A thief may rob you, but a liar will hang you. Michael Cohen is both.
Just when you thought the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office couldn’t suck any more integrity from our criminal justice system in bringing 34 woefully empty charges against a former – and likely future – president, it managed.
The prosecution's “star” witness, Michael Cohen, is many unsavory things, including a liar, an ex-con and unhinged, anti-Trump merch-peddling huckster. But wait, there’s more!
Turns out Cohen is also a crook, having admitted on this stand Monday that he skimmed roughly $60,000 of the Trump Organization’s money because he was ticked off that his annual bonus had been a little light.
The only thing worse than Cohen being forced to admit under oath that he stole from the very defendant he is desperate to help convict, is the prosecution’s decision to build its entire case around this clown.
The oath to which a witness swears is not, “I promise to tell the truth…mostly.” The measure of a witness’ credibility, therefore, is not whether they tell a white lie versus a big lie. Witnesses are required to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth. Yet, the prosecution’s pivotal witness is not capable. And the prosecution knew it all along.
Cohen’s testimony is not merely bitter-tasting. It is poison. Whether on or off the stand, exacting the truth from Cohen is akin to playing a perpetual game of “Three Card Monty” with one glaring omission – the truth is nowhere to be found.
Make no mistake, this case has never been about a mere proof problem, as that would insultingly imply that Trump should win on a mere technicality. This case was always about prosecutorial abuse masquerading as a case. Smoke and mirrors replacing necessary elements of a crime. Unconstitutional gag orders allowing ill-motivated, money-hungry players for the prosecution to spout off unfettered. And a trial timed to give an assist to a sitting president who’s far too feeble to hold his own – or to run this country.
The prosecution should be ashamed of this blatant misuse of power; a power bestowed upon it, in part, by a judge eager to comply with the political machinations that undermine the very essence of justice and erode public trust in our legal system. Adding to the circus, this judge today, the final day of testimony, sent the jury off for a week's long vacation it didn’t ask for, and likely did not want, further delaying the proceedings and strategically hampering Trump’s campaign efforts.
Perhaps Judge Juan Merchan can search his own soul over the next week and seriously consider granting the third, and final, motion to dismiss. The first two were handily denied. No surprise there. But this one comes at the close of the People’s case. The prosecution’s “proof” all but exhausted. And still there is no crime. Granting this motion ahead of jury deliberation may be Merchan’s only chance to partially redeem the series of poor decisions that have marred this case, and restore but a crumb of confidence in our judicial system.
Will he do it? Signs say no. When Michael Cohen admitted to committing unlawful atrocities while over the course of his career, and damn near perjured himself on the stand, Judge Merchan barely blinked. But when Cohen’s former legal advisor Bob Costello, was called as the sole defense witness to drive home for the jury the unreliability of the State’s star witness, Merchan cleared the entire courtroom to scold a legal stalwart who has been practicing law since about the time Juan Merchan was cutting his adult teeth.
As we stand on the precipice of this trial’s conclusion, we must scrutinize the broader implications of this politically motivated prosecution. The integrity of our legal system is under siege. Bringing a case against a former president, a case devoid of any evidence, let alone credible evidence, tried in the bowels of a downtown courthouse in lower Manhattan, exemplifies a desperate prosecution that has abandoned the pursuit of genuine justice in favor of a theatrical spectacle designed to distract and deceive the country.
The next step is to take to task those responsible, from the Bar to the bench and beyond. Political gamesmanship has no place in our courts. Our legal system should be a bastion of integrity, not a tool for political retribution.
When lies and deception become the cornerstone of criminal justice, integrity is the casualty. The sham case against Donald Trump is proof that justice is in need of some serious CPR.
Jonna Spilbor is an attorney, radio host and legal commentator appearing frequently on Fox News, Court-TV, the Law and Crime Network, Oxygen and other outlets. Licensed in New York, California, and the District of Columbia, Jonna maintains offices in New York City and the Hudson Valley.