Today, I expect we’ll move on from the alleged underlying conspiracy to the alleged falsification of business records.
While trial participants have been tight-lipped about who and what might come next, I am anticipating testimony that shows how the repayment scheme was developed, agreed to and, most importantly, papered, from the White House to the Trump Organization over Trump’s first year in office.
And, of course, the evidence that will matter most — whether testimonial or documentary — will attempt to show Trump knew about and intended to conceal the true manner of the payment to Daniels.
Count on some combination of former Trump comptroller and frequent trial witness Jeffrey McConney; company accounts payable supervisor Deborah Tarasoff; and potentially even former Chief Financial Officer Allen Weisselberg’s then-executive assistant Rebecca Manochio.
Also possible? Trump Organization chief legal officer Alan Garten, whose June 2023 testimony about the nature of Cohen’s alleged “legal services” inadvertently helped the district attorney show Trump was not entitled to remove this case to federal court.
But perhaps the most important witness in this phase of the case? Madeleine Westerhout, Trump’s former executive assistant in the Oval Office, who apparently ensured that Trump signed the checks to Cohen and sent them back to the Trump Organization with the help of one Rhona Graff.
What else did Westerhout hear or observe on the White House side of the repayment loop? That remains to be seen — but remember, Westerhout abruptly left the White House in 2019 after talking to reporters about Trump’s relationships with his children.
The bottom line? The testimony in this section of the case might not be as sexy as the celebrity gossip-filled transcripts of weeks past, but expect some serious — and admissible — tea to be spilled nonetheless.
