On Monday, Michael Cohen's testimony went about as we would have expected.
There was one notable piece of information, which was Cohen openly admitting that he taped his conversations with Trump without his client's knowledge.
Talking Points…
- Cohen's shocking admission
- JD Vance responds to admission
- Analysis
Above all else, every word you say with your attorney is supposed to be privileged, that is, unless that attorney is Michael Cohen, who admitted that he was secretly recording conversations he had with Trump while doing work for Trump. For instance, one of the recordings that was played for the jury was regarding Trump and Cohen discussing the "catch and kill" story.
Pecker, then the publisher of the National Enquirer, paid former Playboy model Karen McDougal $150,000 for her story regarding her alleged affair with Trump. Cohen testified that he only recorded the conversations to establish leverage over Pecker to keep him loyal to Trump, but a lot of people are not buying that.
From the outside looking in, Cohen was recording these conversations to establish leverage over Trump in case something went sideways, which it did. In those conversations, Trump and Cohen are heard taking specifics, with Cohen telling Trump that they wanted to start a new company to transfer the funds when Trump asks:
"So what do we got to pay for this? One-fifty?"
Senator J.D. Vance (R-OH) has emerged as one of Donald Trump's most prominent advocates in Congress and is now a front-runner for Trump's VP. Vance was getting some TV time this week, attending the trial in New York to show support for Trump. Vance commented on the testimony on X, stating:
"Michael Cohen admitting he secretly recorded his employer. Just totally normal conduct, right? The best part is he said he did it only once and only for Trump's benefit. A standup guy!"
Vance also held a presser outside with other Republicans who were in attendance, adding:
"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."
Vance's comments may have done more harm than good, however, because Cohen was convicted on charges related to his activities while working for Donald Trump. So, you better believe that Democrats and the media will be making that connection when discussing his comments on the matter.
Cohen is a snake, and I don't think anyone will be arguing against that, but he was Donald Trump's snake. The key to Trump blowing Cohen out of the water will be for his defense team to paint Cohen as someone acting without Trump's knowledge regarding how these ledger entries were classified. That was made a little harder by the recordings that Cohen made of Trump.
While there were some damaging statements made by Cohen, as we noted earlier, he is a convicted liar, and that is what Trump's attorneys need to concentrate on if they are going to make an impression on the jury. However, even if they do not, I still believe that with the evidence I have seen thus far, this case is ripe for turnover on appeal. I don't see any way that Trump does actual jail time for something we have seen repeatedly dealt with by using fines and a rap across the knuckles.
