Michael Cohen's testimony was already bad for the prosecution's case in the Trump hush money trial.
As CNN's Elie Honig previously put it, Cohen had his knees chopped out in a "devastating moment."
Elie Honig: I don’t think I’ve ever seen a star cooperating witness get his knees chopped out quite as clearly and dramatically as what just happened with Michael Cohen. pic.twitter.com/QfeIMSi6YB
— Julie (@millennialergy) May 16, 2024
But on Monday, it just got even worse when Cohen admitted on cross-examination that he'd stolen thousands of dollars from the Trump Organization, as we reported.
Honig just eviscerated the prosecution and Cohen, and what this did to the case against Trump. Honig said this rocks the prosecution's core argument.
CNN legal expert Elie Honig on Michael Cohen's admission that he stole $60,000 from the Trump Organization:
— Ryan Saavedra (@RealSaavedra) May 20, 2024
"They gave him a free pass. He committed larceny, it's a higher degree of a felony than what Donald Trump is charged with. Yet they gave Michael Cohen a free pass even… pic.twitter.com/BhzKcr1VAx
They gave him a free pass. He committed larceny, it's a higher degree of a felony than what Donald Trump is charged with. Yet they gave Michael Cohen a free pass even though he's now admitted that he stole what amounts to $60,000. It goes to his credibility, it goes to his relationship with the D.A.
Generally, prosecutors will pursue the higher felonies or crimes and not use the person who seems to have done something worse against the person who has allegedly done less. But they didn't do that here. They didn't care about what Cohen did because they were going after Trump. It further reinforces the look of how political this all is -- and it leaves the witness even more compromised before the jury.
As Guy Benson at Townhall observed, it's "a partisan witch hunt in an election year, undertaken by sharp-elbowed partisans and presided over by a Biden donor, for the purposes of branding Donald Trump a 'convicted felon' prior to Election Day." He pointed out how it was viewed as "devastating" across the spectrum.
Michael Cohen’s performance under cross examination has been described by analysts from across the spectrum as “devastating” — not to the defendant, as intended, but to the prosecution’s case, which hinges on Cohen’s cartoonishly non-credible testimony. From tonight’s panel: pic.twitter.com/sTxph3nZgf
— Guy Benson (@guypbenson) May 21, 2024
When even CNN is calling it out, you know how bad it is.
On top of the admission, Michael Cohen is also merchandising his attacks on Trump, as George Washington University law professor Jonathan Turley observed. "Cohen admits that he makes part of the money from his merchandise related to Trump. He also admits that he is also seeking a reality show..."
— Jonathan Turley (@JonathanTurley) May 20, 2024
So that's another thing that throws his testimony into question.
Why should the jury believe anything Cohen has to say?
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