Last Week In Legal: Cohen Testimony Special
While there was some movement in other cases, Cohen's 4-day testimony dominated the news cycle. So much of the case hinges on his testimony, so this is a long one. Enjoy.
Michael Cohen took the stand this week in the Stormy Daniels Hush Money case, and the entire case relies on his testimony. So far, no one who has testified in the case has anything good to say about him.
After going through the transcripts (Day One, Day Two, Day Three, Day Four. Evidence.), Cohen has some tells, and he folds easily. He comes across as a clout-chaser who will do or say anything to get ahead or save himself. He desperately wants the credit and approval of the people he looks up to. He also likes to cherry-pick and twist things to fit his current narrative. So, when he is saying something that he knows is either a lie or hurtful to himself, he tends to try to leave himself some wiggle room with weasel words like “possibly,” “maybe,” or “I believe.” When confronted with a lie, he will at first declare he doesn’t recall, but after asking him three or four times, he will break down and admit the truth.
Cohen is a convicted perjurer. He pled guilty to making false statements before a federal judge. Then, during the Letitia James Fraud case, he got on the stand and told the court that he lied to the federal judge when he said he lied. So the question is - can we believe anything he says?
[My notes in bold italic.]
He started working for the Trump Org in 2007. The story goes, his whole family had bought units in Trump World Tower. Trump had a problem with the resident board there wanting to remove the Trump name from the building. Cohen & his family took over the board and resolved the issue. After that, Trump contacted him on a few other legal matters. When Cohen attempted to bill Trump for work done on the Trump Entertainment Resorts Chapter 11 reorganization, Trump offered him a job instead. So, Cohen stiffed his old boss and went to work at Trump Org in 2007. In fact, when Trump offered him the job, Cohen said he didn't even go back to his office that day, and Trump sent guys to pack up his stuff. (So, screw his clients at Phillip Nizzer, right?)
His official new title was Executive Vice President and Special Counsel to Donald J Trump, and he was NOT part of the Trump Org General Counsel team. Cohen often renegotiated bills for Donald. For example, When Trump U went bust, there was only $2 million to pay over 50 vendors. Cohen talked all but two vendors into taking 20% of their invoice and calling it good. What happened to the other two? “They went away.” They did not get paid. Cohen made it clear that with each vendor who agreed to the reduced payment, he would update Trump “to obtain credit so that he understood that, again, I was accomplishing what he wanted.”