The prosecution against Donald Trump overplayed their hand. Now they’re paying the consequences.
Because Trump’s legal defense just won over a key ally in their case that no one could’ve seen coming.
The media forming a narrative that will change public opinion about a case trial shouldn’t have any impact on the outcome or ruling of the case, but far too often it does. Media outlets are regularly trying to get public opinion to sway one way or another in hopes it puts enough pressure on the judges or jury in a case to come down with a particular ruling.
In the “hush money” case for Donald Trump, many legal experts were rightly worried that the jury would have a tough time being impartial in this case that will prove to be one of the most consequential in American history.
The prosecution team might have thought that this would play into their favor, but they might be shocked to learn the exact opposite is happening. The major media outlets that are typically Trump-obsessed haters are not on board with the idea that this case will play out well for them.
The one outlet they might’ve thought they could rely on, CNN, has effectively announced they are not willing to back the Trump prosecution based on the evidence so far. During recent court proceedings, significant questions have been raised about the credibility of Michael Cohen, former personal attorney to Donald Trump. Testimonies and reactions in the trial have painted a complex picture of Cohen’s reliability as a witness.
Keith Davidson, previously representing Stormy Daniels and serving as a prosecution witness, testified that Cohen had aspirations of working in the Trump White House and was deeply distressed when he didn’t secure a cabinet position. Contradictorily, Cohen testified that he never desired such a role, which left CNN host Jake Tapper incredulous. Tapper pointed out the inconsistency, emphasizing that numerous people were aware of Cohen’s ambitions.
“Why deny this when there’s literally hundreds of people who know that he wanted to work in the Trump White House?” CNN’s Tapper asked on his show recently.
“There is all this testimony, there is all this evidence from Michael Cohen’s phones seized by the FBI and some of it is being used right now to show that Michael Cohen is currently not telling the truth,” he also added later on.
Alyssa Farah Griffin, a CNN political commentator, expressed her inability to reach a guilty verdict based on the trial thus far. Despite her strong negative feelings toward Trump, Griffin highlighted Cohen’s problematic behavior and misrepresentations as critical issues undermining his believability. She remarked on her difficulty in trusting Cohen, especially when he misrepresented something as fundamental as wanting a job in the White House.
“For me, even with my strong feelings about Donald Trump, my knowledge of how he behaves, I couldn’t today convict beyond a reasonable doubt,” Alyssah Farah Griffin shared with Jake Tapper on CNN.
“Michael Cohen is just such a problematic figure and in this own cross, I was just waiting to see somebody who was above board, didn’t step in it, didn’t lie, didn’t end up getting kind of hostile…” she went on to note. “I couldn’t today convict beyond a reasonable doubt. Michael Cohen is just such a problematic figure.”
Trump Hater Alyssa Farah: "I couldn't today convict beyond a reasonable doubt. Michael Cohen is just such a problematic figure."
Wow!
— Alex Bruesewitz 🇺🇸 (@alexbruesewitz) May 16, 2024
Cohen also faced scrutiny for secretly recording a conversation with Trump about purchasing the rights to a story from adult model Karen McDougal, who alleged an affair with Trump. Cohen admitted during his testimony that he did not inform people when recording them, which CNN legal analysts found ethically questionable, even if not illegal.
Michael Cohen completely lost CNN when he admitted to secretly recording conversations without consent
"That is highly uncool"
"And in some states illegal"
"And ethically questionable even if it's not illegal" pic.twitter.com/MqPnG2E20K
— johnny maga (@_johnnymaga) May 16, 2024
CNN host Anderson Cooper commended attorney Todd Blanche for his skillful cross-examination of Cohen, noting that Cohen often seemed evasive and confused when cornered. This behavior led to doubts about his credibility, with Cooper and senior legal analyst Elie Honig suggesting that Cohen appeared to fabricate parts of his testimony. Cooper, reflecting on the cross-examination, expressed that if he were a juror, he would doubt Cohen’s honesty, suspecting him of making up parts of his story.
“It was an extraordinary cross-examination by Todd Blanche and Michael Cohen throughout the day,” CNN’s Cooper had to say about the cross-examination day. “Michael Cohen, when cornered, when he found himself in a corner, he does have a pattern of suddenly not understanding the question,” Cooper said to criticize Cohen as a witness.
CNN might’ve been able to put out public pressure for a Trump conviction of sorts, but that seems like it’s all but out the window. Even CNN is being forced to acknowledge that this case was likely dead before it began.
Losing the ally of Big Media pressure is a mistake that the Trump prosection likely won’t recover from.
Be sure to stay tuned to the Federalist Wire for more updates on the Trump legal cases.
