Legal experts lay out Trump lawyer’s flaws in 'scattershot and sub-optimal' Cohen cross exam

15 May 2024

As Donald Trump's hush money/falsified business records trial moved along on Tuesday, May 14, his former personal attorney and fixer, Michael Cohen, was aggressively cross examined by the defense team in a Lower Manhattan courtroom. And if Cohen, as reported, is the prosecution's final witness, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg Jr.'s office may rest its case sooner rather than later.

CNN's Dana Bash discussed Cohen's testimony and the cross examination with jury consultant Robert Hirschhorn and former federal prosecutor Elie Honig during a May 15 segment. And both of them identified flaws with the defense team's approach.

Hirschhorn said of Cohen, "So, he did an OK job, but he's being a little evasive — and let me tell you why. When he gives answers like 'sounds like something I would say,' that's going to bother these jurors. Just answer yes or no. 'Sounds like something I would say' is the beginning of the cracks of Michael Cohen. And so, that's one piece."

The jury consultant continued, "The other piece is: look, I think the defense lawyer had a great opportunity — and I've heard Elie say this before — the defense lawyer should have started with ten or actually 11 times where Cohen lied to somebody. Because in closing argument, you say, 'I'll tell you who the 12th was, ladies and gentlemen: He lied to you.' So, the idea is, we'll see what happens tomorrow. But I think Cohen's in for a rough ride."

Honig argued that so far, the cross examination of Cohen by Trump's defense team has been "scattershot and sub-optimal."

The CNN legal analyst and former Southern District of New York prosecutor told Bash and Hirschhorn, "I think (attorney) Todd Blanche is not at his best in the couple hours we saw yesterday. As Robert said, first of all, it jumps around topic to topic. I actually went back after our live coverage yesterday and re-read the whole transcript. You need to be thematic; you need to be clear and strong, and I would have started with the lies, as Robert just said."

Honig continued, "There is a lot of ammunition there. And then, I would have moved on to Michael Cohen's over-the-top, personal bias towards Donald Trump….Todd Blanche takes pages upon pages upon pages, having Michael Cohen say how much he once respected Donald Trump — I don't know how that exactly resonates with the jury."

Honig added, however, that he expects "a different, more pointed tone" from Blanche when the cross examination of Cohen continues. And he pointed out that Cohen's testimony "links Donald Trump directly to the actual crime charged — to the actual falsification of business records."

Watch the full video below or at this link.

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