OPINION: This article may contain commentary which reflects the author's opinion.
Michael Cohen, former personal attorney of Donald Trump, is expected to testify in the ‘hush money’ case against the former president.
However, a recent report suggests that Cohen may be causing problems for prosecutors. Cohen, who arranged a $130,000 payment to Stormy Daniels prior to the 2016 election, is posing challenges for the prosecution. Not only is the District Attorney’s office attempting to prevent him from speaking out about the case, but they are also dealing with troubling testimony that portrays Cohen in a negative light for the jury.
“Michael Cohen is a complete mess as a witness for the prosecution in the current state fraud trial,” former federal prosecutor Michael McAuliffe stated. Trump is facing charges of falsifying business records linked to the payment made to Daniels. The prosecution alleges that Trump, along with Cohen and former publisher David Pecker, created a scheme to influence the 2016 presidential election by hiding negative stories about Trump, including Daniels’ allegations of an affair with the then-Republican nominee.
Trump has pleaded not guilty and denied Daniels’ accusations. In a 2018 letter signed by Daniels, she also stated that the affair never happened.
“Cohen has loomed large over the trial that’s been taking place in the Manhattan Criminal Court. Trump was fined $9,000 for violating his gag order, which bars him from attacking any ‘foreseeable witnesses’ and jurors after the former president railed against Cohen and Daniels outside the courtroom,” the outlet noted further.
Cohen, who has become a prominent Trump critic since his split with his former boss, persists in discussing the case despite being slated to testify in the trial. Just recently, Cohen used X, formerly Twitter, to address Trump as “Von ShitzInPantz,” asserting that “your attacks on me stink of desperation.”
Cohen has further delved into discussions about Trump and the trial during his nightly livestreams on TikTok, quipping remarks such as, “Trump 2024? More like Trump 20-24 years.” According to ABC, Cohen is reportedly making a profit from these extensive livestreams.
McAuliffe noted that Cohen’s past statements about Trump and his “often bizarre publicity stunts” make the former fixer-lawyer “less and less useful as a source of credible evidence.”
“By constantly puffing up his anticipated role as a Trump-slayer, he makes it much less possible to be one,” McAuliffe said.
The prosecution has encountered the challenging task of anchoring their case around Cohen, whose reputation is marred by imperfections. In their opening statements and during jury selection, prosecutors confronted the obvious issue, meticulously informing jurors about Cohen’s track record of dishonesty, not just with the media but also in court and before Congress.
“Will you keep an open mind?” lead prosecutor Joshua Steinglass asked prospective jurors about Cohen’s “baggage.”
Meanwhile, Trump’s attorneys have looked to undercut Cohen’s credibility, telling jurors that the former lawyer is “obsessed” with Trump “even to this day” and that he’s attempting to blame his friend-turned-foe for “virtually all of his problems.”
Team Trump also used Cohen’s public remarks and podcasts about Trump to argue that the former fixer’s “entire financial livelihood” depends on Trump’s “destruction.”
“You cannot make a serious decision about President Trump under the lying words of Michael Cohen,” Trump attorney Todd Blanche told the jury last week.
