Now that the defense has rested in the Trump election-interference criminal trial – Trump didn’t testify (natch), lest he be ripped to shreds on cross examination – we can pause to ponder the big question: Was Michael Cohen a credible prosecution witness, or was he fatally tainted by his own track record as a liar and jailbird?
One way to answer that question is to recall what happened early in FDR’s New Deal. The president created the federal Securities and Exchange Commission to oversee the stock market. Many people were appalled when he named, as its first leader, Joseph P. Kennedy – a reputedly sleazy businessman and rumored bootlegger. But Roosevelt offered this cynically shrewd retort: “It takes a thief to catch a thief.”
That’s basically the way prosecutors nail criminals – by getting the criminals’ closest associates to flip. Last week, as Trump’s defense lawyers sought to paint Cohen as a sleaze devoid of credibility, I could only laugh. Of course Cohen is sleazy; he worked closely with Trump for 10 years. Would Trump have kept Cohen close if he’d been a sainted boy scout? No way. As former federal prosecutor Ken White recently remarked, “Trump chose Cohen precisely because he’s a crook…Cohen is a dishonest person who does dishonest things, and that’s why Trump needed him.”
Only a thief with inside knowledge can testify effectively about a boss who helms a den of thieves. Cohen admitted on the witness stand that he once stole 30 grand from the Trump Org because he felt that Trump had shorted his bonus? Wow, be still my beating heart. In the annals of criminal trials, that sleazy act barely rates a yawn – especially when we compare Cohen to other notorious witnesses who blew the whistle on their bosses.
In 1992, Mob leader John Gotti was convicted on 13 criminal counts, including two murders, because the jury believed the testimony of his chief accuser, Sammy “The Bull” Gravano – a Gotti hit man who’d reputedly whacked at least 20 people. Gotti’s lawyers had sought to destroy Gravano’s credibility on the witness stand by citing his murderous track record and sneering that Gravano was targeting Gotti in order to cleanse his sins and pose as a “model citizen,” but the defense’s tactic didn’t work. Gotti ultimately died in prison.
In 2013, Boston gangland leader Whitey Bulger was convicted on 32 counts, including 11 murders, thanks in part to the testimony of Bulger’s top lieutenant, Stephen “The Rifleman” Flemmi. The jury believed that Flemmi was credible on the witness stand despite Flemmi’s admission that he’d arranged the murder of his own stepdaughter and had subsequently yanked out her teeth to prevent identification. Bulger ultimately died in prison, killed by fellow inmates.
Cohen, Gravano, Flemmi…As ex-federal prosecutor Gene Rossi recently noted, “There’s a saying that you don’t call saints to the stand if you’re trying to prove a corrupt or violent conspiracy.” Indeed, Trump’s jury doesn’t need to “like” Cohen in order to believe him – because most of his testimony has already been buttressed by texts, emails, documents, and other testifying witnesses.
If the jury sides with Cohen despite his sins (a verdict is likely next week), Trump will need to focus his ire elsewhere. How about Judge Merchan? Brilliant idea! In fact, Trump upped the ante yesterday. Outside the courthouse, he said of Merchan, “Take a look at him. Take a look at where he comes from.” (Merchan was born in Colombia, and was raised in Queens starting at age six.)
This is the worst kind of deja vu. I remember Judge Gonzalo Curiel, the American-born citizen who handled the lawsuit against Trump University, and who was slimed by Trump because of his Mexican ancestry. That happened in 2016. Isn’t this where we came in? Dare we recall how that election turned out?