MSNBC host Lawrence O’Donnell came up with a shoddy defense for former President Donald Trump after the former president admitted stealing money from the Trump Organization during his trial.
Cohen admitted during his third day of testimony that he pocketed money that was supposed to go from the Trump Organization to the technology company Red Finch. Trump’s lawyer Todd Blanche asked about Cohen’s claim that he was under $100,000 in annual bonuses from the Trump Organization in 2017. Cohen said he would normally receive a $150,000 bonus.
“I felt like it was almost self-help because I was angry that my bonus was cut,” Cohen testified. “To have another $130,000 and my bonus cut by two-thirds was very upsetting to say the least.”
“You didn’t just steal $30,000, because that was the total amount. It was $60,000,” Blanche replied.
O’Donnell said Cohen was not stealing money from Trump, but rather was “trying to rebalance” the bonuses he thought he was entitled to. Mr. O’Donnell also noted that the amount Mr. Cohen received was less than the typical amount he has received in the past.
“Now, there’s an argument that actually you’re just an opportunistic thief.”
“Then, when Cohen was asked about it in a redirect from prosecutors, it didn’t actually sound like he stole $30,000. It didn’t sound like he had stolen the $30,000. It was more like Michael Cohen, a bonus that he was thinking of.” It sounded like he did a little bit of what he could within that calculation to restore the balance.”It was obvious, but it still didn’t pay off the bonuses he thought he was entitled to or the bonuses he was getting a year ago.” “It was less than that,” O’Donnell said.
In contrast, attorney Danny Ceballos
Said MSNBC’s Cohen’s admission that he stole money from Trump’s business undermines his long-held excuse that he only committed the illegal acts out of loyalty to Trump. is.
“Now, there’s an argument that actually you’re just an opportunistic thief. You were literally pocketing money from your employer. And I — as a lawyer — first of all, The idea is to pay with a bag of cash. “Dear lawyers, I don’t like accepting cash. Frankly, I refuse to accept cash. It just invites trouble.” said Ceballos.
“But the idea of dealing with bags of cash for sandwiches or brown paper bags of cash to pay people is already a problem. But the idea of just grabbing a wad of bills and stuffing them in your pocket is already problematic. I think that’s what moved Michael.” Cohen, who plays the role of Tom Hagen from The Godfather, actually resembles Fredo Corleone, but now this guy is just He’s a thief,” he added.
Attorney Ellie Honig said on CNN that the crimes Cohen has admitted to are more serious than the charges Trump is facing at trial.
“By the way, the fact that he was charged with theft is important because stealing $60,000 by fraud is theft in New York state, which is a more serious crime than running a false business,” Honig said. explained.
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