Cohen Cross-Examination Had a 'Fiery Start'

Trump lawyer asked about social media insults
By Rob Quinn,  Newser Staff
Posted May 14, 2024 5:38 PM CDT
Cohen Cross-Examination Had a 'Fiery Start'
Assistant DA Susan Hoffinger questions Michael Cohen, right, as Donald Trump, far left, looks on in Manhattan criminal court, Tuesday, May 14, 2024.   (Elizabeth Williams via AP)

Prosecutors in Donald Trump's hush-money trial finished questioning of Michael Cohen Tuesday and a tense cross-examination began. The Hill reports that it got off to a "fiery start" when Trump lawyer Todd Blanche told Cohen that he had called him a "crying little s---" in a TikTok post last month. "Sounds like something I would say," Cohen admitted. An objection from the prosecution was sustained.

  • CBS News reports that Cohen, Trump's former personal attorney and "fixer," was "calm but occasionally combative" as Blanch attacked his credibility and questioned his motives, accusing him of being motivated by money, publicity, and vengeance.
  • Blanche asked Cohen about social media posts calling Trump a "boorish cartoon misogynist" and a "Cheeto-dusted cartoon villain," the Washington Post reports. Both times, Cohen replied, "That sounds like something I said."

  • Cohen acknowledged that Trump is mentioned in all his podcasts and he makes money from his TikTok posts. He said he probably talks about Trump "six nights a week." Asked if he wants to see Trump convicted in this case, Cohen said, "Sure," CNN reports.
  • Blanche grilled Cohen about statements he had made praising Trump in the past, reports NBC News. "I admired him tremendously," Cohen said. During the cross-examination, Blanche brought up numerous times Cohen had lied—including in an interview with special prosecutor Robert Mueller's team—but Cohen said he wasn't lying in 2015 when he described Trump as a good person. "At the time, I was knee-deep into the cult of Donald Trump," he said.
  • Earlier Tuesday, Cohen testified that he had submitted phoney invoices to cover up the the fact that he was being reimbursed for a hush-money payment to Stormy Daniels, the Guardian reports. He told prosecutors that he had made the payments at Trump's direction to ensure Daniels' story didn't affect the chances of Trump becoming president.
  • The cross-examination of Cohen, the prosecution's final witness, will continue when the trial resumes on Thursday.
(More Trump hush-money trial stories.)

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