The brutal and long-awaited cross-examination of Michael Cohen started Tuesday afternoon with pure fire and fury, as Donald Trumpthe main lawyer, Todd Blancheprepared for battle.
Blanche approached the podium, adjusted the microphone by pulling it down, and leaned forward with both hands forcefully gripping the edges of the wooden table.
“Mr. Cohen, my name is Todd Blanche. You and I have never spoken or met before, have we?” he began, his usual satiny voice replaced by a slight raspy tone.
Trump’s MAGA Toadies Show Up at Trial, Paying No Attention
“We didn’t,” Cohen replied coldly.
“But you know who I am, don’t you?” continued Blanche.
“Yes,” Cohen replied.
“You went on TikTok and called me a crying little shit, didn’t you?” Blanche groaned.
Cohen began to respond before being interrupted.
“That sounds like something I…”
“Objection!” a prosecutor said.
“Sustained,” said Judge Juan Merchan, calling all lawyers to appear for a sidebar.
It’s a bad week to be named Michael Cohen. Trust me, I know.
The showdown is a long time coming. The former president considers Cohen his mortal enemy, a thorn in his side since the business mogul’s former adviser turned on him and began helping congressional investigators and law enforcement through the country to investigate Trump’s long string of alleged crimes.
From the start, the questioning session eschewed any fundamental questions about the case and focused directly on Cohen’s character, as well as his public attacks on his former boss.
“You called Trump an “asshole dictator,” right? asked Blanche, later citing a social media post by Cohen in which the disbarred lawyer said Trump should be sent “where he belongs, in a fucking cage.”
The tactic aims to focus the 18-person jury’s attention on the man who has been touted as the Manhattan District Attorney’s star witness as prosecutors pursue 34 counts of falsifying business records against Trump .
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