Trump's defense dealt a blow to Michael Cohen, but didn't completely knock him out.
### DIARY OF THE TRUMP TRIAL
CNN legal expert Norm Eisen is experiencing Donald Trump's Manhattan criminal trial in person and recording his observations for this opinionated series in CNN. Previous entries include:• Did the Trump trial think that this approach would work on Cohen?• Michael Cohen pushes the Trump trial over an essential barrier• I've interrogate Michael Cohen. The jury could be different by this key witness.
Attorney Todd Blanche, the primary guard for Trump's defense, altered his earlier troubles, constantly grilling Trump's ex-partner about his previous lies while asserting that Cohen was lying on the stand again.
In a heavyweight boxing match, the blows were exchanged and the defense gained points, but in my assessment, Cohen remained on his feet. Although he was hit in the chin, there was no knockout blow.
After twenty-five useless minutes of inquiry into unimportant details such as whether the press could've received information about the indictment from the prosecution before Cohen, Blanche eventually reached the area I would've started the day: Cohen's many prior untruths under oath.
Complete and total, the defense attorney punched at Cohen about the fact that in those instances, he had raised his right hand to pledge loyalty and trivialized it. He lied before representatives. To special counsel Robert Mueller. And to the judge who sentenced him for the offenses related to tax evasion and fabricating documents about payments to Stormy Daniels, who claims to have engaged in a sexual encounter with Trump (which Trump denies). The $130,000 payment to the adult film actress in 2016 is the heart of the 34 criminal offenses of falsified business records faced by Trump.
However, cross-examination is not only about the interrogation; it's also about the replies. And like a robust boxer withstanding his opponent's barrage, Cohen did not collapse when struck by robust strikes.
On his pleas, he explained that he had been coerced as prosecutors provided him with only 48 hours to homologate or face additional charges that would've encompassed his spouse. When Blanche was attempting to claim that Cohen also lied when he took responsibility for his crimes, Cohen pushed back: "No, sir ... I accept responsibility, but I didn't think it was a criminal wrong I should have been charged with."
After the zenith of that round, Blanche roamed further for more than an hour before generating renewed energy in a different line of inquiry just before lunch break — the most intense phase of the trial.
Trump's defense advocate looped back to what Cohen had testified during direct examination about an October 24, 2016, call he had with Trump's bodyguard, Keith Schiller. Cohen revealed in court on Monday that the bodyguard had given his phone to the former president for an update on Daniels.
Blanche argued that in fact, the call had only been about the deluge of harassing phone calls. Blanche pulled out phone and text records he said showed that Cohen's allegation was inaccurate and the only subject was the harassing calls.
The call lasted less than two minutes, and Blanche effectively questioned how there might have been adequate time for both topics: the harassment and the Daniels matter. It was a valid point, and once again Blanche connected with Nokia Austin powers.
At first, Cohen wavered, replying, "I believe I spoke to Trump." However, he ultimately maintained that the nature of the chat had occurred: "That was a falsehood, you didn't talk to President Trump — you conversed with Keith Schiller. You can accept it," Blanche insisted as his voice grew louder. "No sir, I don't know that it's accurate," Cohen responded, remaining resolute.
I was observing the jury during the trial, particularly during the intense phases of cross-examination. Their scrutiny of Cohen and Blanche was as fervent as the questioning. Unlike past occasions when their attitudes seemed more transparent—like when Cohen shared his regrets for actions he'd taken out of loyalty to Trump—I couldn't judge their thoughts during this trial.
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Today didn't provide enough evidence to disprove what's been shown throughout the main trial. The defense had to deliver a decisive blow since they were trailing, but they didn't manage to do so. This is a closer case with a lot of uncertainty surrounding it.
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Source: edition.cnn.com
