Trump team suffers NIGHTMARE blow in court
Summary
TLDRIn this episode of 'Legal Breakdown,' hosts Glenn Kersner and Brian Tyler Cohen discuss the pivotal cross-examination of Michael Cohen, a key witness in a criminal trial related to Donald Trump. Cohen's testimony, which is potentially damaging to Trump, is scrutinized for its impact on the case. The hosts explore the defense's attempts to discredit Cohen and the prosecution's strategy to reinforce his credibility. They also delve into the importance of documents as evidence and the upcoming redirect examination, which will allow Cohen to clarify his testimony. The crux of the prosecution's argument hinges on the falsification of business records to cover hush money payments, aiming to show an unfair advantage in the 2016 presidential election.
Takeaways
- 👨⚖️ The remainder of Michael Cohen's cross-examination concluded with him likely being the final witness for both the prosecution and the entire trial.
- 📚 The defense attempted to undermine Cohen's credibility, but the damage to Donald Trump from Cohen's testimony was considered 'deeply damaging' and the defense was not sufficiently successful.
- 🗣️ Cohen's time on the witness stand totaled around 14 hours, with redirect examination set to begin on Monday.
- 📑 The importance of documents in the case was highlighted, as they cannot be cross-examined and do not lie, laying out the criminal scheme to falsify business records and cover up hush money payments.
- 🔍 The prosecution is expected to use redirect examination to clarify any points from Cohen's testimony and to emphasize the stakes for Cohen in telling the truth.
- 🗣️ Cohen's own voice recordings, expressing a desire for Trump to be held accountable, were played for the jury, indicating his strong feelings against Trump.
- 🎨 The prosecution aims to paint a picture of Cohen telling the truth to ensure Trump is held accountable, contrasting with his previous lies that only led to his imprisonment.
- 🚫 The script suggests that it would be against Cohen's interest to lie under oath, as it would undermine the case against Trump and potentially lead Cohen back to prison.
- 📈 The crux of the prosecution's argument is the falsification of business records to cover up hush money payments, done to gain an unfair advantage in the presidential election.
- 🎓 The trial was postponed until Monday due to Trump's request to attend his son Baron's graduation, despite a minor discrepancy in Baron's age mentioned by Trump.
- 📺 The hosts, Brian Tyler Cohen and Glenn Kerschener, encouraged viewers to subscribe to their channels for continued coverage of the trial.
Q & A
What is the significance of Michael Cohen's cross-examination in the trial?
-Michael Cohen's cross-examination is significant as it is likely the defense's final chance to make their case to the jury through a witness. Cohen is a central figure in the trial, and his testimony could be deeply damaging to Donald Trump.
What was the defense's goal during Michael Cohen's cross-examination?
-The defense's goal was to undermine Cohen's credibility, as he had previously testified for the prosecution and his testimony was damaging to Donald Trump.
How did the defense attempt to undermine Michael Cohen's credibility?
-The defense primarily focused on Cohen's faulty memory about some phone calls from 8 years ago and the specifics of what was discussed during those calls.
What is the purpose of redirect examination in a trial?
-Redirect examination allows the party that called the witness to clean up any incomplete or inaccurate answers that arose during cross-examination and to provide context or further explanation that was not possible during the opposing counsel's questioning.
What kind of evidence is most powerful in a criminal case according to the script?
-Documents are considered the most powerful evidence in a criminal case because they can't be cross-examined, they don't lie, and they are not biased in favor of or against a defendant.
What is the crux of the prosecution's argument in this trial?
-The crux of the prosecution's argument is that the defendants falsified business records to cover up the true nature of hush money payments to gain an unfair advantage in a presidential election.
What is the importance of Michael Cohen testifying truthfully about Donald Trump's actions?
-Michael Cohen testifying truthfully is important because it is in his best interest to ensure that Donald Trump is held accountable for his actions. Lying would not only be against his interest but also undermine the case against Trump.
Why is the upcoming redirect examination of Michael Cohen important for the prosecution?
-The redirect examination is important for the prosecution to clarify any issues that arose during cross-examination and to reaffirm to the jury that Cohen is now telling the truth and has a vested interest in ensuring Trump is held accountable.
What is the potential impact of Michael Cohen's testimony on the jury's decision?
-Michael Cohen's testimony could have a significant impact on the jury's decision as he is a central witness with firsthand knowledge of the alleged criminal activities. His truthful testimony could lead to a conviction.
What is the potential outcome if the jury is unable to reach a unanimous verdict?
-If the jury is unable to reach a unanimous verdict, the result could be a hung jury, which would give the prosecutors the opportunity to retry the case with a new jury.
Why did the trial not proceed on a certain Friday as mentioned in the script?
-The trial did not proceed on that Friday because the judge granted Trump's request to be off for Baron's graduation and there might have been some juror conflicts.
Outlines
👨⚖️ Michael Cohen's Cross-Examination and Its Impact on the Trump Trial
The video script discusses the remainder of Michael Cohen's cross-examination, who is likely the final witness in a significant trial. It highlights the importance of this stage as the defense's last chance to undermine Cohen's credibility through his testimony, which was previously damaging to Donald Trump. The speaker, with 30 years of experience as a prosecutor, believes that despite some minor points scored by the defense regarding Cohen's memory of phone calls, the overall case against Trump remains powerful, especially considering the incriminating documents that cannot be cross-examined or biased.
📚 The Importance of Redirect Examination and Cohen's Motivation to Tell the Truth
This section delves into the process and significance of redirect examination, where the prosecution has the opportunity to clarify or expand upon a witness's testimony following cross-examination. The speaker anticipates that the prosecution will use this chance to address any issues raised and to emphasize Cohen's motivation to tell the truth. The argument is made that Cohen, having admitted to past lies that benefited Trump and having suffered the consequences, now has a vested interest in ensuring justice is served by being truthful. The speaker also provides a hypothetical questioning scenario to illustrate how the prosecution might rebuild Cohen's credibility and underscore his desire for Trump to be held accountable.
🎓 The Central Role of Michael Cohen's Testimony and Its Effect on Juror Perception
The speaker argues that Michael Cohen's testimony is central to the case against Trump and that not calling him as a witness could have been detrimental to the prosecution's case. Drawing from past experiences where juries were left with questions about absent witnesses, the speaker suggests that Cohen's presence and testimony are crucial for the jury to fully understand and assess the case. Despite minor credibility issues raised during cross-examination, the speaker believes Cohen's overall impact on the trial is more damaging to Trump than beneficial to his defense.
📈 The Prosecution's Case: Falsifying Business Records for Hush Money Payments
The crux of the prosecution's argument, as outlined in this paragraph, is that Trump and his associates falsified business records to disguise hush money payments made to benefit his presidential campaign, which is a violation of campaign finance laws. The speaker asserts that this case has been proven beyond a reasonable doubt and that any potential acquittal or hung jury would likely be due to a juror's personal political bias rather than the evidence presented. The speaker also discusses the likelihood of a retrial in the event of a hung jury and the high success rate of such retrials based on their experience.
📅 Trial Proceedings and Cohen's Testimony Impact on Trump's Conviction Prospects
The final paragraph addresses the temporary halt in the trial proceedings due to Trump's request to attend his son's graduation, providing a brief commentary on the timing and relevance of this event. The speaker also reflects on the strength of the evidence presented and the likelihood of a conviction for Trump, expressing confidence in the prosecution's case and the difficulty they foresee for Trump to avoid conviction based on the compelling evidence and corroborated testimony presented during the trial.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Cross-examination
💡Credibility
💡Redirect Examination
💡Prosecution
💡Documents
💡Falsification of Business Records
💡Hush Money Payments
💡Campaign Finance Laws
💡Cooperating Witness
💡Corroboration
Highlights
The remainder of Michael Cohen's cross-examination marked a significant day in court as he is likely the final witness for the prosecution and the entire trial.
Daily comprehensive coverage of the criminal prosecution is being provided by the hosts for viewers to follow along.
The defense's goal was to undermine Michael Cohen's credibility, but they were not sufficiently successful in doing so according to the hosts' analysis.
Michael Cohen's time on the witness stand totaled approximately 14 hours, with redirect examination to begin on Monday.
Documents presented in the case are emphasized as they cannot be cross-examined and do not lie, providing strong evidence of a criminal scheme to falsify business records.
Redirect examination is crucial for allowing the witness to provide context and explanation to counteract the limitations of yes-or-no answers on cross-examination.
The prosecution will have the opportunity to clarify any issues that arose during Cohen's testimony and to further emphasize the stakes for Michael Cohen.
Michael Cohen's motivation to tell the truth is highlighted, as lying under oath would be against his interest and could lead to further imprisonment.
The prosecution is expected to focus on Michael Cohen's previous lies and his desire for Donald Trump to be held accountable during redirect examination.
The hosts provide a detailed mock testimony of how the prosecution might approach redirect examination to solidify Michael Cohen's credibility and testimony.
The crux of the prosecution's argument is the falsification of business records to cover up hush money payments, which is a clear violation of campaign finance laws.
The hosts discuss the importance of Michael Cohen's testimony for the jury to see him as a central figure in the case, which could influence their decision-making.
The prosecution's case is believed to be strong, with the only potential impediment being a juror's personal political preferences rather than an objective assessment of the evidence.
The trial is temporarily adjourned until Monday due to a request from Donald Trump and potential juror conflicts, allowing a pause before the prosecution's redirect examination.
The hosts encourage viewers to subscribe to their channels for continued coverage of the trial as it resumes.
A humorous anecdote about Donald Trump's son Baron's graduation and the confusion over his age is shared, providing a lighter moment in the discussion.
Transcripts
you're watching the legal breakdown so
Glenn big day in court it was the
remainder of Michael Cohen's
cross-examination who is likely the
Final witness not only for the
prosecution but also the entire trial um
and there was a lot of news made here so
we're going to dig into that but first
just a reminder for those watching Glenn
and I will be doing daily comprehensive
coverage of the entirety of this
criminal prosecution so if you want to
follow along please make sure to
subscribe okay uh Glenn today was
monumentally important it was likely the
defense's final chance to make their
case to the jury through a witness we
spoke after Michael Cohen testified for
prosecutors he was deeply damaging to
Donald Trump and so the defense's goal
here was to undermine Cohen's
credibility did they accomplish that
goal um not sufficiently to undermine
the prosecution's case now to be fair
they scored a couple of points here and
there primarily I think on what was
likely faulty memory about some phone
calls from 8 years ago and precisely
what was discussed during which phone
call all of which is fully expected but
um you know Michael Cohen was on the
witness stand for a total of about 14
hours and he's not done yet redirect
examination will begin on Monday when
court is back in session but over the
course of 15 hours the defense may have
scored a point here a point there but in
my estimation and my experience
assessing the strength and quality of
evidence in criminal cases for 30 years
as a prosecutor I don't think they did
nearly enough to undermine what was a
really powerful case on the other
evidence and most importantly on the
documents documents can't be
cross-examined documents don't lie
documents are not biased in favor of or
against a defendant and the documents
lay out this criminal scheme to
basically falsify business records to
cover up the true nature of hush money
payments to gain unfair advantage in a
presidential election none of the
cross-examination of Michael Cohen over
the course of probably 10 hours that it
lasted did anything to significantly
chip away at the incriminating evidence
now the prosecution as you mentioned is
going to have one final opportunity uh
for Cohen to testify and what's called
redirect what can they do here that
might button up some of the issues that
Cohen's testimony posed yeah redirect
examination is so important so the party
calling the witness when the prosecution
calls a witness that's called direct
examination and we have to ask
open-ended questions we can't lead the
witness we can't suggest the answer in
our questions but on cross-examination
that's when the opposing Council gets to
go after the witness isn't it true yes
or no and they try to box the witness in
but Brian our common life experience
tells us that sometimes you can't answer
a question with a simple yes or no you
need to explain you need to put it in
context um so on redirect examination
when the prosecutors come back it is the
opportunity to clean up anything they
think needs to be cleaned up as a result
of how the cross-examination played out
so if Michael Cohen wanted to explain
something but was forced into a yes or
no answer the prosecutor will come back
and say Mr Cohen let's go back to the
other day when you were asked X Y and Z
and you wanted to explain and the
defense attorney said no sir just a yes
or no answer go ahead and explain now is
your opport opportunity to tell the jury
what you wanted to tell them so there's
a lot of that kind of cleanup that goes
on but even more importantly than
cleaning up any incomplete or maybe
inaccurate answer and there will be a
good bit of that that the prosecutors do
it's really kind of explaining to the
jury what the stakes are for Michael
Cohen what do I mean by that here is a
flavor Brian of what I expect
prosecutors to do on cross-examination
of Michael Cohen after Michael Cohen was
cross-examined you lied you lied you
lied before Congress you lied here you
lied there and Michael Cohen admitted
all of those lies so the lies that's one
category that the prosecutor prosecutors
are going to want to follow up on and
the other category is Michael Cohen was
cross-examined with some audio
recordings of some of the stuff he said
it's been reported out um and and here
is some of what the jurors heard Michael
Cohen in his own voice say when they
played those recordings um quote from
Michael Cohen I truly effing hope that
this man Donald Trump ends up in prison
and quote you better believe I want this
man to go down and rot inside for what
he did to my family pretty powerful
quotes right Michael Cohen obviously
feels strongly about Donald Trump being
held accountable for what he did now the
defense will say well that's why Michael
Cohen told all the lies about Donald
Trump in this courtroom under oath to
this jury the prosecutors will rebut
that and here is a little bit of how
that will go they'll say you know Mr
Cohen you admitted on both direct
examination and cross-examination many
times over that you lied previously
isn't that right yes and in fact some of
those lies you told to Congress under
oath isn't that right yes and you
admitted that in your testimony here in
this trial yes I did let me ask you this
Mr Cohen those lies you told to Congress
under oath who did they benefit who did
they help well Donald Trump did those
lies help you no what happened to you I
got in trouble for telling those lies
because I was lying for Donald Trump I
got caught and I went to prison okay now
what will happen if you lie to this jury
under oath I'll go back to prison are
you interested in going back to prison
no sir I've been there ain't no fun okay
let me ask you this we heard recordings
Mr Cohen of you and your own voice
saying you want Donald Trump in prison
you want him to rot from the inside due
to what he did to your family do you
want Donald Trump held accountable for
what he did yes sir I do okay let me ask
you this do you think there is a better
chance of Donald Trump being held
accountable for what he did if you told
this jury a bunch of lies about Donald
Trump or if you told them just the truth
about what he did well if I tell them
just the truth and is that what you've
tried to do over the 14 15 16 hours that
you testified before this jury under
oath yes sir that's what I did this so
what you're seeing they're not
necessarily going you know um piece of
evidence by piece of evidence what
they're doing is they're painting a
picture and that picture is Michael
Cohen told a bunch of Lies previously
including to Congress to try to cover up
the crimes of Donald Trump to try to
help Donald Trump and the only thing it
got Michael Cohen was in prison and now
you bet he desperately wants Donald
Trump to be held accountable for what he
did the bigger criminal fish in this
particular conspiracy that Donald Trump
and Michael Cohen were in and he
understands Michael Cohen understands
that the way to do that now the way to
accomplish accountability is to tell the
jury the complete truth about his
Michael Cohen's conduct and Donald
Trump's conduct so what you're doing is
you're rebuilding and reassuring the
jury that Michael Cohen understands the
way to hold Donald Trump accountable now
is to tell the truth not to tell a bunch
more lies which will just get Michael
Cohen put back in prison Glenn I got to
say you're pretty damn good at this uh
that was that was uh that was a pretty
impressive uh mock uh mock testimony
that I just saw there that was uh that
you you you should you should definitely
consider doing this for a living if you
haven't already um but it really does go
to show I mean that that is the whole
ball game if Michael Cohen is true to
his word that he does want to see Trump
held to account then he has a vested
interest not in lying but expressly in
telling the truth because if he does lie
that's going to undermine the case
that's going to undermine the ability
for Trump to be held accountable or to
be convicted and that's the last thing
Michael Cohen wants to do if he really
is being honest that he wants to see
Trump convicted which clearly he does
then the best way to do that is
expressly to tell the truth he stands to
gain nothing it's actually detrimental
to Donald Trump's uh to to his
conviction hopes if Michael Cohen lies
and clearly Michael Cohen knows that
that's exactly right Brian it would be
against Michael Cohen's interest to lie
under oath at this point and it would be
against what Michael Cohen is trying to
accomplish accountability for the crimes
that Donald Trump thus far has gotten
away with and I have done some version
of that redirect examination more times
than I can count because when we put
cooperating Witnesses on the stand a
cooperating witness who was a criminal
associate a co-conspirator of the
defendant that he has now flipped
against and is testifying against these
are recurring themes and the prosecutors
understand how to present this to the
jury in a way that they will credit
Michael Cohen's testimony and it's going
to be easy for them to do because
there's a mountain of corroboration
Michael Cohen was pre-c corroborated
before he ever hit the stand so the
couple little points that the defense
scored on cross-examination as they do
on every cooperating witness in every
criminal trial will not win the day for
Donald Trump just as a quick aside uh a
quick request for our legal breakdown
audience I wrote my first book it's
called Shameless which is not to be
confused uh what I'm doing right now in
terms of plugging my book during illegal
episode but if you would like to support
me then please consider pre-ordering the
book I'll put the link on the screen
I'll put it in the post description or
you can go to Briant teller cohen.com
book I would very much appreciate it
okay Glenn do you think that the small
degree of credibility issues that
Michael Cohen posed undermines the
damage that he did to Trump like net net
do you think it was a positive that he
testified here he had to testify you
know he was the most important witness
that the jurors needed to see now did
they need to see him to conclude Donald
Trump is guilty Beyond A Reasonable
Doubt when they had all the other
evidence and all of the falsified
business records maybe maybe not but
there are times when jurors need to see
a witness who is of central concern and
involvement the reason I say that is
because there were times when I was
trying criminal cases Brian and I would
present all of the witnesses I thought
were relevant and necessary to win a
conviction and then my jury might hang
11:1 or 10 to2 for conviction and I
would get to go talk to the jurors after
a hung jury was declared a mistrial was
declared because they couldn't agree
unanimously on a verdict and I would ask
them you know I would always kind of
gauge how they received the evidence
what we could do better at a retrial and
I can't tell you how many times jurors
would say something to me like well you
know we heard testimony about Bob Smith
being on the crime scene but we didn't
see Bob Smith testify during the course
of the trial now they didn't see Bob
Smith testify because Bob Smith didn't
have relevant important evidence even if
he had something of interest to say he
didn't have the kind of important
evidence that I felt compelled to call
Bob Smith as a witness but you know I
tried to learn my lesson from those
failures I always learned more from my
failures than my successes which is why
I am such a learn eared man today and I
would and I would re-calibrate you know
my trial decisions and sometimes I'd
call Bob Smith if only to say you know
what I was on the crime scene but there
was something blocking my view and I
didn't get a great look thank you Mr
Smith because now the jury can't take
that back into the deliberation room and
say What About Bob Smith so now Michael
Cohen ain't no Bob Smith Michael Cohen
is a cental witness and I think if the
prosecution had declined to call him the
jury would have held that against the
prosecutors and said listen we needed to
hear from the man himself who made the
hush money payments and helped uh create
the false business records to cover it
all up we needed to hear from him so I
think it was absolutely the right call
and I think he did far more harm than he
did you know good for Trump's defense in
the couple of points that Trump's
defense attorneys were able to score off
of Michael Cohen's testimony all right
so Glenn we heard from a number of
witnesses we heard from Michael Cohen
Stormy Daniels David pecker what is the
Crux of the prosecution's argument that
was corroborated by every single witness
that will likely be responsible for
Trump being convicted the Crux of the
case is that they falsified business
records that's the crime 34 felony
counts of falsifying business records
and it couldn't be more obvious this was
not payment for Legal Services to
Michael Cohen this is repayment of of
hush money that Michael Cohen paid and
Michael Cohen had to take out money from
a home equity line of credit to do it
and he even had to hide that from his
wife that's how desperately he wanted to
please Donald Trump he wanted to do
Donald Trump's bidding and then they
falsified these checks that Donald Trump
was writing pretending that they were
you know payment for legal services and
those and then they made false business
uh Ledger entries to cover it all up
that is the Crux of the case why were
they doing all this that becomes the
second most important question they were
doing it to gain unfair advantage in an
election and to get around campaign
Finance laws regarding contributions to
a campaign like paying to hide to bury
to secrete from the American people
deeply damaging evidence that might very
well have led to Donald Trump not being
elected in 2016 that's the Crux of the
case that case has been proved Beyond A
Reasonable Doubt and I personally as a
former career prosecutor think the only
impediment between where we are now and
criminal convictions of Donald Trump is
maybe one juror who might want to decide
the case based on their own political
preferences or ideology rather than a
fair assessment of the evidence and
let's hope that doesn't happen what I
don't see Brian I don't see an acquittal
I don't see a not guilty 34 times over
given the power of the evidence that has
been presented and anything short of an
acquit any hung jury it could be one for
conviction and 11 for acquit that gives
the prosecutors the opportunity to retry
the case I did many retrials in my 30
years and what I will tell you is more
often than not we won the retrial why
because we got to step back reassess
retool our presentation we now know what
the defense was going to do by way of
cross-examining our Witnesses and
presenting their own Witnesses if any
and more often than not well over 50% of
the time we went to a retrial after a
hung jury it resulted in a conviction
all right Glenn so uh moving forward now
if I'm not mistaken trial is off
tomorrow on Friday because the judge did
Grant Trump's request to to be off for
Baron's graduation is that correct well
that was one of the reasons I think
there might have also been some uh juror
conflicts but yes ultimately the judge
said okay we won't sit on Friday but
we'll be back for the prosecutions
redirect of Michael Cohen come Monday
morning okay and uh um I'm sure Donald
Trump is very much looking forward to to
uh the graduation of one of his children
even though he he may or may not have
been in attendance at any of the other
uh graduations but apparently this one
was just too important to miss yeah and
you know interestingly he gave an