Former federal prosecutor Brett Tolman said Monday that prosecutors are giving former President Donald Trump’s lawyers more latitude in cross-examination by keeping former lawyer Michael Cohen on the stand. Stated.
Former Mr. Cohen fixer Trump previously pleaded guilty to lying to Congress. accused Perjury for testifying Monday in a lawsuit over a $130,000 payment to porn star Stormy Daniels. Mr. Tolman said prosecutors should have limited Mr. Cohen’s disclosures on the stand. (Related: Jonathan Turley explains how prosecutors may be using Michael Cohen to avoid quick defeat)
“They’re so worried about cross-examination that there’s such an effort to script everything they say. Some of my most difficult witnesses to give credibility to I wanted to get him on the stand immediately and get him out immediately,” Tolman told “America Report” co-hosts Sandra Smith and John Roberts. “It’s shocking to me that they spend as much time as Michael Cohen. If I were them, I would thoroughly tell you what they think you can offer and cross-examine them. Because, remember, Sandra, your cross-examination is pretty much limited to what was revealed on direct examination, but you’re going to be looking at his credibility, but beyond that. , the longer they are, the more extensive cross-examination they present.”
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Mr. Tolman earlier pointed out that Mr. Cohen sought to deprive Mr. Trump of any potential defense rights he had while being questioned by prosecutors about his involvement in the payments to Mr. Daniels.
“It’s interesting to see how prosecutors are willing to put a convicted perjurer on the stand. Part of the initial cross-examination will obviously be about his inconsistencies and the lies he’s told. That’s for sure,” Tolman said. . “But you’ll notice something interesting going on. He’s trying to lay the groundwork that he’s not actually Trump’s lawyer, and he’s making it clear that he’s something different.” ” And the reason for that is not just because we need to portray Donald Trump as a micromanager, but because in cases like this he doesn’t have the luxury, and the advice of his lawyer is the real defense. Because of this, he is trying desperately to separate himself from the practice of law. His association with Donald Trump requires corroboration, but there is no one to corroborate that he was not his lawyer, so everything he says must be corroborated in front of a jury and that If you can’t, that’s the problem. Definition of reasonable suspicion. ”
Alvin Bragg’s star witness, an admitted liar, sets the stage to take on Trumphttps://t.co/KM3oNF3bwy
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The former lawyer also pointed out that prosecutors have not made their case even though Cohen continues to testify. (Related: Former U.S. Attorney says prosecutors’ attempt to infuriate Trump with Stormy Daniels testimony could backfire)
“You’ll notice that Cohen talked at length about his interactions with the media and his interactions with people regarding this story, but he didn’t outline the underlying crime they had to prove and what the actual payments were. We just don’t have the evidence yet to show anything other than a shakedown,” Tolman said. “If there’s any suggestion that this is a shakedown, we’re going to lose some of our jurors. So there are a lot of holes at this point, and they’ve got to start fixing and plugging those holes. If you don’t do that, you, as the prosecutor, will be the one to do it.”I think this ship is going to sink.” ”
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