Michael Cohen admitted to committing a “more serious crime” while on the stand at Donald Trump‘s hush-money trial in New York City than what the former president is accused of doing, according to CNN legal analyst Elie Honig.
While being grilled by defense attorney Todd Blanche on Monday, Cohen acknowledged that he stole as much as $60,000 from the Trump Organization in 2017 by not reimbursing an IT firm hired to rig polls. Cohen, who has done prison time for multiple crimes, also conceded never pleading guilty to larceny.
Critiquing what had just transpired in the Manhattan courtroom during a panel on CNN, Honig made reference to the popular “Seinfeld” sitcom, saying, “The way this was raised and addressed on direct is what Julia Louis-Dreyfus would call ‘Yada yada yada,’” as shown in a clip published by Mediaite.com.
He continued, “Here’s the direct testimony the way Michael Cohen explained what happened … Michael Cohen explained this whole thing, quote ‘That’s what was owed and I didn’t feel Mr. Trump deserved the difference.’ That’s a lot different than, ‘I stole $60,000 from my boss on the transaction at the heart of this case.’”
Cohen never getting charged with larceny “is important because stealing $60,000 through fraud, which would be larceny in New York State, is more serious of a crime than falsifying business records,” Honig said.
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Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg is expected to rest his case after Cohen, who worked as a lawyer and fixer for Trump, finishes giving testimony focused on his role in facilitating payments to women who allegedly had affairs with the former president.
Trump, who denies the claims, faces 34 felony counts of falsifying business records to allegedly conceal damaging information and cover up the payments as part of a scheme to influence the 2016 election. He has pleaded not guilty and criticized what he says is a “political persecution” while he runs another campaign for the White House in the 2024 election.
Honig previously said adult film actress Stormy Daniels, one of the women who allegedly had a tryst with Trump, gave “disastrous” responses when she answered questions while on the stand during cross-examination earlier this month.
