Michael Cohen, the star witness in the landmark New York v. Trump case, received star treatment from the mainstream media after his testimony on Monday.
Before he emerged as Trump’s sworn enemy, Cohen served as Trump’s personal lawyer and fixer, with critics labeling him everything from a “serial perjurer” to a “fraudster.” , its reliability has been questioned from all sides.
A former lawyer at the center of the prosecutor’s case against Trump has testified that he secretly recorded Trump ahead of the 2016 election, telling him he lied and bullied people for Trump’s benefit. He also admitted that he had tried to cover up Trump’s alleged extramarital affair. With adult film star Stormy Daniels.
“The fact that they’re literally relying on a serial perjurer to make their case shows how weak this case is. So I don’t think things are going well for the prosecution in court. “In the court of public opinion, they’re even worse,” Mark Thiessen said on Fox News Monday.
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On May 13, 2024, in Manhattan State Court in New York City, U.S., former Donald Trump was charged with falsifying business records to conceal funds he paid to hush porn star Stormy Daniels in 2016. At the presidential criminal trial, defendant Michael Cohen is questioned by prosecutor Susan Hoffinger. In this courtroom sketch. (Reuters/Jane Rosenberg)
Media outlets and commentators historically hostile to President Trump face the difficult task of making Mr. Cohen, who in 2018 pleaded guilty to campaign finance violations, lying to Congress and tax evasion, appear trustworthy. was holding.
Nevertheless, some people made attempts.
MSNBC legal analyst Danny Ceballos appeared to downplay the issue of Cohen’s credibility, focusing on the “misconception” that direct evidence is stronger than circumstantial evidence.
“Direct evidence is when someone says they saw something or heard something, but that may not be reliable. Eyewitness testimony may not be reliable, and Michael Cohen may not be reliable. But circumstantial evidence, documents don’t lie,” Ceballos said.
“The prosecution’s vision here was clearly that by the time Michael Cohen testified, all the other documents would mitigating his perception.” [unreliability]” said Ceballos as Andrea Mitchell gave the rest of her thoughts.
Longtime trial consultant J. Lee Mayles joined MSNBC to offer his thoughts on Cohen’s testimony. It turned out that she was a big fan of hers.
Mays told MSNBC viewers that Cohen is “calm,” “answers direct questions directly,” is not emotional and doesn’t “get too personal.”
“He knows what an important witness he is,” Mayles said.
Michael Cohen testifies that he secretly recorded President Trump in preparation for the 2016 election
On May 13, 2024, in Manhattan State Court in New York City, U.S., former Donald Trump was charged with falsifying business records to conceal funds he paid to hush porn star Stormy Daniels in 2016. At the presidential criminal trial, defendant Michael Cohen is questioned by prosecutor Susan Hoffinger. In this courtroom sketch. (Reuters/Jane Rosenberg)
MSNBC analyst Tim O’Brien similarly praised Cohen’s performance later on the channel.
“There are a lot of weaklings in Trump’s world pretending to be tough. Michael Cohen is a really tough guy. And I think he showed great discipline on the witness stand today. “I thought he was a great witness on the side. He kept his anger in check,” O’Brien said.
The case revolves around allegations of falsification of business records. Prosecutors allege Cohen paid Daniels $130,000 to silence her claims about an alleged extramarital sexual encounter with President Trump. Prosecutors allege that the Trump Organization reimbursed Cohen and fraudulently recorded the payments as legal fees, alleging that Trump falsified records to commit or conceal a second crime. Proof is in progress.
Trump has maintained his innocence in the case.
CNN aired footage of Cohen praising Trump in 2016, noting that this was common when Cohen was on the former president’s payroll.
“The question is,” senior legal analyst Ellie Honig asked following the video. She asked, “Will the jury buy into this story of, ‘When he flipped, he made a big break, and now he’s a truth teller’?”
The answer is not clear, but CNN legal analyst Elliott Williams told viewers that prosecutors asked the questions “carefully” in light of the evidence presented in the trial so far.
“There are credibility issues, memory issues and all these other issues, and they’re trying to keep his testimony as secret as possible,” Williams said.
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Journalists praised Cohen’s testimony, even though they acknowledged that his credibility was questionable. (Getty Images)
Nevertheless, some CNN correspondents and guests spoke optimistically about Cohen. Law correspondent Paula Reid called the testimony “credible,” while fellow correspondent Carla Scannell described it as “careful,” “deliberate,” and “controlled.”
CNN’s Tom Foreman also said, “The fact is, the basis of Cohen’s testimony all along was that he lied, he actually committed a crime, he actually went to prison for it, and there he did nothing else. “Tell me the truth about Donald Trump.”
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Other commentators referred to Trump himself, arguing that he was clearly influenced by the testimony.
“He walked out of the courtroom and didn’t give his name. But this is a very angry Donald Trump as he left the courtroom. There were days when he became even more rude or just walked away altogether. But this time, they were clearly frustrated. And I think the cause was that they were unhappy with each other,” NBC reporter Vaughn Hillard explained.
CNN’s Jake Tapper also suggested that Trump is “angrier than ever,” and former federal prosecutor Gene Rossi said he doesn’t know what jurors will see, but Trump’s facial expressions said it will be important.
“I don’t think he’s stone-faced,” Rossi said.
Mr. Trump appeared “angry” to some reporters and commentators after Mr. Cohen’s testimony. (Photo credit: SETH WENIG/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)
Meanwhile, Republicans are rushing to Trump’s defense.
Sen. J.D. Vance (R-Ohio), who was seen in court with Trump on Monday, reacted to Cohen’s testimony on the X show, saying that Cohen secretly recorded Trump. He expressed reluctance to admit this.
“Michael Cohen admitted to secretly recording his employer. Pretty normal, right? The best part is he said he only did it once for Trump’s benefit. He’s a stand-up guy!” he posted.
Mr. Vance, along with Alabama Sen. Tommy Tuberville and other Republicans, held a brief press conference about the trial on Monday, where Mr. Vance continued to criticize Mr. Cohen’s testimony.
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Mr. Cohen is scheduled to take the stand again on Tuesday morning.
Fox News Digital’s David Rutz, Emma Colton, Michael Lee and Brooke Singman contributed to this report.
