Michael Cohen Buries Trump in One Exchange on Hush-Money Trial
Michael Cohens latest testimony just added another dent to Donald Trumps crumbling legal defense in his hush-money case. While on the stand Thursday, Cohen revealed that he didnt do anything without Trumps knowledge and his send-off, even if the excessive measures infuriated his campaign. That extra insurance was largely out of fear of any repercussions for doing or saying something on Trumps behalf that the testy former reality TV star might not approve of.
During a string of questions probing Cohens relationship with the press, Trump attorney Todd Blanche asked if Cohen had ever answered a question without first checking in with Trump. It was my routine to ask him, Cohen said, noting that Trump would blow up at him if Cohen got something incorrect, potentially costing him his job. So over the course of nine and a half years, you never commented on a story on your own? continued Blanche. Cohen testified that, for an initial comment on the story, he would always get a comment to something from Trump. But after that, he would effectively copy and paste the response to subsequent outlets running similar stories.
Its just another instance in which Cohen has undercut Trumps legal defense, which has attempted to frame Trump as a boss totally unaware of the hush-money payments and that the funds for the payments came from Cohen alone. Instead, Cohen has repeatedly outed Trump as a micromanager who was aware of his every move, telling the court on Monday that the pair spoke every single day, and multiple times a day.
And, if they werent able to communicate one-on-one, Cohen said he would often communicate with Trump via one of his other close confidants, including his former assistant Rhona Graff, Trump Organization employee turned director of Oval Office operations Keith Schiller, Trumps children, or Hope Hicks.
https://newrepublic.com/post/181672/michael-cohen-buries-trump-involvement-hush-money