Lawyers for ex-President Donald Trump painted Michael Cohen on Thursday as a man who lies about anything and everything, in a cross-examination that sought to eviscerate the credibility of the prosecution’s main witness to a 2016 hush payment and alleged crimes to cover it up.
For hours, defense lawyer Todd Blanche jabbed Mr. Cohen over his history of falsehoods and conflicting statements, from misleading Congress about his efforts to seek a potential pardon to claims he felt pressured to plead guilty to tax crimes in 2018 despite taking responsibility in front of a judge.
Mr. Blanche also attacked Mr. Cohen’s claim that he told Mr. Trump that he was finalizing a payment to porn star Stormy Daniels and wiring $130,000 to her lawyer.