Michael Cohen testimony continues after ex-lawyer reveals secret recordings of Trump in NY trial

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Former President Donald Trump slammed the Democratic Party as a group of "fascists" following a "very good day" in court, which included continued testimony from Michael Cohen. 

"'The problem for Democrats is that the extensive polling now shows that the voters see through their scam and don't like what's going on,'"Trump said outside of court Tuesday afternoon, reading an excerpt from Fox News contributor Charlie Hurt.

"'Watching 100,000 enthusiastic people gather along the boardwalk in a New Jersey beach this Saturday… to support President Trump on Saturday evening, gives you some idea how terrified Democrats are of Trump.'" 

Trump interjected: "I don't think they're terrified of anything. They're fascists." 

Trump continued reading other news excerpts slamming the case as "election interference," and went on to describe Tuesday as a "very good day" in court. 

Read the full story by Emma Colton here.

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Michael Cohen testified Tuesday that he struggles to sleep at night and turned to the social media app, Tik Tok, for "an out."

When questioned by Trump attorney Todd Blanche, Cohen says he hosts a Tik Tok live for over an hour every night to build an audience, create a community, and vent because he's "having a difficult time sleeping and [he] found an out.”

Cohen confirmed that he speaks about Trump on X, formerly Twitter. Blanche asked if Cohen has regularly commented on his podcast about wanting to see Trump convicted in this case.  Cohen says he’s probably said that, and he wants to see accountability. 

He then confirmed he wants to see Trump convicted. The defense referenced Cohen’s website and a link to a a $32 shirt with a photo of Trump in jumpsuit behind bars. 

Another item says, “convict 45.”  An image of a coffee mug with the phrase “send him to the big house, not the White House.” 

Cohen confirmed that those are references to Trump. Blanche asked if Cohen wore the t-shirt last week on one of his Tik Tok vidoes -which Cohen confirmed.

Fox News' Maria Paronich and Grace Taggart contributed to this update.

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Defense attorney Todd Blanche grilled Michael Cohen, ex-lawyer for former President Donald Trump, about negative statements he's made online and to news media about Trump and his lawyers.

Blanche, leading the cross-examination, asked Cohen if he once called Blanche a "crying little b----" on Tik Tok. Cohen replied that it "“sounds like something [he] would say."

On April 23, Cohen referred to Trump as a “dictator douche bag.” Cohen recalls saying that trump “belongs in a cage like a f------ animal” also on April 23.

Blanche asked if the the District Attorney's office has reportedly asked Cohen to stop publicly commenting about this case. Cohen says, “yes.”

Cohen says that when the DA’s office says “probably better off if you don’t speak about it” they say it in a matter that’s asking him not to speak. Cohen says that they asked him not to speak to the press less than 5 times. 

Over the course of the investigation and case, Cohen made more than 20 television appearances. He has recorded hundreds of podcast episodes – 4 total episodes a week all year long – since the investigation for this trial has started. Cohen agrees that Trump has been mentioned in every podcast.

Fox News' Maria Paronich and Grace Taggart contributed to this update.

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Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg's prosecution team informed Judge Juan Merchan Tuesday that Michael Cohen will be the prosecution's last witness, just before he took the stand for cross-examination

The disclosure from prosecutor Joshua Steinglass occurred during a sidebar conversation that was out of earshot of reporters but recorded in the official court transcript.

Cohen, the ex-lawyer for former President Donald Trump, took the witness stand again Tuesday afternoon for the 17th day of the unprecedented case N.Y. v. Trump.

Defense attorney Todd Blanche is leading the cross-examination. His first question out of the gate was asking Cohen if he called Blanche a "crying little b----" on Tik Tok. Cohen replied that it "“sounds like something [he] would say."

Blanche continued to press Cohen about his derogatory comments about the defense team, Trump and other aspects of the case.

The Associated Press contributed to this update.

In a resurfaced video, ex-lawyer for former President Donald Trump, Michael Cohen, is shown speaking at what appears to be a church building in 2016 praising then-candidate Trump as "generous, compassionate and genuine."

"I want to tell you about the real Donald Trump The man who I have been fortunate enough to work for," Cohen said from the stage.

"The words the media should be using to describe Mr. Trump are: Generous, compassionate, principled, empathetic, kind, humble, honest, and genuine."

Cohen said in the video that "every day Mr. trump quietly and without seeking recognition does something to help others." He went on to give examples of when Trump, as the head of the Trump Organization, helped hurting businesses and paid tuition for the daughter of a service member.

Cohen is considered the star witness for District Attorney Alvin Bragg in the case N.Y. v. Trump and will take the witness stand for the second day on Tuesday.

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The unprecedented criminal trial of former President Donald Trump will resume Tuesday at 2:15 p.m. after a lunch break. Trump's ex-lawyer, Michael Cohen, is expected to retake the witness stand. This time to face cross-examination from Trump's legal team.

Cohen testified that he apologized to Congress, the country and his family for lying to them in the 2017 and and "acting in a way that suppressed information that the citizenry had a right to know in order to make an informed decision about an individual who was seeking the highest office in the land.”

In 2018, Cohen pled guilty to making false statements to congress in 2017 in connection to the Russian probe while he was Trump’s personal counsel.

Cohen was sentenced by the court for 36 months incarceration followed by 36 months of supervised release. He also had to pay fines and restitution. The restitution stemmed from the amount of tax that was not paid from 2012 – 2016. Cohen paid those taxes back to the IRS. Cohen also paid the fines.

Fox News' Grace Taggart contributed to this report.

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Allies of former President Donald Trump, including former 2024 presidential contender Vivek Ramaswamy and Florida Rep. Byron Donalds, slammed the ongoing NY v. Trump trial as a "sham" promoted by Democrats ahead of the 2024 election. 

"I learned a lot from being in there in person. It is one of the most depressing places I have been in my life. But it is fitting because the only thing more depressing than the environment of that courtroom is what's actually happening in there. It's straight out of a Kafka novel. The prosecution's main strategy appears to be to bore the jurors into submission. And if you look in that direction, sadly, it may appear to actually be working," Ramaswamy said Tuesday outside the New York courthouse, adding that the case is "politicized persecution."

"The whole case that Alvin Bragg has brought depends on one premise for them to charge this as a felony, is that Donald Trump somehow should have used campaign funds to make an allegedly personal payment. Yet if he had done that, their case against him would be even stronger. This is garbage.… It's damned if you do, damned if you don't. This is a sham. This is not the United States of America. This is some third-rate banana republic," Ramaswamy said.

Read the whole story from Emma Colton here.

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On Tuesday, the Appellate Division of the New York Supreme Court denied former President Donald Trump's appeal of the gag order imposed by Judge Juan Merchan, the Trump campaign confirmed to Fox News Digital.

“We find that Justice Merchan properly weighed petitioner’s First Amendment Rights against the court’s historical commitment to ensuring the fair administration of justice in criminal cases, and the right of persons related or tangentially related to the criminal proceedings from being free from threats, intimidation, harassment, and harm,” the Appellate Division wrote in its order Tuesday.

Trump's lawyers will now have the opportunity to appeal to the New York Court of Appeals.

Trump campaign spokesperson Steven Cheung said, "The gag order imposed by conflicted Judge Juan Merchan in the lawless Manhattan DA case is unconstitutional and un-American."

"The threat to throw the 45th President of the United States and the leading candidate in the 2024 presidential election in jail for exercising his First Amendment rights is a Third World authoritarian tactic typical of Crooked Joe Biden and his comrades," he added.

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GOP Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall sat in the Manhattan courtroom Monday for the unprecedented criminal trial of former President Donald Trump and predicted a "really bad day" for the prosecution's star witness on Tuesday.

Marshall, a 30-year veteran prosecutor, was in court supporting Trump, telling Fox News Digital the trial is what the former president "rightly believes is a sham of a prosecution." 

Michael Cohen, Trump's ex-lawyer and self-proclaimed "fixer," testified for hours Monday and took the stand again for cross-examination on Tuesday. 

In an interview with Fox News Digital, Marshall said he predicted a "really bad day" for Cohen, considered the prosecution team's star witness, facing questioning from Trump's defense team.

"Michael Cohen is going to have a really bad day," Marshall said. "He's got a lot of explaining to do, and the only thing the jury is going to be able to conclude is that while Michael Cohen made a career on monetizing his relationship with Donald Trump, his testimony in this case was designed to monetize his ability to get Donald Trump a conviction, and that is not going to play very well"Marshall said that "the best resolution" to this case, in his view, is for the court to enter a judgment of acquittal."

And by the time the defense team has this testimony, he's going to be completely discredited," Marshall said, adding that he believes the defense will move for an acquittal.

Read the full story here.

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House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., spoke to reporters Tuesday outside the Manhattan courtroom where the criminal case of N.Y. v. Trump entered it's 17th day, telling the media that that prosecution's key witness is on a "personal revenge" mission.

"This is a man who is clearly on a mission for personal revenge," Johnson said of Michael Cohen, ex-lawyer for former President Donald Trump.

"[He] is widely known as a witness who has trouble with the truth. He is someone who has a history of perjury and is well known for it. No one should believe a word he says today. He lied to Congress. He lied to the IRS. He lied to federal election officials. Even Cohen's own lawyer testified to a grand jury that he is not reliable. So there's nothing that he presents here. That should be given any weight at all by a jury," Johnson said.

Cohen took the witness stand for a second day Tuesday and is expected to face cross-examination in the afternoon by Trump's defense team.

Cohen is said to be the star witness for Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg and his team as they try to prove the former president falsified business records related to a $130,000 payment to adult film actress Stormy Daniels.

Johnson added that the case "is not about justice."

"It's all about politics and everybody can see that," he said. "The American people see right through these politically motivated attacks."

Former President Trump arrived to his New York criminal trial flanked by a large group of powerful Republican supporters on Tuesday.

Trump spoke with reporters outside the courtroom, complaining about various aspects of the trial. Behind him could be seen House Speaker Mike Johnson, Reps. Byron Donalds and Cory Mills, Gov. Doug Burgum, and entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy.

"I've been here in the icebox--I call it the icebox--for almost five weeks, listening to this highly conflicted judge," Trump said, criticizing Judge Juan Merchan. Lawyers on both sides of the courtroom have commented on the cold temperature inside.

Trump gave a shout out to each of the Republicans, saying they would later speak to the press. However, only Trump is allowed to give comments to the press outside the courtroom, he said.

Several of the Republicans in attendance are known to be vying to be selected as Trump's running mate, including Burgum and Ramaswamy. The latter offered his thoughts in a lengthy post on social media Tuesday morning.

Several of former President Trump's potential 2024 running mates are expected to be in attendance at Tuesday's proceedings for his New York criminal trial.

North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum, ex-candidate Vivek Ramaswamy, as well as Reps. Byron Donalds and Cory Mills are expected to attend the trial Tuesday, according to NBC News reporter Vaughn Hillyard. Sens. J.D. Vance and Tommy Tuberville also attended the trial on Monday.

The top Republicans are rallying around Trump as he condemns the trial against him as a "witch hunt." He has repeatedly criticized Judge Juan Merchan as "conflicted" and argued the case is only meant to hurt his chances in the 2024 election.

Tuesday's proceedings will see ex-lawyer Michael Cohen return to the stand for further questions from prosecutors. The former Trump fixer is central to the case put forward by Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg, who has charged Trump with 34 counts of falsifying business records.

Trump pleads not guilty to the charges.

This is an excerpt from an opinion article by Fox News legal analyst and commentator Gregg Jarrett

Michael Cohen raised his right hand on Monday in the Manhattan trial of Donald Trump and swore to tell the truth.  It was a meaningless gesture.  

Cohen has done it before and then proceeded to lie under oath. He went to prison for it after lying to courts, lying to banks, lying to Congress, and lying to the IRS. Yet, once again, Cohen insists that now he’s telling the truth. He wants jurors to believe him. This time.  

Cohen presents a contradiction about truth and falsity. In philosophy and logic it’s known as the "liar’s paradox," and it bedevils juries whenever habitual liars take the witness stand and promise to tell the truth.  

The paradox is this: if a liar indeed lied, then his admission of his lies is truthful. Unless, of course, he is lying about the lie and everything else.  You can never really know. The search for truth becomes impossible.  In a court of law where the central witness is a chronic fabulist, the "liar’s paradox" equals reasonable doubt. 

It was on full display Monday when Trump’s one-time self-proclaimed "fixer" failed to connect the accused to any cognizable crime.  But Cohen readily confessed that he often lied and bullied people. He also deceived his own client, Trump, by secretly recording him shortly before the 2016 election.  

Without permission, Cohen then shared it with the publisher of the National Enquirer.  It was a sleazy maneuver that would merit disbarment for breaching the attorney-client privilege.  No matter.  Cohen was long ago disbarred over his criminal convictions.  

When the recording was played in court it seemed to help, not hurt, the defense.  Cohen refers cryptically to payments made to kill a story, which is not a crime. Trump appears somewhat in the dark and is heard asking, "What financing?" Cohen assured him that he was taking care of everything.  His boss didn’t need to know the details. "I’ve got it…I’m on it," said Cohen.     

It is bewildering why the prosecution ventured there, except to smear Trump with the illusion of some amorphous wrongdoing.  It was utterly irrelevant since the matter dealt with former Playboy model Karen McDougal who was never called as a prosecution witness and is unconnected to the charges. Trump refused to pay her money over a purported affair that he denies.  

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House Speaker Mike Johnson will attend Tuesday's proceedings for the New York criminal trial against former President Trump on Tuesday, Fox News has learned.

Johnson is among several Republican politicians who have attended the trial to show support for Trump. Sens. J.D. Vance and Tommy Tuberville also attended Monday's proceedings, alongside Rep. Nicole Malliotakis.

Failed 2024 presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy is also expected to attend Tuesday's trial. He has thrown his support behind the former president.

Tuesday's trial will see continued testimony from former lawyer Michael Cohen, the central witness in the prosecution's case.

Trump's attorneys will have the opportunity to cross examine Cohen after Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg's team has finished presenting their case.

Former President Trump is facing an unprecedented trial in Manhattan where he faces 34 felony counts for falsifying New York business records. 

Amid court proceedings, which entered their fifth week Monday, Trump has repeatedly complained that the trial has not only taken him off the campaign trail, but also away from his family. 

One of Trump’s family members, his son, Eric Trump, has attended the trial. Eric Trump attended on April 30, where father and son were seen speaking in the court before proceedings kicked off that day. 

Trump’s youngest son, Barron Trump, became a focal point of the trial when it first began, with Trump urging the court to let him leave Manhattan on May 17 to attend his son’s high school graduation in Florida. Presiding Judge Juan Merchan finally agreed to Trump attending the ceremony, despite initially resisting the request, citing the importance of being present each day for court. 

The former president has also posted repeatedly on social media or spoken to the media about his family amid the trial, including lamenting that he couldn’t be with his wife, Melania Trump, on April 26 to celebrate her birthday. 

“I want to start by wishing my wife, Melania, a very happy birthday,” Trump said last month outside the courtroom. 

“It would be nice to be with her,” he added. 

Trump has also posted a photo of him with three of his grandchildren during the trial. 

The former president has pleaded not guilty to all charges in the case, while slamming the trial as a “scam” promoted by the Biden administration ahead of the 2024 election.

Michael Cohen, the star witness in the landmark New York v. Trump case, received some star treatment by the mainstream media following his testimony Monday.

Cohen, who served as Trump’s personal attorney and fixer before emerging as his sworn enemy, has seen his credibility questioned from all sides, with critics labeling him as everything from a "serial perjurer" to a "grifter." 

The former lawyer, who is a central part of the prosecution's case against Trump, testified he secretly recorded Trump ahead of the 2016 election, admitted to lying and bullying people for Trump's benefit, and detailed the alleged attempt to cover up an alleged affair Trump had with adult film star Stormy Daniels. 

"It shows how weak this case is that they are literally depending on a serial perjurer to make their case, so I don’t think things are going well for the prosecution in the court of law. In the court of public opinion, they’re doing even worse," Marc Thiessen said Monday on Fox News. 

News outlets and pundits that are historically hostile to Trump had the difficult task of making Cohen, who pleaded guilty in 2018 to campaign finance violations, making false statements to Congress and tax evasion, come off as credible. 

Nevertheless, some made the attempt.

MSNBC legal analyst Danny Cevallos appeared to downplay Cohen’s credibility issues by focusing on the "misconception" that direct evidence is more powerful than circumstantial evidence.

This is an excerpt from an article by Fox News' Brian Flood

Susan Necheles is currently serving as one of former President Donald Trump’s defense attorneys in his New York criminal trial. 

According to a bio on her website, Necheles is recognized as “one of New York’s top litigators.” Additionally, she has been listed in “Super Lawyers” as “one of the leading white collar criminal defense lawyers in New York every year since 2006 and has been recognized in a number of publications including Who’s Who Legal and Avenue Magazine. She is often a panelist on white collar criminal programs and has lectured or taught CLE courses on topics such as an attorney’s ethical obligations, trial practice, and sentencing.”

Necheles has defended members of the Genovese crime family and recently defended Jeremy Reichberg, a former fundraiser for former Mayor Bill de Blasio of New York, in a federal bribery case. She has been defending the Trump organization since 2021 and has been paid $465,000 from Trump’s Super PAC. She also represented New York state Senate Majority leader Pedro Espada in a corruption case involving the theft of hundred of thousands of dollars from local health institutions.

Before joining Trump’s team she worked as an Assistant District Attorney in King’s County and President of the New York Council of Defense Lawyers. 

Fox News Digital's Matteo Cina contributed to this update

Prosecutors will continue their questioning of Michael Cohen on Tuesday after the ex-Trump attorney spent a full day on the stand Monday testifying against former President Trump in his criminal trial.

Cohen is said to be the star witness for Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg and his team as they try to prove the former president falsified business records related to a $130,000 payment to adult film actress Stormy Daniels.

Bragg charged Trump with 34 counts of falsifying business records in the first degree. Trump has pleaded not guilty to all charges and maintains his innocence.

Cohen, who once famously said he would "take a bullet" for Trump, his former longtime boss and friend, testified against him about his role in arranging the alleged hush-money payment to Daniels ahead of the 2016 presidential election in an effort to keep her allegations of a sexual encounter with Trump in the early 2000s from becoming public. 

Prosecutor Susan Hoffinger led the questioning.

Cohen testified Monday that working at the Trump Organization was "fantastic" and working for Trump "was an amazing experience."

Cohen testified that he spoke to Trump multiple times a day and often lied for his boss, saying he did so because "it was needed in order to accomplish the task."

"The only thing on my mind was to accomplish the task and to keep him happy," Cohen said. 

This is an excerpt of an article from Fox News' Brooke Singman