Seymour Flops
Diamond Member
The lie Cohen was caught in, perhaps seemingly small in comparison to the frequency and scope of his history of lying in the past, completely destroys the narrative that he is now reformed, chastened by his time in the slammer and now only desiring to tell the truth in order to bring Donald Trump to justice. CNN calls it Donald Trump’s “best day so far.”
Cohen appeared to be tripped up over an account of a call he’d previously said under oath was to discuss Trump’s hush money payment to adult film Star Stormy Daniels. It emerged under questioning on Thursday that, at least to begin with, the topic of the call was about another matter entirely.
It was the kind of inconsistency that Trump’s attorneys can use to try to sow reasonable doubt about Cohen’s truthfulness and credibility in the mind of a single juror. That’s all it would take for Trump to walk. And now, the prosecution faces a stiff challenge in repairing the damage when they get to their redirect examination of Cohen’s testimony following the close of cross-examination next week. “I think what happened today still is so devastating they have to do something,” Ryan Goodman, a professor at NYU Law, told CNN’s Erin Burnett. “If the case ended today and there were final statements, I think there would not be a conviction.”
CNN could have spun this, if they had wanted to. They could have said something like, “the defense attorney attempted to belabor what it claimed was an inconsistency in Cohen’s story, but Cohen remained steadfast.” Instead, they call it devastating to the case.
Whether CNN spins or takes the high road for once, doesn’t change the facts of the case, but it may well affect the non-sequestered jury. It may also affect the prosecution and the judge, leading the prosecution to offer only a weak opposition the motion for a directed verdict, and possibly leading the judge to direct such a verdict.
That last option is nearly impossible, due to the judge’s financial interests in making sure that the jury, not himself, declares Trump not proven guilty. So if the prosecution does not fight the motion to direct the verdict, they will be throwing the judge under the bus.
This is a part that surprised me:
Another day of testimony from Cohen, the prosecution’s critical witness, came as the case hurtled toward its climax with the judge telling lawyers to be ready to deliver summations as early as Tuesday. That means it’s feasible the jury will retire to consider its verdict in the first criminal trial of a former president sometime after Memorial Day and just five months before Trump hopes to reclaim the White House.
Is the judge expecting the defense to put on no case? It would make sense. The prosecution finally sprung the booby trap it set for itself by making Michael Cohen its star witness. The defense attorneys will have a hard time keeping Trump from taking the stand if they put on a case.
Cohen appeared to be tripped up over an account of a call he’d previously said under oath was to discuss Trump’s hush money payment to adult film Star Stormy Daniels. It emerged under questioning on Thursday that, at least to begin with, the topic of the call was about another matter entirely.
It was the kind of inconsistency that Trump’s attorneys can use to try to sow reasonable doubt about Cohen’s truthfulness and credibility in the mind of a single juror. That’s all it would take for Trump to walk. And now, the prosecution faces a stiff challenge in repairing the damage when they get to their redirect examination of Cohen’s testimony following the close of cross-examination next week. “I think what happened today still is so devastating they have to do something,” Ryan Goodman, a professor at NYU Law, told CNN’s Erin Burnett. “If the case ended today and there were final statements, I think there would not be a conviction.”
CNN could have spun this, if they had wanted to. They could have said something like, “the defense attorney attempted to belabor what it claimed was an inconsistency in Cohen’s story, but Cohen remained steadfast.” Instead, they call it devastating to the case.
Whether CNN spins or takes the high road for once, doesn’t change the facts of the case, but it may well affect the non-sequestered jury. It may also affect the prosecution and the judge, leading the prosecution to offer only a weak opposition the motion for a directed verdict, and possibly leading the judge to direct such a verdict.
That last option is nearly impossible, due to the judge’s financial interests in making sure that the jury, not himself, declares Trump not proven guilty. So if the prosecution does not fight the motion to direct the verdict, they will be throwing the judge under the bus.
This is a part that surprised me:
Another day of testimony from Cohen, the prosecution’s critical witness, came as the case hurtled toward its climax with the judge telling lawyers to be ready to deliver summations as early as Tuesday. That means it’s feasible the jury will retire to consider its verdict in the first criminal trial of a former president sometime after Memorial Day and just five months before Trump hopes to reclaim the White House.
Is the judge expecting the defense to put on no case? It would make sense. The prosecution finally sprung the booby trap it set for itself by making Michael Cohen its star witness. The defense attorneys will have a hard time keeping Trump from taking the stand if they put on a case.
