12:44 p.m. ETJust NowJust now


Jonah BromwichReporting from inside the courthouse

As we listen to Emil Bove seek to emphasize that Jeffrey McConney was not personally sure what the repayments to Michael Cohen were for, I’m reminded that the defense lawyers, in their opening statement, did not offer a cohesive alternative theory of the case, but rather attacked various parts of the prosecution’s case. That can make it difficult to follow what Bove is trying to achieve with an individual witness, especially one like McConney who mostly testified about documentary evidence. Bove is implying that McConney doesn’t truly understand the documents he was asked to testify about — but even accepting McConney’s relative ignorance, it’s hard to know what the defense wants the jury to make of these damning documents.


Very good point by Brom.


May 6, 2024, 12:47 p.m. ET1 minute ago1 minute ago

Jonathan SwanReporting from inside the courthouse

Bove appears to be trying to make the jury feel like none of this was secretive or nefarious. To that end, he just spent a bunch of time getting McConney to say how he routinely locked cabinets to protect Trump Organization employees’ sensitive financial details. In other words, he suggests, the cabinet was not locked to protect the secret agreement with Michael Cohen.

Good counter by 🦢. “Appears”, “suggests”, though. It better appear that way to the jury for Bove’s sake. Maybe Bove ought to make his cross points with a 2x4, not a feather pillow.