{"id":2235492,"date":"2024-05-02T11:51:02","date_gmt":"2024-05-02T15:51:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/why-prosecutors-in-trumps-hush-money-trial-are-telling-the-jury-about-all-of-their-star-witnesss-flaws\/"},"modified":"2024-05-02T11:55:05","modified_gmt":"2024-05-02T15:55:05","slug":"why-prosecutors-in-trumps-hush-money-trial-are-telling-the-jury-about-all-of-their-star-witnesss-flaws","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/why-prosecutors-in-trumps-hush-money-trial-are-telling-the-jury-about-all-of-their-star-witnesss-flaws\/","title":{"rendered":"Why Prosecutors Highlighted Star Witness Flaws in Trump&#8217;s Hush Money Trial"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">22<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fwhy-prosecutors-in-trumps-hush-money-trial-are-telling-the-jury-about-all-of-their-star-witnesss-flaws%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2235492&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/media-love-reproductive-choice-until-women-choose-to-stop-taking-the-pill\/\" title=\"Media supports reproductive choice until women opt to discontinue using contraception\">summary discusses<\/a> the trial involving Michael \u200cCohen, former lawyer to Donald Trump, as\u2062 a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/they-kissed-and-touched-for-a-few-minutes-more-than-two-years-later-she-accused-him-of-sexual-assault\/\" title=\"They Kissed And Touched For A Few Minutes. More Than Two Years Later, She Accused Him Of Sexual Assault.\">key witness<\/a> in the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/trump-drops-appeal-to-move-manhattan-hush-money-case-to-federal-court\/\" title=\"Trump drops appeal to move Manhattan hush money case to federal court\">hush\u200c money case<\/a>. Prosecutors aim to discredit Cohen by highlighting his\u2062 flaws, hoping the jury will turn against\u200d Trump. The\u2062 strategy is to shape Cohen&#8217;s image before the defense can influence perceptions, creating\u2063 a unique dynamic in\u2064 the trial. The summary outlines the trial involving Michael Cohen, Donald Trump&#8217;s \u2063former lawyer, positioned as a \u200bpivotal\u200c witness in \u200cthe hush money case. Prosecutors \u200cstrategically aim\u2063 to\u2062 undermine Cohen&#8217;s credibility by emphasizing his \u200dshortcomings to sway\u2062 the jury against Trump. This approach is designed to frame Cohen&#8217;s \u200bidentity before the defense\u2062 can \u2062shape perceptions, setting an intriguing tone\u200c for the trial.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<div>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/michael-cohen\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>Michael Cohen,<\/a> former President <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/justice\/2988213\/trump-blasts-radical-left-revolution-returns-to-new-york-trial\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>Donald Trump\u2019s<\/a> ex-lawyer and a key <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/justice\/2987906\/prosecutors-test-limits-admissible-evidence-trump-hush-money-trial\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>witness<\/a> in his <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/donald-trumps-criminal-hush-money-trial-set-for-march-25\/\" title=\"Trump's hush money trial scheduled for March 25\">hush money trial<\/a>, has quite a few detractors in the New York courtroom.<\/p>\n<p>Prosecutors have been contributing to skepticism about their star witness by highlighting personality flaws and his alleged wrongdoing. Those prosecutors, jurors, and even the judge in the case have criticized Cohen\u2019s actions. It may not make sense that prosecutors are using him as a critical cog in a machine that aims to convict Trump on 34 felony counts and could be undermining the former attorney\u2019s credibility at the same time.<\/p>\n<p>But it\u2019s intentional.<\/p>\n<p>Prosecutors are hoping the jury dislikes Cohen enough to reflect those feelings as a \u201cboomerang\u201d effect against Trump, who once called him a \u201cvery talented lawyer.\u201d They are trying to put Cohen in a frame on their own terms \u2014 before the former president\u2019s team can do so and discredit the prosecution\u2019s calling of him as a witness.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis is an interesting trial, in that you have the most problematic defendant and the most problematic witness in the same case,\u201d veteran criminal defense lawyer and former federal prosecutor Robert Katzberg <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/politics\/2024\/05\/02\/trump-michael-cohen-key-witness\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>said.<\/a> \u201cProsecutors guard their credibility with the jury by bringing out all the bad stuff on direct examination. A prosecutor never wants to be seen by the jury as hiding something from them.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>And prosecutors have a lot of dirt on Cohen that they need to show they are not trying to hide.<\/p>\n<p>Keith Davidson, a Los Angeles lawyer who testified in the case, compared Cohen to Dug, the talking dog from Disney\u2019s <em>Up<\/em>, in that he displays personality traits akin to a canine\u2019s attention deficit. Dug often favored squirrels in the movie.<\/p>\n<p>Outside of learning Davidson\u2019s awareness of popular animated movies, the lawyer expressed those feelings to the jury so they could digestibly understand Cohen\u2019s rapid-fire, chaotic personality.<\/p>\n<p>Davidson once called that personality after a talent manager named Gina Rodriguez said \u201csome jerk\u201d was abusive to her over the phone. Prosecutor Joshua Steinglass made sure to highlight who that jerk was, asking Davidson who he had called.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt was Michael Cohen,\u201d he said. Davidson received little warning as Cohen answered, screamed, and bombarded him with insults with no initial verbal explanation about the animosity.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title><strong>CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Cohen, once a formidable Trump supporter, shifted his views to often denigrate the former president. That opinion shift led to his testifying in the case, and he has pledged to tell the truth.<\/p>\n<p>The tricky line between driving the jury to hate Cohen enough to reflect on Trump, but not enough to discredit his testimony is one prosecutors will likely tiptoe in the coming weeks.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In the New York courtroom, Michael Cohen, ex-lawyer to former President Donald Trump and a key witness in the hush money trial, faces skepticism spurred by his detractors and highlighted personal flaws. Prosecutors aim to cast doubt on his credibility, impacting the case&#8217;s key stakeholders \u2013 prosecutors, jurors, and the judge<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2235493,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/wex-s3.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/AP24103679371327-1024x683.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[538],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2235492","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-washington-examiner"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/wex-s3.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/AP24103679371327-1024x683.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2235492","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2235492"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2235492\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2235493"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2235492"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2235492"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2235492"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}