Legal expert: Why Trump’s first criminal trial is 'bigger than Michael Cohen alone'

22 April 2024

Donald Trump lawyers representing the ex-president in his first criminal trial maintain that former Trump lawyer and star witness Michael Cohen's testimony can't possibly be credible due to the fact that he was convicted in 2018 of lying about hush money payments to adult film star Stormy Daniels.

Politico noted last week that "while the prosecution’s ability to prove its case at trial could hinge on Cohen’s first-hand account of the hush money arrangement, Cohen also may be its most problematic witness due to long-running questions about his ability to tell the truth."

However, Albany Law School Associate Dean for Research and Intellectual Life Ray Bresca argues in a Monday, April 22 op-ed for the Daily Beast, that the trial is much "bigger" than Cohen's credibility.

He writes, "A funny thing happened on the way to the courthouse. The prosecution has built a case that does not rest solely on the testimony of Michael Cohen. David Pecker, former CEO of American Media and publisher of the National Enquirer, has already begun his testimony and is scheduled to provide more testimony on Tuesday."

Additionally, Bresca contends, "a common tactic of the trial lawyer who knows the testimony of a witness is likely to span more than one day is to hold the most damaging stuff for the second day of the testimony. That way, the adversary will not have the overnight recess to prepare the cross-examination on the testimony that is most harmful to their client."

Furthermore, ex-Playboy model Karen McDougal — whose story was "allegedly suppressed by the National Enquirer" like Stormy Daniels's, the legal ethics expert notes — is expected to testify, along with ex-Trump aide Hope Hicks.

Moreover, Bresca adds, Bragg's team has said "they are going to present documentary evidence and recordings of Donald Trump that, they assert, will corroborate the larger story."

The Lawyer Nation: The Past, Present, and Future of the American Legal Profession author emphasizes, "And it is that larger story that is going to be bigger than Michael Cohen alone."

Bresca notes, "As every good trial lawyer knows, however, it is the former employees who can often make great witnesses, not bad ones," before concluding, "Regardless of what they had hoped to accomplish through all of these efforts to prevent the larger story from seeing the light of day, that strategy has failed. Because of that failure, they’re probably going to have to try a different approach if they hope to secure an acquittal."

Bresca's full op-ed is available here (subscription required).

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