Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s prosecutors rested their case against former President Donald Trump on Monday, but the news they got from a CNN panel of legal experts should be grounds for the people of New York to recall and fire him.
CNN’s legal panel was shaken by Michael Cohen’s recent testimony, which could significantly impact former President Donald Trump’s criminal trial. On Monday, Cohen, Trump’s former lawyer and fixer, confessed to embezzling funds from the Trump Organization. This admission has cast substantial doubt on the integrity of the prosecution’s case.
CNN legal analyst Elie Honig remarked on the seriousness of the situation, saying, “This is a bomb. This is really important. This is a bomb dropped in the middle of the prosecution’s case… This is crushing to the prosecution’s credibility because the prosecution did not ask Michael Cohen about that on direct and they haven’t made him plead guilty to larceny, which this is.”
Cohen’s admission raised questions about his credibility as well as the diligence of Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg’s office in managing critical testimonial evidence. During the discussion, CNN host Jake Tapper highlighted the potential impact on the jury, noting that it only takes “one juror to say I have reasonable doubt.” The panel concurred, pointing out significant shortcomings in the prosecution’s strategy, especially their failure to address the theft proactively in their questioning, which could have lessened the repercussions.
The discussion also touched on the connection of the stolen funds to a larger narrative involving a payment to Stormy Daniels, which is central to the prosecution’s charges against Trump. Tapper asked, “How did they not get this out ahead of time? If you’re a juror, even if you think, well, I think he probably knew what he was paying for Michael Cohen, there has to be reasonable doubt now because, I mean, Michael Cohen has given them this huge gift.”
“Is it possible that the prosecution can come back and redirect and somehow tie what looks like him just flatly stealing money… to him paying himself back in order to cover up the crime that’s alleged in this case?” Honig asked. The answer to this could be crucial in determining the trial’s outcome.
During an intense cross-examination at Trump’s trial in New York City on Monday, Cohen admitted to embezzling thousands of dollars from the Trump Organization. Trump’s attorney, Todd Blanche, pressed Cohen during the questioning, asking, “You did steal from the Trump Organization based upon the expected reimbursement from Red Finch,” referring to a scheme involving $130,000 for Stormy Daniels and $50,000 for the tech company.
“Yes, sir,” Cohen responded. According to Fox News, Cohen explained that he withdrew $20,000 in cash over several days. He stored the cash in a small brown paper bag and delivered it to Red Finch. However, he admitted that he never paid the full $50,000 after the company stopped pressing for the remaining amount. Despite not fully settling the payment, Cohen revealed that the Trump Organization believed he had paid the entire sum and reimbursed him accordingly.
Serving as the prosecution’s key witness, Cohen was the last to testify. Trump is facing 34 charges of falsifying business records, related to alleged secret payments made to porn star Stormy Daniels, who also testified earlier in the trial.