Emil Bove, President Trump's lawyer, wants to use Michael Cohen's testimony that David Pecker, the former National Enquirer publisher, assured him the agreement was "bulletproof." Bove believes this indicates Trump's understanding and intent to defraud. However, prosecutor Matthew Colangelo labels this a "retread" of old arguments about the presence of counsel in defense, arguments the judge has previously dismissed.
Judge Juan Merchan agrees with Colangelo. Merchan dismisses the repeated argument, indicating he's unfamiliar with the terms "presence of counsel" and criticises its evolution to "involvement of counsel." Merchan advises Bove to stop presenting this argument and criticizes him for persisting with it.
Discussing the testimony of Pecker, Colangelo underlines that it does not prove that a lawyer thoroughly scrutinised the agreement with Karen McDougal. Pecker's testimony revealed the lawyer assessing the agreement was unaware of the full context.
Judge Merchan firmly states the jury will not hear this argument from the bench nor is Bove permitted to present it. Bove simply responds, "I understand. I just want to complete the record."
Before moving forward, Merchan reiterates that this is an argument Bove has been continuously trying to make for numerous months. He firmly denies it and instructs Bove not to bring it up again. Trump's response to this was to mutter something, shake his head, and look down."
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