It's the Brian Laireiss Show on WNYC.

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Andrea Bernstein, who's covering the Trump criminal trial

and Lower Manhattan for NPR is with us

on this day off from the proceedings.

You know, they've been taking Wednesdays off and Andrea's been taking Wednesdays off. And they've been taking Wednesdays off

and Andrea's been taking Wednesdays on

to join us on the show.

The drama this week, of course,

has been the testimony of former Trump lawyer and fixer,

Michael Cohen, and I'm really interested in getting

Andrea's take because some of the analysis I've heard elsewhere has been really

contradictory. Remember people usually call this the Hush Money case,

but the felony charges are actually

for falsifying business records to cover up

a Hush Money Payment to help him get elected president

in 2016, and Michael Cohen was at the center of these

transactions but did he pin them on Trump. Also yesterday there was the bizarre

spectacle of the Speaker of the House of Representatives and other members of Congress

gathering outside the courthouse so they could basically violate the judges

...