The much-anticipated cross-examination of Michael Cohen on Tuesday painted him as a Trump-hating liar who wants the former president in jail, and his answers were often some version of “I don’t remember.” .
Defense attorney Todd Blanche jumped to keep Cohen off balance. His first question: Why did Cohen call him, Blanche, a “lying motherfucker” on TikTok? Mr. Cohen said that, often repeating that it was something he would say.
But I don’t know what the defense gained by showing that Mr. Cohen constantly criticized Mr. Trump on social media and on his podcast as a “cheat-filled cartoon villain.” Or he sold his mug by saying, “Send him to the big house instead of the White House.” We already knew that Mr. Cohen despised Mr. Trump and had made a lucrative career out of bashing him since pleading guilty more than six years ago. How does it advance the ball?
Donald Trump’s former lawyer Michael Cohen returned to the witness stand Tuesday in the New York v. Trump trial. (Getty Images)
Mr. Blanche also asked about seemingly secondary issues, such as whether Mr. Cohen was involved in leaks to the Associated Press and CNN. He certainly has a point in asking whether the Manhattan prosecutor’s office had repeatedly asked him not to appear on TV. After an initially evasive answer, Mr. Cohen said “yes,” but only “less than five times.”
And when asked if Cohen objected to the terms of home confinement after his COVID-19-related release, Cohen said he was allowed to spend three hours a day outside his home, but that It was a subtle reminder that he had served time in prison. .
Mr. Cohen also admitted under questioning that he made $3.4 million from two anti-Trump books he wrote, an unusually large sum.
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Mr. Cohen is the last witness for the prosecution, and the question now is whether the defense will call any witnesses after cross-examination on Thursday, the only trial date of the week, or whether the state has failed in its duty. So, should I take a break? evidence. No one expects Trump (who is scheduled to attend Barron’s high school graduation on Friday) to testify, despite previously claiming he would.
Earlier, prosecutors spent much of their time defending Mr. Cohen against upcoming cross-examinations, letting their star witness give his own version of things before Trump’s defense accused him of the same things.
Among other crimes, Cohen admitted to lying to Congress about the proposed Moscow plan to protect the president’s “Russia, Russia, Russia” hoax message. After he agreed to “cooperate,” he admitted to lying to special counsel Robert Mueller, telling the truth for the first time in the face of possible indictment.
Former Trump lawyer Michael Cohen left his home Tuesday for Manhattan Criminal Court in New York City to face former President Donald Trump’s trial on charges that he concealed hush money payments related to an affair. (Timothy A. Clary/AFP via Getty Images)
The cooperation came about after FBI agents seized his electronic devices in an early morning raid, he said.
In early 2018, he lied when the Wall Street Journal reported on Stormy Daniels’ hush money payments — because “I paid for it,” which is a lie. Because I knew that.
In both cases, Cohen justified his falsehoods by saying he made the statements out of “loyalty” to Trump and for Trump’s “benefit.”
President Trump’s lawyer, Jay Sekulow, sent a signal message to Cohen, saying, “My client appreciates what you are doing.” Cohen said his client was Trump.
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Cohen said that at the urging of his family, he decided to “no longer lie for President Trump.” Pleading guilty was “the worst day of my life”.
The next day, the president tweeted: “If anyone is looking for a great lawyer, I strongly recommend that you do not continue the services of Michael Cohen!” He was no longer on the team.
It was clearly a blunder, but Cohen said he lied when he pleaded guilty. He later clarified that he meant he was guilty of several charges, not tax evasion. Cohen was fined $100,000 and sentenced to three years in prison, but he was released early during the pandemic.
Prosecutor Alvin Bragg did express anger at the outset about the $420,000 check Cohen received in 2017, but other than setting up the “false expenses” charge, he did nothing in the name of money. I wasn’t really doing anything.
Former President Trump returned to court Tuesday after a brief break during his hush money trial in Manhattan Criminal Court in New York City. (Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images)
He examined every bill and pay stub and explained that they were all lies authorized by Trump. According to her testimony, the president asked her in an Oval Office meeting, “Do you need money?” and then told her to talk to the convicted CFO.
Cohen said he did “very minimal” work for Trump and his wife in 2017, totaling less than 10 hours.
Prosecutor Susan Hoffinger made $4 million advising clients seeking to influence the new administration after Mr. Trump appointed Mr. Cohen as his personal lawyer in preparation for questioning about Mr. Cohen’s motives. I made Mr. Cohen admit this.
In the end, Cohen said he apologized to the country, Congress and his family. He concluded, “I violated my own moral standards.”
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Mr. Trump successfully made the trial a part of his campaign. He was joined by House Speaker Mike Johnson on Tuesday. In a morning chat with reporters, he criticized President Biden for imposing the same tariffs as President Trump on Chinese electric vehicles, which he had previously opposed, but in any case, this remark was rejected by a court. The shadow became thinner. In his evening comments, President Trump read out various texts, mostly from right-wing supporters, calling the trial a sham.
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How much does this sway the nation? A new New York Times poll found that just 29% of residents in six battleground states said they were paying “a lot” of attention to President Trump’s legal problems.
