Trump lawyer plays audio of Cohen screaming on his podcast
After playing audio of Cohen excitedly talking about the prospect of Trump being convicted, Trump lawyer Todd Blanche then played two excerpts of Cohen screaming on his podcast in a tone virtually unrecognizable to anyone who has encountered him only here.
This was more effective than most moments today.
Blanche says Michael Cohen is the 'MVP of liars'
Blanche said that Michael Cohen has lied to his family, including his wife and kids, his banker, the Federal Election Commission, reporters, Congress, prosecutors, business associates and bosses.
"He's literally like the MVP of liars," Blanche said.
Blanche raises his voice in accusing Cohen of lying
Blanche began shouting as he again accused Cohen of lying under oath. He reminded jurors that Cohen testified that he called Trump on Oct. 24, 2016, to provide an update on the Daniels situation, "It was a lie!" he said, pointing out that the call was actually to Trump's bodyguard, Keith Schiller.
"That was a lie and he got caught red-handed,” Blanche added.
Blanche accuses the prosecution of using Stormy Daniels to inflame jury
Over objections by prosecutor Joshua Steinglass, Blanche is accusing the prosecution of calling Stormy Daniels as a witness at trial, but not calling her as a grand jury witness.
Blanche is arguing it was intended to inflame the jury’s emotions and to embarrass the former president.
The jury didn't appear to react to that statement.
Trump lawyer portrays Trump as the victim of the infamous 'Access Hollywood' tape
Blanche may be the first person to portray Trump as the victim of the “Access Hollywood” tape.
Though Blanche says it was not “so catastrophic” as to motivate Trump to break the law — more precisely, that there’s “no evidence” that it was — he says this of the release of the video Oct. 7, 2016: “This was an extremely personal event for President Trump. Nobody wants their family to be subjected to that sort of thing.”
(The video had Trump on a hot mic discussing getting away with assaulting women because he was famous.)
Blanche accuses Daniels of 'extortion,' and the prosecution stays mum (for now)
Blanche just said of Daniels’ nondisclosure agreement: “This started out as an extortion and it ended up very well for Ms. Daniels, there’s no doubt about that.”
The prosecution has not objected to Blanche’s repeated use of the word “extortion,” which suggests a crime was committed. That could be a strategic choice, because what they say in refuting that characterization during their own summation could be more memorable and powerful than a sustained objection.
Blanche claims that threats against Stormy Daniels never happened
Blanche said that Stormy Daniels decided to go public with her story supposedly because she was trying to protect herself from threats in a parking lot that she received five years earlier.
Blanche said, however, that there are recordings that show that's not true. He said Michael Avenatti, Gina Rodriguez and Daniels were lying about these threats.
“They never happened," Blanche said. “The recording makes clear that Ms. Daniels lied to you.”
Blanche has resumed his summation
The morning break is over and Trump's defense team is continuing with its closing arguments.
Blanche said he expects about 30 to 40 more minutes.
Trial takes a break
The trial took a quick break starting at 11:35 a.m.
Blanche questions why no one in Trump campaign addressed Stormy Daniels issue in April 2016
Blanche questions why no one in the campaign did anything about Stormy Daniels in April 2016 when her manager reached out about it.
But Blanche's point ignores the impact that the leak of the "Access Hollywood" tape in October 2016 had on the campaign. Trump's campaign was beleaguered by accusations of sexism as a result of the tape, so Daniels' claim may have had more of an impact.