Donald TrumpDefense attorney accused star witness Michael Cohen of lying about a crucial phone call that linked the former president to a cover-up surrounding hush money payments to porn star Stormy Daniels in a dramatic exchange Thursday.
Defense attorney Todd Blanche delivered his blow just before the lunch break, providing evidence that the main conversation was actually about a prankster and not, as Cohen claimed three days earlier, about a $130,000 payment for Daniels’ silence.
It created an ‘aha’ moment just as the case nears its conclusion; the kind of pinprick that’s common on TV courtroom dramas but rarely happens in real life.
After reminding the 12 jurors that Cohen had a history of lying to the court and laying the groundwork for the idea that he was an unreliable witness, Trump’s attorney Todd Blanche steered the court in an unexpected direction.
He pulled out text messages and call logs to show that Cohen was plagued by nuisance phone calls in October 2016.