https://www.nytimes.com/2024/05/16/nyregion/trump-trial-cohen-blanche.html
Under questioning from prosecutors earlier in the week, Mr. Cohen illuminated two crucial meetings with the former president about the records, the first in January 2017, where he said Mr. Trump learned about a plan to falsify the records. They met again the following month in the Oval Office, where Mr. Trump confirmed a plan to send Mr. Cohen a check.
Mr. Blanche has not addressed those two meetings…
“You really wanted to work in the White House, correct?” Mr. Blanche said, laying a trap for Mr. Cohen, who briefly stepped in.
“No, sir,” Mr. Cohen replied.
Then Mr. Blanche produced records that appeared to undercut that denial, raising his voice as he showed that Mr. Cohen had in fact longed to be Mr. Trump’s chief of staff.
“That was for my ego, yes,” Cohen acknowledged, and it seemed as if Mr. Blanche had landed a blow.
But the questioning soon devolved into a debate over semantics and nuance. Mr. Cohen said that he had actually wanted a “hybrid” role, both White House and personal lawyer, that would keep him close to the president.
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…he also pleaded guilty to personal financial crimes unrelated to Mr. Trump, and admitted under oath that he committed them. Now, however, he disputes his guilt in those personal matters.
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Mr. Blanche sought to underscore the discrepancy, casting Mr. Cohen as an indiscriminate liar who changed his story to suit the situation.
Mr. Cohen said he had pleaded guilty to tax evasion only because prosecutors were threatening to charge his wife as well. But, Mr. Blanche noted, when Mr. Cohen pleaded guilty, he was asked whether anyone had “threatened or induced you to plead guilty.”
He suggested that when Mr. Cohen answered no, he had lied.
Mr. Cohen conceded that was the case, a compelling back-and-forth that appeared the command the jury’s attention.
So you believe Judge Pauley was in on it?” Mr. Blanche asked.
I do,” he replied.
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Mr. Blanche also seized on Mr. Cohen’s claim under oath before Congress in 2019 that he had never sought a pardon from Mr. Trump. Mr. Cohen testified during this trial, as well as during an unrelated deposition, that he had once directed his lawyers to explore the possibility of a pardon
While Mr. Blanche, now lowering his voice, harped on the inconsistency, Mr. Cohen pointed out that Mr. Trump was dangling pardons to various allies at this time. Mr. Cohen explained that he simply wanted to know if he might qualify as well, a line of testimony that drew a slight shake of the head from Mr. Trump.
