That is the query Jonathan Turley requested — and answered — as he watched Donald Trump’s trial in Manhattan, hours after two days of direct testimony in Alvin Bragg’s weird perjury-records prosecution, as Trump’s lawyer lastly received an opportunity to cross-examine Michael Cohen. That cross-examination will proceed at this time, however there are already questions on whether or not the convicted liar can depend on his outdated tips.
The Wall Road Journal reported that the query centered on Cohen’s “previous inconsistencies” with out going into an excessive amount of element:
Donald Trump’s lawyer on Tuesday portrayed Michael Cohen, the star witness within the former president’s hush-money trial, as an opportunist who went from obsessing over serving his boss to actively working to place him in jail. …
Trump’s legal professionals have painted Cohen’s frequent media appearances, his previous inconsistencies and his near-constant social media posts as vindictive and untrustworthy. Their interrogation is predicted to proceed till Thursday.
we will probably be… sure. Cohen has been convicted of perjury for perjury earlier than Congress, and that is only for starters. Yesterday, the New York Occasions reminded its readers of the reliability of Bragg’s star witness accusing Trump of Rube Goldberg-esque crimes:
Mr. Cohen, who’s Donald J. Trump’s former fixer pleaded responsible in August 2018 to varied federal crimes, together with marketing campaign finance violations for his position in two hush cash offers with girls who had intercourse with Mr. Trump. He pleaded responsible to non-public monetary crimes unrelated to Mr. Trump, together with tax evasion.
Three months later, Mr. Cohen returned to federal court docket to plead responsible once more. On the time, he pleaded responsible to mendacity to Congress about plans to construct a Trump Tower in Moscow, saying he did it out of loyalty to Mr. Trump.
His loyalty light in 2018 as authorities closed in on Mr. Cohen and Mr. Trump shunned him. Mr. Cohen is now the star witness at Mr. Trump’s legal trial in Manhattan, which facilities on a hush-money deal.
Cohen is a dependable witness as a Bernie Madoff hedge-fund supervisor. It’s not simply that he lies, however that he has been caught Each time he lies. Cohen apparently is not good sufficient to deceive a level, however as a substitute has a constant streak of mendacity to authorities below oath. Solely folks determined to discover a option to sink Donald Trump can take him at his phrase.
We’ll get to Turley’s observations shortly, however the WSJ centered extra on Trump’s authorized crew’s efforts to pursue Cohen’s credibility from one other angle:
Blanche Cohen has constructed a profession as a number one Trump opponent. He famous that the previous lawyer made greater than $3 million writing books about Trump and had his personal podcast. …
Blanche displayed among the merchandise she stated Cohen was promoting: a T-shirt with Trump in an orange jumpsuit behind the bar and a espresso mug that stated, “Ship him to the massive home, not the White Home.”
It isn’t simply that Cohen is bent on revenge, however has developed a enterprise mannequin for it. If Cohen cannot sink Trump on this trial, what is going to occur to that enterprise mannequin? One has to think about that Trump’s attorneys will embrace that time of their transient … if the case goes that far.
Turley argues that it should not. In his column for the New York Publish, the Georgetown legislation professor argues that “no sane prosecutor would depend on Cohen, not to mention everything of their case.” Turley factors out a number of occasions the place Cohen arguably perjured himself once more, and wonders when Decide Juan Marchan will lastly put an finish to this prosecutorial clown present:
Cohen has repeatedly stated that he couldn’t recall current calls with crystal readability even after recounting calls from eight years in the past. He stated he couldn’t recall whether or not he had leaked details about the case to CNN. Nevertheless, these paled compared to different vibrant moments.
Take, for instance, her testimony concerning her unethical determination to secretly document a phone name with Trump on September 6, 2016.
It was a wide ranging betrayal that the majority legal professionals would not ponder, not to mention proceed.
When requested by prosecutors about that legislation, Cohen unusually claimed he did it to ensure that David Packer, the previous writer of the Nationwide Enquirer, would “stay loyal to Mr. Trump.”
Nobody significantly believes this to be true. That does not make sense both. Pekar was speaking to Trump concerning the cost and even met with him on the White Home.
Turley drills additional into Cohen’s enterprise mannequin not solely as a monetary motive, and as revenge towards his former boss/shopper, but in addition as one other lie below oath. Cohen claimed below direct examination that he discovered his lesson about perjury and tried to make amends by serving to prosecutors maintain Trump accountable. Private achieve was the actual motive, together with an try to promote a reality-TV present based mostly on her exploits with Trump, it grew to become clear below cross-examination:
New from me
Promo teaser for Michael Cohen’s deliberate actuality present “The Fixer” https://t.co/EG6QZYhtTi pic.twitter.com/cPqbEsfXq6
— John Levin (@JonathanLevin) May 11, 2024
Michael Cohen will “resolve your issues,” utilizing abilities he discovered working for “a infamous dangerous man,” in line with a promo sizzle reel for “The Fixer,” a reality-TV present thought he is buying to studios.
Within the unintentionally hilarious promo video, which The Publish completely obtained, Cohen roams the streets of Manhattan in a moody ripoff of his outdated boss’ mega-hit “The Apprentice.”
Wearing a darkish swimsuit, the disgraced lawyer zips alongside Park Avenue on the Higher East Aspect for a lot of the narrative, which is interspersed between inventory footage of cable-news reviews on his scandal.
“I used to be a really dangerous man’s private lawyer.” What is going to occur to this pitch if the “very dangerous man” is acquitted? In different instances, a witness will probably be excluded if he tries to revenue financially from his testimony earlier than trial, except there’s a mistrial or a directed verdict of acquittal within the case of a ‘star’ witness. Bragg’s total case hinged on Cohen’s description of the transaction and Cohen’s already his testimony Transactions Put this on prime of Cohen’s a number of convictions for perjury in a number of arenas, and it turns into a sick and unhappy joke instructed by a clown of a DA.
On his private weblog, Turley argues that Marchan has an obligation to intervene and finish the embarrassment:
As the federal government rests after Cohen’s questioning, I consider an sincere choose would haven’t any selection however to grant a movement for a directed verdict and finish the case earlier than it goes to a jury. Decide Juan Marchan should now give the complete measure of his dedication to the rule of legislation. Given the failure to assist any components of guilt and even to determine the falsity of recording the funds as authorized bills, this trial seems to be stumbling by means of the motions of trial. Michael Cohen was the last word proof of a crude political follow. To critics, a few of Cohen’s solutions appear patently false or deceptive. Like their star witness, prosecutors have proven they do not take the legislation too significantly when a bonus is taken.
Maybe Marchan will act, however most likely not till after Cohen’s testimony is over. Apparently, the cross-examination will finish at this time, and Bragg’s crew might have re-instructions to repair any holes the protection has made, which can enable for re-crosses and extra. The perfect time to maneuver for a directed verdict can be when the federal government rests its case, when the protection can argue that Bragg’s workplace didn’t show guilt — and Turley argues that there is additionally a gaping gap, as Bragg nonetheless has the related crimes unexplained. That transformed a misdemeanor enterprise data cost to 34 felonies.
For the reason that authorities will relaxation its case after Cohen leaves the stand, Marchan should determine in a short time whether or not to step in… or be a part of the clown present.
