{"id":2246827,"date":"2024-05-17T12:04:02","date_gmt":"2024-05-17T16:04:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/3-moments-star-witness-michael-cohen-just-undermined-braggs-get-trump-case\/"},"modified":"2024-05-17T13:14:01","modified_gmt":"2024-05-17T17:14:01","slug":"3-moments-star-witness-michael-cohen-just-undermined-braggs-get-trump-case","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/3-moments-star-witness-michael-cohen-just-undermined-braggs-get-trump-case\/","title":{"rendered":"3 Key Moments Where Michael Cohen Undermined Bragg&#8217;s Case Against Trump"},"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%2F3-moments-star-witness-michael-cohen-just-undermined-braggs-get-trump-case%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=2246827&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 Manhattan DA&#8217;s weak case against Trump \u2062relies on\u2062 Cohen&#8217;s testimony, which crumbled during cross-examination. CNN acknowledged Cohen&#8217;s credibility issues \u2062and the dramatic unraveling of \u2062his claims. His <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/yes-trans-exhibitionists-showing-their-junk-to-kids-is-directly-downstream-of-redefining-marriage\/\" title=\"Trans exhibitionists exposing themselves to children is a direct consequence of redefining marriage.\">past lies<\/a> and doubts \u2063about his truthfulness undermined\u2063 the \u2062case. Trump&#8217;s defense \u2062exposed \u2063inconsistencies, casting doubt \u200don Cohen&#8217;s reliability \u200bas \u2063a key witness. The Manhattan DA&#8217;s case against Trump \u200brests on \u2064Cohen&#8217;s testimony, which faltered under cross-examination. CNN noted Cohen&#8217;s credibility concerns and the collapse of his\u200b claims. Previous\u200b falsehoods and credibility doubts weakened the case. Trump&#8217;s defense highlighted \u2064discrepancies, raising questions\u2063 about Cohen&#8217;s reliability as a crucial witness.  <\/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<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><\/p>\n<div class=\"article-content\">\n<p>Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg\u2019s flimsy case against former President Donald Trump rests on the testimony of its <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/exclusive-audio-think-tanks-star-lawsuit-witness-admits-to-tommy-robinson-that-they-bribed-him-for-testimony-against-us-congressional-staffer\/\" title=\"EXCLUSIVE AUDIO: Think Tank\u2019s Star Lawsuit Witness Admits to Tommy Robinson That They Bribed Him For Testimony Against US Congressional Staffer\">star witness<\/a>, convicted liar Michael Cohen. But unsurprisingly, Cohen \u2014 and his allegations against Trump \u2014 fell apart on the witness stand under cross-examination by Trump\u2019s defense team on Thursday.<\/p>\n<p>Even CNN couldn\u2019t help but admit it.<\/p>\n<div class=\"fdrlst__b89e9-paragraph-2-long d-flex justify-content-center\" style=\"margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center; \" id=\"fdrlst__b89e9-1323993306\">\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-1379703300879-0\" class=\"mb-30\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"fdrlst__b89e9-a7a8ba5f16399fa1dd2c22a1b78d2931 fdrlst__b89e9-paragraph-2\" id=\"fdrlst__b89e9-a7a8ba5f16399fa1dd2c22a1b78d2931\"><\/div>\n<p>\u201cI don\u2019t think I\u2019ve ever seen a star cooperating witness get his knees chopped out quite as clearly and dramatically as what just happened with Michael Cohen,\u201d the network\u2019s senior legal analyst Elie Honig said.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\"> <span class=\"xhRLlJBPGX0wQAk1Kmp0ajZEVGpgDFcNqOCMJmL6YTtUZb8MhWyiYH394HaqDs8AUbE26WgcCy4denVKNfI2PQSou7Oe1\"><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">CNN: &#8220;I don&#8217;t think I&#8217;ve never seen a star cooperating witness get his knees chopped out quite as clearly and dramatically as what just happened with Michael Cohen.&#8221; <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/GUHxl9tdPT\">pic.twitter.com\/GUHxl9tdPT<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Breaking911 (@Breaking911) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/Breaking911\/status\/1791255547842375756?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">May 16, 2024<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/span> <\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<p>CNN\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/_johnnymaga\/status\/1791163774960816421\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Anderson Cooper<\/a> called what Trump attorney \u201cTodd Blanche did to Cohen\u201d an \u201cextraordinary cross-examination,\u201d admitting \u201cCohen was cornered in what appeared to be a lie.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Cohen lied to a Senate committee in 2017, pleaded guilty in 2018 to lying to Congress, and told the public he did not <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/republicans-need-to-show-up-to-trumps-manhattan-lawfare-trial-every-day\/\" title=\"Republicans should attend Trump's Manhattan trial daily\">commit tax evasions \u201c<\/a>despite having told a federal judge, U.S. District Judge William Pauley, in court that he had,\u201d Politico <a href=\"https:\/\/www.politico.com\/news\/2024\/04\/14\/michael-cohen-credibility-trump-trial-00152122\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">reported<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Federal prosecutors also expressed \u201csubstantial concerns about Cohen\u2019s credibility as a witness\u201d and \u201cmaterial false statements\u201d he reportedly made to the FBI and prosecutors.<\/p>\n<div class=\"fdrlst__b89e9-3a52a7a0e6e15f1eb20ea6ce132e91fc fdrlst__b89e9-paragraph-6\" id=\"fdrlst__b89e9-3a52a7a0e6e15f1eb20ea6ce132e91fc\"><\/div>\n<p><strong>[READNEXT:[READNEXT:<a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2024\/05\/16\/biden-fundraises-off-lawfare-circus-after-taunting-trump-for-being-stuck-in-court\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Biden Fundraises Off Lawfare Circus After Taunting Trump For Being Stuck In Court<\/a>]<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>CNN <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/2024\/05\/17\/politics\/michael-cohen-donald-trump-best-day-analysis\/index.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">called<\/a> Cohen\u2019s performance under cross-examination by Trump\u2019s defense team the former president\u2019s \u201cbest day \u2026 so far\u201d in the lawfare case. His testimony, the corporate media outlet admitted, presented the \u201ckind of inconsistency that Trump\u2019s attorneys can use to try to sow reasonable doubt about Cohen\u2019s truthfulness and credibility in the mind of a single juror.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>That\u2019s putting it mildly.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Trump Was Worried About His Family <\/h2>\n<p>The <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2024\/04\/23\/prosecutors-accuse-trump-of-criminal-scheme-to-corrupt-2016-election-while-russia-hoaxers-walk-free\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">cornerstone<\/a> of Bragg\u2019s lawfare case against Trump is that the former president should have classified payments allegedly made to Cohen to purchase the silence of pornographer Stormy Daniels as campaign expenses rather than <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/breaking-president-trump-to-pardon-gen-michael-flynn-per-report\/\" title=\"BREAKING: President Trump to Pardon Gen. Michael Flynn, Per Report\">legal fees<\/a>, since the alleged <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2023\/04\/05\/alvin-braggs-trump-indictment-is-even-more-pathetic-and-partisan-than-we-could-have-imagined\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">purchase<\/a> of negative press \u2014 which is entirely legal \u2014 was done to influence the 2016 election.<\/p>\n<div class=\"fdrlst__b89e9-ec98b5891f1f030eb5172f0bebfd8ec7 fdrlst__b89e9-paragraph-10\" id=\"fdrlst__b89e9-ec98b5891f1f030eb5172f0bebfd8ec7\"><\/div>\n<p>Lead prosecutor and former Biden <a href=\"https:\/\/www.justice.gov\/archives\/asg\/staff-profile\/former-acting-associate-attorney-general-matthew-colangelo\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Department of Justice<\/a> official Matthew Colangelo alleged during opening statements that \u201cthis was a planned, long-running conspiracy to influence the 2016 election, to help Donald Trump get elected through illegal expenditures to silence people who had something bad to say about his behavior.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>But Cohen admitted on the stand that when the allegations first surfaced in a 2011 blog post, Trump expressed concern that the story would hurt his family. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cFair to say that the first time you heard about that and the story by Ms. Daniels, when you talked to President Trump about it, he said he was worried about what his family would think, correct?\u201d Blanche <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/politics\/live-news\/trump-hush-money-trial-05-16-24\/h_dc0324506a742e39c414b5d30e53c087#:~:text=%22Fair%20to%20say%20that%20the,the%20brand%2C%22%20Cohen%20says.\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">asked<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes, as well as, of course, for the brand,\u201d Cohen testified. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe first thing that President Trump said to you was that his family wouldn\u2019t like that very much?\u201d Blanche pressed. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat\u2019s true,\u201d Cohen responded.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Keith Schiller Phone Call<\/h2>\n<p>Cohen testified earlier in the week that a call he had with Trump\u2019s bodyguard, Keith Schiller, on Oct. 24, 2016 was to \u201cdiscuss the Stormy Daniels matter and the resolution of it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat was a lie!\u201d Blanche told Cohen, according to CNN. \u201cYou did not talk to President Trump on that night, you talked to Keith Schiller.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Blanche then demonstrated to the jury that prior to calling Schiller, Cohen messaged him and said he wanted help with prank calls he kept receiving from a 14-year-old.<\/p>\n<p>Cohen tried to hold his story together by claiming \u201cI believe I also spoke to President Trump and told him everything regarding the Stormy Daniels matter was being worked on and it\u2019s going to be resolved.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>But, as Blanche reminded the jury, the call only lasted 96 seconds in total.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Convicted Liar Lies Again<\/h2>\n<p>Cohen <a href=\"https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/live-news\/may-16-trump-trial-michael-cohen-cross-examination\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">testified<\/a> Thursday that he never met Bragg, but Blanche presented the jury with audio from a podcast episode in which Cohen thanked Bragg for his work against Trump.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAlvin Bragg, with whom I spent countless hours laying out how Trump directed those <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/supreme-court-rejects-trump-bid-to-shield-financial-records\/\" title=\"Supreme Court Rejects Trump Bid To Shield Financial Records\">hush money payments<\/a> and countless other financial crimes. He is about to get a taste of what I went through and I promise you it\u2019s not fun. Picturing Donald Trump being led through the booking process, getting fingerprinted, having his mug shot taken, fills me with delight and sadness all at the same time.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\"> <span class=\"HCKF5aPnuwio9jDRgWbVxUNMTSrtIfzyXBJmskL1E2cZ83el\"><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">This week, Cohen testified he\u2019s never met with Bragg.<\/p>\n<p>Today, Trump\u2019s attorneys played this audio in the courtroom, where Cohen thanks \u201cAlvin Bragg, with whom I spent countless hours laying out how Trump directed those hush money payments and countless other financial crimes.\u201d <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/OqOzZ6t2Ag\">pic.twitter.com\/OqOzZ6t2Ag<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Vince Coglianese (@VinceCoglianese) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/VinceCoglianese\/status\/1791170305412518184?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">May 16, 2024<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/span> <\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<p>Cohen also damaged his credibility on Thursday when he agreed that he lied under oath in a different cause because, as Blanche put it, \u201cthe stakes affected you personally.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDoes the outcome of this trial affect you personally?\u201d Blanche then asked, to which Cohen affirmed \u201cyes.\u201d<\/p>\n<div class=\"fdrlst__b89e9-a9891f54662fcf6b91c5013825c17fb4 fdrlst__b89e9-after-post-content\" id=\"fdrlst__b89e9-a9891f54662fcf6b91c5013825c17fb4\"><\/div>\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator\">    \t\t\t\t\t   \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg&#8217;s weak case against ex-President Trump hinges on convicted liar Michael Cohen&#8217;s testimony. Cohen&#8217;s allegations crumbled during cross-examination by Trump&#8217;s defense, discrediting his credibility. CNN acknowledged the unraveling of Cohen&#8217;s claims during the trial<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":74,"featured_media":2246828,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/50548281403_9dc822f5d7_k-e1715957532262.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"3 Key Moments Where Michael Cohen Undermined Bragg&#8217;s Case Against Trump","footnotes":""},"categories":[546],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2246827","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-federalist"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/50548281403_9dc822f5d7_k-e1715957532262.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"3 Key Moments Where Michael Cohen Undermined Bragg&#8217;s Case Against Trump","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2246827","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\/74"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2246827"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2246827\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2246828"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2246827"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2246827"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2246827"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}