I’ll try to make this what for me is relatively short and sweet for a change. Trump’s trial is moving right along and over ten witnesses have taken the stand so far. A couple are familiar names like David Pecker of National Enquirer infamy, Trump’s close aid Hope Hicks and I suspect most of you remember the name Keith Davidson too. Michael Cohen? The guy who for so long was promoted as the “Star Witness?” Nope. In fact we might not hear from him this week either. My point as you can gather from the title is that when the time comes for Cohen to take the stand there’s not a whole lot he’ll be able to tell the jury that’s not already parked deep in their minds!
You can read a write up in USA Today that summarizes various witnesses that have taken the stand to date and what they covered. Pecker was first out of the gate and as I suggested might be the case before the trial started he could turn out to be the most damaging witness of all for Trump. He and Trump’s friendship goes back well over two decades but in the end when push came to shove David Pecker took care of David Pecker. He wasn’t about to risk legal trouble and even jail for Trump! Pecker could avail himself of outstanding legal representation and he did. He also listened to them and didn’t try to play games on the stand. He is reported to have come across as businesslike, forthright and credible. I’m willing to bet Trump still can’t believe Pecker made NO effort to cover for him
Things didn’t get any better from their. Attorney Keith Davidson who represented both Playboy Playmate Karen McDougal and for a time adult actress Stormy Daniels laid further waste to Trump. Some other witnesses were less compelling but testified to crucial matters of evidence and authenticity of exhibits. Then Hope Hicks last week who also buried Trump, albeit she clearly felt badly about doing so. (I wrote in effect she can take her self pit and shove it) Today there were more witnesses covering more exhibits.
PZ’s Murfster has frequently mentioned that for all the sensationalism of porn stars and Playmates this is actually a documents case. There are as the saying goes “receipts” to Trump’s dismay. Recordings. And actual documents including checks (some signed by Trump himself) and invoices, which just happened to included handwritten notes from Trump’s longtime CFO Alan Weisselberg who’s currently doing a second sting at Riker’s for perjury. Murf’s point has been that for all Trump’s efforts to prevent any records of anything, including him famously not using email to communicate there IS a paper trail. Because he’s so f**king cheap and such a micro-manager that he insisted, even after moving to the WH on signing off on any transaction of $10k or more!
The problem with white collar cases that are based on documents is that they are complicated and “dry.” THIS case however is quite different. Amidst all the dry, boring stuff we have tabloid headline stuff, literal sex with famous women (a former Playmate of the Year and a well-known at one time adult actress) and someone like Hicks, who some paint as a “tragic” figure. Figure is the operative word because she was completely unqualified for the job Trump gave her and the access she had to him BUT she had exactly the kind of “hot babe” look he prizes.
The point though is that evidentiary brick by evidentiary brick prosecutors are building a “cell” around Trump and “decorating” it with some of the colorful witnesses along the way. Cohen was supposed to be the linchpin of the prosecution’s case. Trump was counting on it in fact. Let’s face it, Cohen isn’t exactly an admirable guy. Even though the perjury for which he went to prison was lying to protect Trump before he decided to go straight and start atoning for his sins he was someone Team Trump could attack. Savagely in fact. This is after all a criminal trial and it takes all twelve jurors voting guilty to get a conviction. IF the case were to hinge on Cohen it wasn’t crazy to think that a juror could wind up having reasonable doubt. Just a single holdout and you have a hung jury.
Now, Trump does actually have competent lawyers working for him in this case and from the discovery they got they had to know there was a mountain of evidence other than Cohen’s testimony. Hell, sometimes legal pundits talked about it but I also heard a lot of harping on how important Cohen would be and how his credibility would be attacked. I’ve been trying to follow this trial closely and from where I sit with each passing day, the Cohen “star” is dimming in brightness. By the time he takes the stand, virtually every damning piece of evidence/testimony he can provide will have as I’ve already said been made by others. And THOSE people haven’t taken the stand with the kind of baggage Trump expects his lawyers to whack Cohen upside the head with.
I suspect Trump’s lawyers, at least one and maybe two of them have known for all Trump’s insistence in private that all they had to do was rip Cohen to shreds and he’d be acquitted their case was in deep trouble. I also think that it is dawning on Trump that what his lawyers are telling him, that Cohen won’t be the key after all is true. That’s got to be driving Trump nuts. I supposed prosecutors will have to call Cohen to the stand and Trump can get some measure of satisfaction glaring at him while Emil Bove, his attack dog cross-examiner lawyer tries to channel Trump’s hero Roy Cohn.
I still hold out a tiny bit of hope for something really awesome however. That prosecutors will have built such a strong case they don’t even bother to call Cohen! Now THAT would be funny as hell. Sure, in theory when Trump has his turn and can mount a defense case they could call Cohen as a hostile witness. I doubt Trump’s lawyers would want to do that for a number of reasons. But Trump might demand it and also demand they go nuclear on Cohen. I don’t think that’s going to help Trump with the jury and in fact could seal his fate.
Anyway I wanted to point out that all the hype about how crucial Cohen would be to the prosecution was just that. Hype. Yes, they might need him but not nearly so much as we’d all been led to believe. I think it’s possible that except for what are bound to be some fireworks on cross, Cohen won’t add much to the prosecution’s case. That Cohen will be almost an afterthought when all is said and done.
Trumpty is all geared up for a fight, but reverting to my jarhead background and the “island hopping” campaign of the Marines and Navy in the central Pacific in WWII the island named Cohen will be largely bypassed.
