As testimony concludes, Michael Cohen's ex-lawyer reveals that Cohen lied about having nothing derogatory on Trump, adding to the growing list of falsehoods.

Yesterday, the prosecution and defense concluded their cases, with no one being surprised that Donald Trump did not take the stand.

Trump's lawyers would have committed judicial malpractice if they had exposed him to a hundred different lines of interrogation, despite his earlier statement.

Michael Cohen entered the hush money trial with a reputation as a convicted liar.

It was inevitable that he would be grilled on cross-examination for lying about Trump, lying to Congress, lying to investigators, and lying to the press.

The lie he acknowledged on Monday is a different type of lie, and it may be a turning point in convincing jurors to dismiss him as a thief and vote for Trump's acquittal.

The Trump Organization was defrauded by a one-time fixer who secured a lucrative deal for himself.

Yes, he did it, said Cohen. Yes, he lied about it. Yes, he gladly pocketed the money because he was angry about his bonus being cut.

An absolute failure by the prosecution, this case was a real Perry Mason moment.

During direct examination, Alvin Bragg's lawyers presented lies on the other litany of lies, using the best possible spin to lessen the impact when Trump's lawyers were questioning him.

Cohen didn't inform prosecutors, but Trump lawyer Todd Blanche questioned, "Did you tell multiple prosecutors in the District 13 Attorney's Office that story?"

"Yes sir."

So it was sheer sloppiness – an unbelievable failure.

And the narrative gets even sleazier.

The Trump campaign paid $50,000 to Red Finch to discredit unfavorable polls by CNBC and Drudge. Cohen delivered $20,000 in cash to the company's chief, which is not suspicious.

Cohen kept $30,000 from his ex-boss's company, later grossed it up to $60,000 for tax reasons, and Trump didn't know about the money.

Despite having limited options, prosecutors were unable to do much when it was their turn. Cohen stated that he was "enraged" by the reduction of his usual $150K bonus to two-thirds, which motivated him to take matters into his own hands. He felt that he wouldn't allow the other party to benefit in this way.

Ah, self-help. Stealing as therapy. A pretty lame explanation.

In 2018, regardless of what else Cohen said, the president's approval was necessary for him to pay the $130,000 in hush money to Stormy Daniels, which is well-documented. The damage had already been done.

But there were more fireworks to come.

Robert Costello, a seasoned lawyer and skilled orator, was called by the defense as its key witness, representing Cohen for a brief period.

Cohen stated that he lacked trust in Costello due to his proximity to Rudy Giuliani and the potential for any information shared with him to be relayed to the White House, posing a risk to confidentiality.

Cohen stated that Costello informed him that his legal issues could be resolved if he provided truthful information about Donald Trump and cooperated with the Southern District of New York.

According to Costello, Cohen's repeated statement 10 or 12 times was: "I swear to God, Bob. I don't have anything on Donald Trump."

That was obviously a big fat lie.

Cohen claimed that Trump was unaware of the hush money payments, which is a key point in the case.

With a giant chip on his shoulder, Robert Costello entered the courtroom.

He responded with "Geez" after the second question, and then exclaimed "ridiculous" following the first.

Judge Juan Merchan had enough and sent the jury out.

"If you disagree with my decision, refrain from saying "Geez" and also refrain from saying "strike it" because I am the only one who has the authority to strike testimony in the courtroom."

If you disagree with my decision, you should not give me a side eye or roll your eyes. Do you understand?

"Are you staring me down right now?" At that point, he declared, "Clear the courtroom." Everyone later returned. Costello gave the judge a long stare.

In yesterday's testimony, Costello admitted that he was referring to Trump when he stated having "friends in high places."

Cohen's incessant complaints about Rudy Giuliani's press statements were the reason for the email about getting everyone on the same page, according to Costello.

He stated that the email regarding achieving consensus among everyone was related to resolving the grievances concerning Rudy.

Costello rejected the prosecutor's inquiry regarding "motivating him to withhold cooperation."

During the trial, the defense questioned: Could you point to any evidence of being "played" in an email?

Cohen continually evaded signing a retainer, citing excuses and postponing payment, as Costello persistently urged him to do so.

Did Michael Cohen feel pressured by him to do anything? Costello stated that he did not.

And that was it. Closing arguments are set for next Tuesday.

The prosecution has a wealth of evidence, but Cohen is the only witness linking Trump to the hush money payments to Stormy Daniels and Karen McDougal. Therefore, Cohen's testimony is crucial to the falsification of documents charge, unless 12 jurors believe that the former president had no knowledge of the payments.