According to recent developments in the New York v. Trump hush money trial, former Trump lawyer Michael Cohen admitted to stealing from the Trump Organization. Cohen is the star witness in the case, and such allegations could further erode his credibility.
Cohen was questioned by Trump’s attorney Todd Blanche, where he acknowledged that he stole from the company by including a reimbursement to a technology company in his bonus package and kept most of the money. “So you stole from the Trump Organization, right?” Blanche asked. “Yes sir,” Cohen confirmed.
Cohen reportedly paid between $20,000 and $50,000 of the reimbursement to the technology company. However, he claimed to have kept the rest for himself. The total sum of the reimbursement was $100,000. Cohen’s reliability as a witness in the hush money trial has already come into question. The American Tribune reported that Michael Cohen’s former lawyer, New York defense attorney Robert Costello, rebuked his arguments before Congress.
Costello framed Cohen as a “habitual liar” and untrustworthy individual who could not be trusted as a reliable witness in the case against the former president. According to prepared remarks from the defense attorney, Cohen had no incriminating evidence on Donald Trump.
“Cohen kept on saying: ‘Guys I want you to remember, I will do whatever the F … I have to do, I will never spend one day in jail. I even said to Cohen at one point: ‘Michael, now is the time to tell the truth and cooperate if you want your legal problems to disappear.’ Cohen would again reply: “I swear to God, Bob, I don’t have anything on Donald Trump.”
Furthermore, Costello’s testimony suggested that Cohen was a “habitual liar” and a “totally unreliable witness.” He added, “After that, the U.S. Attorney’s Office never dealt with Cohen again, having concluded, rightly, that he was a habitual liar and totally unreliable witness. That office chose to not bring any charges against President Trump. Clearly the correct decision. But the same cannot be said for the for the New York District Attorney’s Office.”
Costello’s damning testimony pertaining to Trump’s former lawyer has drastic implications for the trial’s key witness. The New York defense attorney further emphasized that Cohen consistently lies to promote his own interests.
“He lied repeatedly both about consequential and inconsequential details. Whenever it suited his purposes, Michael Cohen showed no hesitation to lie,” Costello’s remarks added. “The pattern is consistent that Cohen lies when he thinks it is to his own advantage but tells the truth when it is to Michael Cohen’s own advantage.”
Former President Trump has continually argued his innocence in the trial, labeling it a politically motivated witch hunt that is designed to keep him from campaigning against Joe Biden. Trump said, “Virtually every Legal Analyst and Scholar said yesterday, at the end of the day, THAT THERE IS NO CASE, AND THAT THIS WITCH HUNT SHOULD HAVE NEVER BEEN BROUGHT, AND SHOULD BE THROWN OUT NOW!!! WHY WASN’T THIS HOAX BROUGHT SEVEN YEARS AGO, INSTEAD OF IN THE MIDDLE OF MY WINNING CAMPAIGN FOR PRESIDENT — ELECTION INTERFERENCE.”
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