The crescendo in the New York criminal case against Donald Trump is growing.
Michael Cohen, the disgraced felon who has been a star witness for the prosecution since Monday, retook his place on the stand. What’s the problem? Cohen has been proven to be a liar, scumbag and Trump’s lawyers got him on the witness stand to say it in no uncertain words.
Cohen confessed to stealing thousands of dollars from Trump’s organization in a moment that lit up the internet.
Blanche just got Cohen to say that he handed over $20,000 in a paper bag to close end a financial dispute. There is something quintessentially Cohen about the scene…
— Jonathan Turley (@JonathanTurley) May 20, 2024
…These are hits below the waterline for Cohen but also the prosecutors. They had a man admitting to a major larceny but never charged Cohen. That made Cohen not only their man, but allowed him to keep stolen money…
— Jonathan Turley (@JonathanTurley) May 20, 2024
I can’t predict what the jury’s final decision will be in this case, given that it is absurd and too politicized. In any normal situation, the credibility of the case would be destroyed if the prosecution’s star witnesses admitted to being dishonest thieves. Remember that everything revolves around Cohen. He is now claiming he was a patsy and only did Trump’s bidding by cutting the check for Stormy Daniels.
Bragg’s prosecution was not only a blow to the gut. Trump’s legal team highlighted later that Cohen repeatedly told reporters and others that Trump was unaware of the payment. Cohen changed his story only after the FBI raided Cohen’s office and home. The lack of credibility that Bragg’s star witnesses have is just as astonishing.
…Cohen admits that he told reporters (on the record) that Trump did not know about the payments to Stormy Daniels. He told BBC for example that “there was no way” that he would have told Trump. Cohen recorded the interview with the BBC reporter without her knowledge…
— Jonathan Turley (@JonathanTurley) May 20, 2024
This case is a mess. This insanity is not acceptable to a jury. Bragg chose to use an incarcerated felon who had a lengthy criminal record to prove his point, but that decision has now been exposed. It is also clear that the Manhattan DA decided not to prosecute Cohen despite his disclosure of the crime of stealing money from the Trump Organization. This is all a case of politics.
The fact that the case is a mess on a technical basis doesn’t matter if the judge keeps doing what he does. It only takes one juror for this to go awry.
