Cohen said: “Donald J. Trump.”
He acknowledged acknowledging “my complicity” in the first $130,000 hush-money payment to porn star Stormy Daniels, which came weeks before the 2016 election.
Cohen said there was a “second campaign finance violation” related to the payment of $150,000 to Karen McDougal for her silence about her ties to Trump.
According to Cohen, he was “tasked with reviewing documents to ensure that Mr. Trump is protected.”
The insider testimony could bolster New York Attorney General Letitia James’ argument that Trump, his company and several of its executives inflated property values. The case could destroy Trump’s business empire.
Trump, the front-runner for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination, has denied wrongdoing and defended valuations of his properties. He called the case a “fraud” and a political witch hunt.
He and his lawyers have repeatedly called Cohen a “liar” and will likely use his admitted history of deception to challenge his testimony.
Cohen pleaded guilty in 2018 to campaign finance violations and lying to Congress about Trump’s business dealings in Russia, which he testified Tuesday at Trump’s direction.
In about a half-hour of cross-examination on Tuesday, Trump’s lawyer Alina Habba Cohen asked questions about the testimony he gave in court in connection with his guilty plea, portraying him as a convicted felon and serial liar.
During a heated cross-examination, Cohen, a disbarred attorney, even raised his own legal objections, responding to some questions with “Asked and answered!”
Before the trial began on October 2, Judge Arthur Engoron found that Trump had fraudulently inflated his net worth and ordered the dissolution of companies that control crown jewels of his real estate portfolio, including Trump Tower in Manhattan. That ruling is on hold while Trump appeals.
The lawsuit is primarily about compensation.
James is seeking a fine of at least $250 million, a permanent ban on Trump and his sons Donald Jr. and Eric from conducting business in New York, and a five-year commercial real estate ban against Trump and the Trump Organization.