Trump legal news brief: Judge rules Trump can know names of jurors in hush money trial — but can't reveal them publicly (msn.com)New York hush money
Prosecutors call Trump’s attempt to keep Cohen from testifying ‘totally meritless’
Key players: Former Trump lawyer Michael Cohen, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, adult film star Stormy Daniels, former Playboy model Karen McDougal, Trump lawyers Todd Blanche and Susan Necheles, Judge Juan Merchan
On Tuesday, prosecutors on Bragg’s team responded to a legal filing by Trump’s lawyers seeking to disqualify Cohen from testifying in the hush money case, saying the defense arguments were “intentionally inflammatory and totally meritless,” the New York Post reported.
In their filing, Blanche and Necheles described Cohen as a serial liar and asked the judge to block him from taking the witness stand “in order to protect the integrity of this court and the process of justice.”
In 2018, Cohen pleaded guilty to lying to Congress while under oath. He was sentenced to serve three years behind bars, but was released early due to the coronavirus pandemic. Cohen, a former vice president with the Trump Organization, also testified against Trump in the New York civil financial fraud trial.
Trump has been charged with 34 felony counts stemming from payments made during the 2016 presidential election to keep Daniels and McDougal from publicly sharing their accounts of extramarital affairs they had with him.
In their response to Trump’s filing, prosecutors said that Cohen’s testimony about the hush money payments would be backed up by corroborating evidence and that Trump’s lawyers were welcome to cross-examine his assertions.
“To the extent that defendant nonetheless believes the jury should disbelieve Cohen’s testimony at trial, he may challenge Cohen’s credibility by cross-examining him about a variety of topics, including his previous guilty pleas,” prosecutors said, CNN reported.
The first of the four criminal trials in which Trump is charged is scheduled to begin on March 25.
Why it matters: It is unlikely that Merchan will rule that Cohen is not allowed to testify in the hush-money case. If he does, Trump’s lawyers will do their best to portray him as an unreliable witness, even though his conviction for lying to Congress came when he was trying to protect the former president.
