After Michael Cohen's testimony, Trump affirms that the whole world laughs at the 'weaponization' of the New York legal system
Trump also highlighted that even on CNN there are analysts stating that there is no crime in the case presented by prosecutor Bragg.
This Monday began the long-awaited testimony of the prosecutor's star witness, Michael Cohen, who spent the entire morning detailing his day-to-day life with Donald Trump. Cohen admitted that he lied constantly in his job but said he did it to protect the former president. We also saw Trump speaking as he left the court. In his speech this Monday, he named several legal experts who have strongly criticized the case against him and mentioned that even the left-wing media is realizing that the case has no merit.
Cohen secretly recorded Trump
Cohen explained that his role was to prevent stories that could harm Trump from coming to light in the middle of the 2016 election campaign. After hours of explaining his closeness to the former president and how he spoke with him every day, Cohen showed the room a recording he secretly made with his cell phone during the afternoon session.
In the audio, one hears a conversation between Cohen and Trump about paying former National Enquirer editor David Pecker, who previously paid Playboy model Karen McDougal $150,000 to buy her story of an alleged relationship with Trump. Cohen claimed that he secretly recorded the former president because he wanted to show that audio to Pecker, who was pressuring Cohen to be reimbursed for the money he had given to McDougal. Cohen assured that with this, he wanted to calm the editor and clarify that Trump would pay him.
Cohen also claimed that Trump knew how the payment to Stormy Daniels would be made and that he told him the details because he needed his approval and reassurance that he would recover the money he gave to the porn actress.
Cohen's lack of credibility
One of the curiosities of this case is that it depends on the testimony of an ex-convict liar. It is difficult for many lawyers to understand why a prosecutor would present a case based on the testimony of someone like Michael Cohen. This man was Trump's personal lawyer in his 2016 campaign and was primarily in charge of fixing problems related to stories that could affect the then-Republican candidate. His actions in 2016, working for Trump, led to a federal investigation in which he was convicted of felonies and sent to prison; however, the Department of Justice and the FEC dismissed charges against Trump. Among other things, Cohen pleaded guilty to lying before Congress and admitted lying in court and the media.
Added to that, Cohen has spent the last few years making an entire business out of his stories about his time working for Trump, writing a book, doing podcasts, constantly having media interviews, and in recent weeks, he has even used his social media to ask for donations while making accusations against Trump. In a recent broadcast on his Instagram account, he even wore a shirt with the image of Trump behind bars.
So, the case not only hinges on a proven liar but on a man who has strong financial motivations to impeach Trump.
JD Vance and Tommy Tuberville at trial
This Monday, Senators JD Vance of Ohio and Tommy Tuberville of Alabama accompanied Trump at the trial and gave statements outside the court.
"This guy is a convict and felon who admitted in his testimony that he secretly recorded his former employer, that he only did it once, allegedly, and that this was supposed to help Donald Trump. Does any reasonable, sensible person believe anything that Michael Cohen says? I don't think that they should," said JD Vance.
Meanwhile, Senator Tommy Tuberville addressed Michael Cohen: "How can you be convinced by somebody that is a serial liar? I mean, there should be no reason that anybody should listen to this guy."
"There is no case here"
Outside the court, the former president cited several legal experts who have expressed concern about the lack of basis for this case. Trump read statements from attorney and law professor Jonathan Turley:
"This day is truly going to go down as a day of infamy for the New York legal system, which is through the whole world is laughing now at the New York weaponized legal system watching this unfold of that courtroom as a lawyer is really deeply disturbing."
Trump also claimed: "Every single legal analyst — even CNN, even MSDNC, they're saying: 'There's no case here.'"
"They have not come close to proving fraud, or that any fraud has taken place. There's no fraud here, there's no crime here," Trump added.