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Michael Cohen raised his right hand and vowed to tell the truth during Donald Trump’s trial in Manhattan on Monday. This is a pointless move.
Cohen has done this before and then proceeds to take the oath. He went to jail for lying to courts, lying to banks, lying to Congress, lying to the IRS.However, Cohen once again insisted that Now He told the truth. He wants jurors to believe him. this time.
Cohen presents the paradox of truth and falsehood. In philosophy and logic, this is known as the “liar’s paradox,” and is a dilemma posed to juries whenever a habitual liar takes the witness stand and promises to tell the truth.
The paradox is this: if a liar does lie, then his admission of his lie is true. Unless of course he lied about it and everything else. You can never really know. The search for truth becomes impossible. In court, the main witness is a chronic liar, and the “liar’s paradox” equals reasonable doubt.
New York v. Trump: Cohen testifies to pay Stormy Daniels out of pocket
That was on full display Monday when Trump’s one-time self-proclaimed “fixer” failed to link the defendants to any identifiable crime. But Cohen readily admitted that he often lied and bullied others. He also deceived his client Trump by secretly recording him shortly before the 2016 election.
Cohen later shared it with the publisher of the National Enquirer without permission. This is a despicable practice and should result in disbarment for violating attorney-client privilege. in spite of. Cohen was long ago disbarred due to a criminal conviction.
When the recording was played in court, it seemed to help the defense rather than hurt it. Cohen made vague reference to paying to kill a story, which is not a crime. Trump appeared confused and was heard asking, “What financing?” Cohen assured him that he would handle everything. His boss doesn’t need to know the details. “I get it…I’m working on it,” Cohen said.
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg knew he was on the verge of suborning perjury. But he is fully committed to convicting Donald Trump of crimes that were not committed or fully revealed.
Prosecutors’ star witness against Trump, Michael Cohen, is a chronic and habitual liar
It’s puzzling why prosecutors would risk doing this, other than to give Trump the appearance of some invisible wrongdoing. That’s completely irrelevant because the matter involves former Playboy model Karen McDougall, who was never called as a prosecution witness and has nothing to do with the charges. Trump refused to pay her over the alleged affair, a fact he denies.
Cohen then continued his feud with former porn star Stormi Daniels, who is ramping up her apparent blackmail scheme as voters head to the polls. Cohen admitted that he was willing to pay her $130,000 for her silence and sign a legal nondisclosure agreement. As Trump’s lawyer, Cohen handled the negotiated contract, which was later recorded as a “legal fee” because that was what it was.
Michael Cohen testifies that he secretly taped Trump ahead of 2016 election
In fact, Cohen confirmed the accuracy of the bookkeeping, explaining that the money he received was compensation for his work on the legal settlement with Daniels, payments reimbursed to him, plus payments from his role as Trump’s newly appointed personal attorney. Retainer fees for legal services.
So where is the original fraud that underlies the 34 misdemeanor charges prosecutors have filed? nowhere.
Cohen later testified that Trump was concerned that Daniel’s story could hurt his 2016 election chances. Not surprisingly, this was contradicted by other witnesses, who told the jury that the candidate’s main concern was his wife and family.
Either way, it doesn’t matter. Bragg’s argument is legally flawed because Trump used his own money, not campaign funds. The law imposes restrictions on the latter but not on the former.
Trump and defenders appear before Cohen’s testimony
This was one of the main reasons why the Federal Election Commission (FEC) determined that there were no campaign finance violations. The Justice Department agreed. No civil fines were imposed or criminal charges filed. These two entities have exclusive authority over federal elections. Not a DA like Alvin Bragg.
But that hasn’t stopped the Manhattan district attorney from usurping federal jurisdiction by bringing campaign cases he has no authority to enforce and violations that don’t exist.
Under normal circumstances, the Justice Department would step in to stop it. Instead, Attorney General Merrick Garland threw a going-away party for his deputy, Matthew Colangelo, who gave up his prestigious job at the Justice Department job and became the chief prosecutor in Prague.
Ignoring the constraints of the law, these unscrupulous prosecutors pieced together a lawless case alleging that Trump falsified his private business records with the felony intent of covering up another crime they still refuse to uncover. Presumably it was campaign funds. But this is not the case.
Michael Cohen’s credibility issues and shameless TikTok use draw media attention ahead of testimony
Former Federal Election Commission Chairman Bradley Smith put it this way in a Wall Street Journal column: “The ‘crime’ Mr. Bragg claims was covered up was not a crime at all.”
Even if the district attorney’s twisted legal theory proceeds, he will still have to prove that Trump personally knew about campaign finance laws and knowingly violated them. There is no evidence of this. Even seasoned candidates have a hard time understanding the mind-numbing web of campaign rules. That’s why they rely on lawyers.
Bragg wants to put Trump in jail because he relies on the advice of his legal counsel. There is a legal term for this. crazy.
On cross-examination, Cohen will certainly be confronted with his numerous lies, which I have recounted in previous columns. One in particular is worth remembering. In February 2018, he told The New York Times that “the payments made to Ms. Clifford were legal and were not campaign contributions or campaign expenses.”
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Shortly thereafter, Cohen changed his tune. It’s still changing. When he returns to court on Tuesday, he will spout more lies and misinformation. None of this is of any value because Cohen represents the classic “liar’s paradox.” He told so many lies that even his remorse was contradictory.
In his upcoming trial, Cohen has a personal interest in lying – hatred and greed. When he’s not making money slandering Trump on TikTok, he’s hawking a reality show he calls “The Fixer.” Cohen needs to fix himself.
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg knew he was on the verge of suborning perjury. But he is fully committed to convicting Donald Trump of crimes that were not committed or fully revealed. The district attorney abdicated his duty to seek the truth by calling Cohen his star witness. He aided and abetted a convicted perjurer by telling more lies.
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This is government corruption at its worst. Unscrupulous, dishonest, and unethical. It is the antithesis of justice and a disgrace to our once respected legal system.
This is not a paradox. This is a tragedy.
Click here to read more from GREGG JARRETT