Here’s an off the wall question but something I’m curious about. From Cohen’s name I’m assuming he’s Jewish, at least by heritage if not by practice. Has anyone on trump’s team suggested that the reason he turned on trump is because he is Jewish and therefore cannot be trusted to be loyal? IOW has the fact that Cohen is Jewish been brought up by the Trump side at all?
Antisemitism as a defense strategy?
Not even Alina was that incompetent.
yes, he is jewish, his father survived the holocaust.
they have not suggested that so far.
Considering Weisselberg’s own heritage (among others in the circle), that would be a bizarre thing to bring up.
from cnn:
“Do you remember in February 2021, you were going on TV talking about the investigation?” Blanche asks.
“I go on TV often, so I’m not sure what the topic was,” Cohen says.
Trump is leaning back with his eyes closed and his mouth hanging open briefly before he readjusts in his chair.
Blanche follows up, and Cohen says it would “not surprise me” that he was discussing the investigation.
The Trump attorney asks if the district attorney’s office was frustrated because Cohen was talking to the press in February 2021.
“Yes sir,” Cohen says.
It took Blanche several times to get this question past objections. (8 objections so far in 20+ minutes)
Blanche asks if he continued to talk to the press.
“Yes indeed, I talked to the press,” Cohen says.
Including about this case, Blanche asks?
“It sounds correct,” Cohen says.
Trump defense lawyer Todd Blanche started attacking Michael Cohen right away in the first few questions of his cross-examination of the key witness.
Blanche asked Cohen if he made a TikTok calling Blanche a crying little sh*t" just before the trial began. Judge Juan Merchan struck that question, along with others, including one asking Cohen if he made comments about himself and Trump attorney Susan Necheles.
“We went right to this issue of you have this sort of all-consuming personal hatred and a vested interest in this case,” CNN senior legal analyst Elie Honig said.
CNN senior political analyst Gloria Borger added that the defense Is trying to say that “this is the real Michael Cohen.”
“The Michael Cohen who has been on the stand before, full of remorse, a good guy, that’s not Michael Cohen,” she said.
Pointing to the social media posts helps the defense argue to the jury that Cohen is out to get Trump and “that’s the guy you should understand did all these things and lied all these times and don’t feel sorry for him.”
Michael Cohen is being questioned about being asked by the district attorney’s office to refrain from speaking about the case.
“After the indictment, you have been warned repeatedly by the district attorney’s office to not talk about this case?” Blanche asks.
“Yes,” Cohen says.
Blanche asks what have they said.
“Please don’t talk about the case,” Cohen responds.
Blanche asks Cohen when he met with the DA’s office on several occasions. Cohen says they’d tell him directly, “Probably better off if you don’t speak about it."
Cohen puts the number of times they told him not to talk to the press about the case at fewer than five times.
“And you have not followed their request or whatever word you want me to use?” Blanche asks.
Cohen says, “That’s correct. I’m responding…” and Blanche cuts him off.
Michael Cohen says he does each of his two podcasts twice per week, making it four per week.
Cohen says he records the podcasts all year long.
He confirms Donald Trump comes up in every podcast episode.
“I would say he’s mentioned in every one, yes.”
from cnn update:
Trump is not reacting to any of the back-and-forth between Michael Cohen and defense attorney Todd Blanche, as he sits back in his chair with his eyes closed.
Todd Blanche asks Michael Cohen if he makes the nightly TikToks to earn money.
Cohen answers, “Money is made from it, yes.”
Blanche responds:
"That’s not my question. One of the reasons you do it is to make money, yes or no?
“Yes,” Cohen says.
rc: cohen is getting passive voice. he should go back to yes, sir; no, sir.
Trump’s past remarks about Jews has been very telling. He would swear that he is the opposite of anti-Semitic. I recall during the 2016 campaign when speaking to a Jewish group that said something like he likes to hire “the people who wear beanies” because they are smart and hard workers. He recently said that Jews who vote for Biden are betraying their own culture and identity presumably because he is more pro-Israel. Anyway, enough of that digression…
NYT (for some color beyond the words):
Some of his answers, perhaps unintentionally, are funny, which could be taking the sting out of some of Blanche’s insinuations. The jurors look amused. One is smiling.
Some of Cohen’s blunt responses, including this one, have elicited laughter in the overflow room.
Don’t know why, there’s no sun up in the sky…Stormy Pecker…
I guess if you can’t get your wife to show up in support, get a whole row of your lickspittle toadies, sycophants, ass-kissers and enablers.
from cnn updates:
Todd Blanche asks Michael Cohen to confirm he wore the t-shirt showing Donald Trump behind bars on his TikTok last week.
“I did,” Cohen responds.
And you were encouraging people to buy it, Blanche asks.
“Yes, it’s part of the merch store,” Cohen says.
Trump attorney Todd Blanche is now asking Michael Cohen when he changed his views about Trump.
“I guess it would be August 2018,” Cohen says.
Blanche asks the question again, rephrasing it slightly. Cohen responds it was around the time he did an interview with George Stephanopoulos.
Trump attorney Todd Blanche is now walking Michael Cohen through when he first met Trump, and how his apartment was in a Trump building.
“You still live in a building with Trump’s name on it, correct?” Blanche asked.
“I do,” Cohen said.
Cohen confirmed that he and his family owned several properties in Trump buildings.
As Michael Cohen was answering questions, Trump’s chin was resting on his chest with his eyes closed.
Defense attorney Susan Necheles scooted over a chair to say something to him after staring at him for several seconds.
Trump lawyer Todd Blanche is now asking Michael Cohen if he also represented more members of the Trump family.
“Your job wasn’t just representing President Trump. You also represented his family at times?” Blanche asks.
“I have, yes,” Cohen says.
“Which members of the family?” Blanche asks
“Melania, Don, Jr. I don’t believe I ever represented Eric, and I can’t recall if I ever represented Ivanka,” Cohen replies.
Trump attorney Todd Blanche asked if it was fair to say Michael Cohen admired Trump.
“Yes sir,” Cohen said.
“You admire his financial success? His high profile, his tenacity?”
“Very much so, yes,” Cohen said.
Cohen said he read Trump’s book “Art of the Deal” twice.
“I viewed it as a excellent book, yes,” Cohen said.
Michael Cohen says he made $375,000 a year plus an annual bonus of $150,000, except for 2016.
Michael Cohen is asked how he felt about Donald Trump, and if he was obsessed with him.
“I wouldn’t say obsessed. I admired him tremendously.”
He then went on, “I can’t recall using that word. I wouldn’t say it would be wrong.”
Defense attorney Todd Blanche reads aloud remarks that Michael Cohen has made about Trump, including that all the former president wanted to do was “make the country great again.”
“At the time, you weren’t lying, right?” Blanche asks.
“At that time, I was knee-deep into the cult of Donald Trump, yes,” Cohen answers, adding, “I was not lying, it’s how I felt.”
“You were telling the truth, correct?” Blanche asks.
“That’s how I felt,” Cohen says. “I was expressing my feelings, so yes it would be the truth.”
Trump attorney Todd Blanche is going through several more positive statements Michael Cohen made about Trump in 2015.
According to the statements, Cohen called Trump “a good man” and “a man who cares deeply about his family.”
“I said that,” Cohen confirms.
Blanche lists a few more adjectives Cohen used to describe Trump previously: “kind, humble and honest.”
“Yes, sir,” Cohen confirms. “Again, that’s how I felt, so yes it would be the truth.”
Michael Cohen’s testimony is moving on to a Vanity Fair profile in September 2017.
Attorney Todd Blanche asks whether Cohen said in the profile, “You were the guy who protects the president and the family?”
“I believe so, yes,” Cohen says.
Blanche follows up and asks if he said he’d take a bullet for the president?
“I did say that, yes,” Cohen responds.
In the article, Cohen said there was “no money in the world” to write about the Trump family.
“I had no intention of writing a book,” Cohen says adding, “At that time.”
rc: it appears that blanche is trying to go with the “hell has no fury like a cohen scorned” defence.
blanche is now asking about cohen being told in 2017 not to speak to trump. cohen states “i was told not to speak to trump, but not the family.”
cnn update:
“I did say that I missed President Trump,” Michael Cohen confirmed when asked about his comments in 2017.
Cohen said he was advised he could not speak to Trump but that he could do so with the family.
Cohen confirmed telling a reporter in the time after the Russia probe began in 2017 “not that I couldn’t see the kids. I just didn’t.”
Most of the jurors are responding to the fast-paced cross-examination of Michael Cohen by Trump attorney Todd Blanche.
Several of them are bobbing back and forth and one is looking out into the gallery.
One juror however has his eyes closed.
now on to meeting with mueller special counsel on august 2018.
on msnbc, andrew weissmann is able to add into that line of questioning. weissmann was not in the meeting but has knowledge of it.
Attorney Todd Blanche is now walking through Michael Cohen through his interview with special counsel Robert Mueller, where Cohen denied going to Prague, one of the false allegations in the so-called Steele dossier. Cohen also told the office he never paid the Russian to hack anything.
“You wanted your voice to be part of their report that was ultimately issued?” Blanche asks.
“I wanted my voice to be reflected that the Steele dossier, towards me as an example, was inaccurate,” Cohen says.
“They asked you about the Trump Moscow project and you lied to them,” Blanche asks
“Yes, the information that I gave was not accurate,” Cohen says.
In earlier exchange, Blanche asks Cohen if his life has been “turned upside down since the release of the Steele dossier.” Cohen tells him, “Yes.”
“Is not accurate information a lie?” Trump attorney Todd Blanche asked in a line of questioning about statements to the special counsel Robert Mueller.
“Sure,” Cohen said.
“Is it a lie?” Blanche asked.
“It was inaccurate, yes,” Cohen said.
“Was it a lie?” Blanche asked.
“I don’t know if it would characterize it as a lie. It was inaccurate,” Cohen said.
Blanche asked how Cohen is distinguishing the difference. Cohen said, “It wasn’t truthful. You want to call it a lie. I’ll call it a lie.”
Defense attorney Todd Blanche is now asking Michael Cohen what he told the special counsel’s team about the “Access Hollywood” tape.
“You told them on August 7, 2018, that you didn’t recall speaking with Trump about the tape, correct?” Blanche asks.
"I don’t recall that, " Cohen replies.
Blanche continues: “But you testified yesterday you had a specific recollection about speaking to. Mr Trump about the ‘Access Hollywood’ tape.”
“Correct,” Cohen says.
rc: the wishy washy is not going well. it could undermine the rather good direct.
we are in the afternoon break.
That’s exactly what you are seeing. CNN owners only care about getting eyeballs on the ads. It’s not about saving democracy.
Sing it, Michael.
and we are back…
Judge Juan Merchan informs the jury that the court will end at 4 p.m. ET on Thursday.
Remember there is no session tomorrow or on Friday.
Todd Blanche resumes his cross-examination, circling back with Michael Cohen to confirm that the first time he met with the Manhattan DA’s office was about three months into his sentence at Otisville in late August 2019.
Blanche asks Cohen whether he asked the prosecutors what was the benefit for him to meet with them and that he told them he had been “screwed over by the system.”
“I don’t know if that’s the language that I used, but sounds correct,” Cohen says.
Looks like that’s what they’ve been doing.
Honestly, though I’m clearly biased against the defense in this case, it’s probably the least bad strategy they can do. If they can find some way to get the jury to doubt Cohen, despite all of the corroborating evidence the prosecution introduced to bolster his credibility, that would sink the case.
Though does that imply (as IIRC the prosecutors said they will hopefully finish their case this week) that we’ll finish with Cohen today and then go straight to closing statements on Thursday?
Blanche almost owed me a new monitor.
Blanche asked if Cohen called Trump a “Cheeto-dusted cartoon villain.”
Nearly spit out my coffee at that one!
is that better or worse than “orange turd”?
one can only hope griffin 1977. i’m reckoning on cohen going into thursday.
No. The Defense said that they will continue cross on Thursday and there will be re-direct after that. Given that there is no court on Friday, there could well be more Cohen on Monday. The prosecution did say that Cohen is their last witness. After Cohen is done, the defense could also call witnesses which could include Donald.