South Dakota
Prosecution rests in Trump hush money trial, after former fixer Cohen is grilled • South Dakota Searchlight
NEW YORK — New York state prosecutors rested their case against Donald Trump Monday after four days of testimony from their key witness, Trump’s former fixer Michael Cohen, who says the former president was well aware of a hush money cover-up. The defense paints Cohen as a liar.
The Manhattan criminal trial, the first ever for a former president, now in its sixth week, was poised to reach closing arguments as early as Tuesday. But New York Justice Juan Merchan indicated Monday that proceedings would stretch beyond Memorial Day.
Trump attorney Todd Blanche, in a lengthy, and at times slow and disjointed cross- examination Monday, continued wringing Cohen for proof that would convince jurors the former fixer cannot be trusted.
GOP politicians rush to Manhattan to line up behind Trump as hush money trial continues
Cohen’s earlier testimony that Trump reimbursed him for paying a porn star to stay quiet before the 2016 presidential election is at the crux of the prosecution’s case.
Trump is charged with falsifying 11 invoices, 11 checks, and 12 ledger entries as routine legal expenses rather than reimbursement of the hush money, amounting to 34 felony counts.
Trump denies any wrongdoing and maintains he never had a sexual relationship with adult film actress and director Stormy Daniels. She testified otherwise in excruciating and awkward detail in early May.
Monday’s proceedings were beset with objections and technology issues, and wrapped with tense testimony from the defense’s second witness, Robert Costello, Cohen’s legal counsel, who promised backdoor communication to Trump after Cohen was under the FBI’s thumb in 2018.
The day ended with a long shot, but expected, request from the defense to throw the case out. Merchan dismissed the court, saying he’d issue his ruling Tuesday. The defense is likely to rest its case then as well.
Closing arguments are expected after the holiday.
On a ‘journey’
Blanche began the day grilling Cohen on his previous business dealings, income and the money he’s made since breaking ties with the former president.
Cohen testified that he’s made millions of dollars on his books “Disloyal” and “Revenge,” and his podcast “Mea Culpa,” all of which sharply criticize the man from whom he used to seek praise, as he testified days earlier.
Prompted by Blanche, Cohen confirmed he’s mulling over a third book, has a television show in the works titled “The Fixer” and is considering a run for Congress because he has “the best name recognition” out there.
Star witness in Trump trial tells of plot to conceal porn star hush money payments
When Blanche suggested Cohen’s name recognition hinges on Trump, Cohen disagreed.
“I wouldn’t characterize it that way. My name recognition is because of the journey I’ve been on,” Cohen said.
“Well the journey you’ve been on … has included daily attacks on Trump,” Blanche responded.
Through the course of Blanche’s questioning, Cohen again acknowledged his previous crimes and also fessed up to stealing $30,000 from the Trump Organization when Trump lagged on paying a tech company to rig a CNBC poll of famous businessmen.
Minutes later, Blanche asked, “Do you have a financial interest in this case?”
“Yes, sir,” Cohen responded.
When Blanche pressed about whether a guilty verdict is Cohen’s preferred outcome, Cohen responded, “The answer is no. It’s better if he’s not (guilty) for me because it gives me more to talk about in the future.”
Prosecutor Susan Hoffinger conducted her redirect at a tidy and speedy clip, leading Cohen through each of Blanche’s doubting lines of questioning to reaffirm for the jury Cohen’s testimony that Trump’s hand was behind the hush money reimbursements.
“They’ve asked you a lot of questions about how you’ve made money and (your) podcast… Putting aside financial matters, how has telling the truth affected your life?” Hoffinger asked.
“My entire life has been turned upside down as a direct result,” Cohen responded.
Before the prosecution rested its case, the defense lobbed a lengthy objection to a still frame of a C-SPAN video depicting Trump with his bodyguard Keith Schiller just before 8 p.m. on Oct. 24, 2016. The parties eventually agreed to admit it.
Evidence that Trump and Schiller were together that night looms large for Cohen’s claim that he spoke to both of them on the phone about paying off Daniels.
Trump’s support inside the courtroom
A steady flow of high-profile Republican supporters has shown up for the GOP’s presumed 2024 presidential nominee.
Monday’s supporters included Trump ally and attorney Alan Dershowitz; legal adviser Boris Epshteyn, who himself is indicted in Arizona for trying to subvert the 2020 presidential election results; and Chuck Zito, an actor and one of the founders of New York City’s Hells Angels chapter in the 1980s.
Porn star Stormy Daniels in NYC hush money trial alleges sexual encounter with Trump
Several Republican lawmakers, including vice presidential hopefuls, have flocked to Manhattan for the trial.
North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum, Sen. J.D. Vance of Ohio and former GOP primary hopeful Vivek Ramaswamy attended May 13. Sens. Rick Scott of Florida and Tommy Tuberville of Alabama also made appearances last week, alongside Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird.
House Speaker Mike Johnson delivered remarks outside the courthouse May 14, slamming the “sham trial” and accusing New York prosecutors of only wanting to keep the former president off the campaign trail.
The Louisiana Republican cast Trump as a victim of a “travesty of justice.”
Nearly a dozen far-right Republican House members showed up Thursday, led by Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida. Accompanying Gaetz were other right-wing House Freedom Caucus members: fellow Floridian Reps. Anna Paulina Luna and Mike Waltz; Eli Crane and Andy Biggs of Arizona; Lauren Boebert of Colorado; Ralph Norman of South Carolina; Diana Harshbarger and Andy Ogles of Tennessee; Mike Cloud of Texas; and caucus Chair Bob Good of Virginia.
Speaking on the sidewalk outside the courthouse, Gaetz described the charges as the “Mr. Potatohead doll of crimes,” accusing the prosecution of combining things “that did not belong together.”
Reps. Byron Donalds and Cory Mills of Florida attended earlier in the week.
GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
South Dakota
State Sen. Anthony Kern making his way back to Phoenix after icy crash in South Dakota
5 safety tips for winter driving conditions in Arizona
Taking a trip up to Flagstaff or driving through Prescott during the Arizona winter? Here are five tips to stay safe when cruising on winter roads.
The Republic
State Sen. Anthony Kern, R-Glendale, announced on the social media platform X on Sunday that he had left the hospital, about a week after breaking bones and suffering other injuries in a single-car crash in South Dakota.
Kern, who was visiting family, was riding with a friend through a snowstorm when the car hit ice and the driver lost control.
He posted that he was out of the critical stage and making his way back to Phoenix, but he couldn’t fly due to a collapsed lung.
Kern is finishing his first state Senate term after three terms in the state House. This fall, he opted to run for a congressional seat rather than seek a return to the state Capitol but lost the GOP race for Congressional District 8 to Abe Hamadeh.
South Dakota
South Dakota comedy performer dies
South Dakota
Sunday will be warm and breezy
RAPID CITY, S.D. (KOTA) – Partly cloudy skies are expected. A stray shower or two will be possible, but chances aren’t great. Highs will be in the 40s and 50s for much of KOTA Territory.
Wind gusts could range from 30 to 40 mph at times – especially across western South Dakota.
We’ll remain mild all Christmas week with highs in the 40s to near 50°. Mostly sunny to partly cloudy skies will be likely all week long. It could get a little breezy on Christmas Day, but nothing too crazy.
See a spelling or grammatical error in our story? Please click here to report it.
Do you have a photo or video of a breaking news story? Send it to us here with a brief description.
Copyright 2024 KOTA. All rights reserved.
-
Politics1 week ago
Canadian premier threatens to cut off energy imports to US if Trump imposes tariff on country
-
Technology1 week ago
OpenAI cofounder Ilya Sutskever says the way AI is built is about to change
-
Politics1 week ago
U.S. Supreme Court will decide if oil industry may sue to block California's zero-emissions goal
-
Technology1 week ago
Meta asks the US government to block OpenAI’s switch to a for-profit
-
Business1 week ago
Freddie Freeman's World Series walk-off grand slam baseball sells at auction for $1.56 million
-
Technology1 week ago
Meta’s Instagram boss: who posted something matters more in the AI age
-
News1 week ago
East’s wintry mix could make travel dicey. And yes, that was a tornado in Calif.
-
Technology2 days ago
Google’s counteroffer to the government trying to break it up is unbundling Android apps