Michael Cohen, a former lawyer and fixer for Donald Trump, was vigorously cross-examined by the former president's defence lawyer, Todd Blanche, in a New York courtroom on Thursday.
Cohen is testifying against Trump in a case involving hush money payments to porn star Stormy Daniels. The former president's attorneys accused him of lying about a crucial phone call with Trump.
Confronting Cohen with evidence, Blanche said that the phone call in question was actually about a prank caller, not the $130,000 payment to Daniels as Cohen had claimed. The revelation created a stunning aha moment in the courtroom. Blanche's assertion left Cohen taken aback with Trump's supporters, including his son Eric Trump, reacting with surprise and excitement.
Aggressively questioning Cohen, Blanche pointed out his history of lying and deceit, including his previous convictions for tax fraud and lying to Congress. Cohen attempted to defend himself. However, Blanche exposed inconsistencies in his testimony and raised doubts about his credibility.
At one point, Cohen protested, "I always ran everything by the boss immediately, and in this case, it would have been saying, 'Everything's been taken care of - it's been resolved.'" Blanche shot back, "That's a lie. Because you were actually talking to Mr. Schiller about... you were getting harassing phone calls from a 14-year-old."
The judge intervened, sustaining an objection from the prosecution. Cohen's testimony had been severely undermined, and Trump's lawyers had scored a significant victory in the courtroom.
Trump's lawyers further challenged Cohen's credibility, highlighting his motives for testifying against Trump. They pointed out that Cohen had been unhappy as he did not get a top job in the White House. Trump's lawyers said that Cohen had made public statements expressing his desire for Trump's downfall.
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