Donald Trump hush money trial

In the hush money trial against the former president, prosecutors on Monday called two witnesses who worked in the Trump Organization’s accounting department. Deborah Tarasoff, Administrator, and Accounts Payable Supervisor.

McConney asked jurors to review a documentary trail showing how executives organized and repaid funds that Michael Cohen sent to Stormy Daniels’ lawyer. This is important because at the heart of the falsification of business records case is a payment to Cohen that was listed as a deposit.

Tarasoff detailed how the checks were disbursed within the organization and when the payments required President Trump’s approval.

• Mr. McConney testified that he discussed the need to “pay back” Mr. Cohen with Allen Weisselberg, the Trump Organization’s former chief financial officer. McConney then showed jurors 12 checks, each for $35,000, paid to Cohen in 2017. Cohen sent invoices for these checks and requested that the payments be listed as part of a “retention agreement.” As earlier testimony at the trial revealed, Cohen had no actual retainers.
• McConney also told jurors why Cohen was paid a total of $420,000 and how each check was deducted first from Trump’s revocable trust and then from his personal account. explained.
• The jury also reviewed business records related to payments to Mr. Cohen related to some of the 34 business record falsification charges against Mr. Trump. The record displays several rows and columns organized to record payments.
• On cross-examination, Trump’s attorney Emile Bove questioned McConney about his knowledge of Trump’s role in these payments. “Hasn’t President Trump asked you to do anything like what you’ve described?” Bove asked. “He didn’t do that,” McConney testified. He said he was asked to do this job by Weisselberg. McConney also said he did not know whether Cohen did any legal work for Trump in 2017.

• As an accounts payable supervisor, Tarasoff said he receives approved invoices, enters them into the system, cuts checks and gets them signed. Tarasoff testified that Trump or his sons are required to approve invoices over $10,000 and that Trump was the only person to approve checks from his personal account, including during his presidency. did.
• Tarasoff said Trump would sign the checks by hand. She said they were signed in black Sharpie. Tarasoff said that even if Weisselberg approved the check, that doesn’t mean President Trump necessarily signed the check. He “was sending it back with ‘invalid’ written on it,” she noted.
• Before Trump became president, Tarasov said, referring to Trump’s longtime aide, “I cut the check and gave it to Lorna (Graf) with a spare, and Lorna brought it to Trump and signed it. “I was given it,” he testified. Her bill and check were stapled together and the check was placed on top of her bill, she said. If Trump becomes president, Tarasoff said he will mail a check to the White House.
• The jury was shown a slip with the word “retainer” written in the description section that Tarasoff said he got from the bill. Tarasoff also confirmed that each $35,000 check signed by Trump was sent to Cohen.
• On cross-examination, she admitted that she was not present during the conversation between Trump and Weisselberg about the payments. She also has worked with President Trump’s children Eric, Don Jr. and Ivanka Trump over the years, she said. Tarasoff still works for the Trump Organization. That means she’s still working for Eric Trump, who was on the court today.

Gag order hearing: Judge Juan Marchan found Trump in contempt for violating the gag order again, particularly over his comments about the jury composition in the case. Prosecutors had alleged that President Trump violated the gag order on four separate occasions. The judge ruled that the other three comments did not violate the order. “Going forward, this court will need to consider prison sanctions,” Marchan said, noting that a $1,000 fine would not stop him, but calling Trump “incarceration is really the last resort.” he said.

Remember: President Trump is charged with 34 counts of falsifying business records. According to the indictment, each criminal charge relates to specific entries in the Trump Organization’s business records. Prosecutors allege Trump is suspected of disguising transactions with Daniels as legal payments and falsifying his business records multiple times to “promote his candidacy” in the 2016 election. ing.