CNN’s Jake Tapper was visibly taken aback by the “astonishing” revelation that Michael Cohen had embezzled funds from the Trump Organization. Cohen, the attorney responsible for the $130,000 payment to former adult film star Stormy Daniels, confessed to defense attorney Todd Blanche that he had stolen $30,000 from former President Donald Trump’s company. Cohen claimed that he did so in order to secure a bonus he believed he was entitled to as part of the reimbursement agreement.
“It’s fascinating stuff, and I have to say, I’m still kind of reeling from the revelation that Michael Cohen stole money from the Trump Organization and that wasn’t, at least to my knowledge, that the prosecution didn’t get that out earlier because it’s not as though the prosecution is going to be helped by further evidence that Michael Cohen is a shady character … that was just kind of stunning,” Tapper said.
Laura Coates, the chief legal analyst, expressed astonishment at the fact that the prosecution failed to highlight Cohen’s confession or his well-known reputation as a dishonest individual.
“If they can establish Michael Cohen as somebody who is not to be trusted about the amount of money as well, then they might be able to suggest that Donald Trump had no idea what he was truly paying,” Coates said.
Cohen received a $150,000 bonus in 2015 and a $50,000 bonus in the following year, as reported by The Guardian. He confessed to deceiving the Trump Organization CFO Allen Weisselberg by falsely claiming that he required $50,000 from the company to settle a debt with IT company RedFinch, but only repaid $20,000, as per his testimony. Additionally, he acknowledged keeping the remaining $30,000 for himself. The payment was “grossed up,” resulting in a total of $60,000, as it was doubled for tax purposes, as stated by The Guardian.
“So you stole from the Trump Organization?” Blanche asked.
“Yes sir,” Cohen answered.
Cohen requested a refund from the technology company in addition to the payment of hush money to Stormy Daniels, which was meant to conceal an alleged extramarital affair between her and Trump before the 2016 election.
Alvin Bragg, the Manhattan District Attorney, accused Trump of 34 counts of allegedly falsifying business records to repay Cohen for the payment to Daniels through monthly payments of $35,000, categorized as payment for “legal services.” The CNN panel mentioned earlier in the segment that Cohen’s confession could weaken Bragg’s case against Trump with “reasonable doubt” since he embezzled from Trump and provided false information about where the funds were being transferred to.
“This is a bomb, this is really important. This is a bomb dropped in the middle of the prosecution’s case,” CNN legal analyst Elie Honig stated. “Two reasons. One, Michael Cohen was stealing from Donald Trump. He was lying to people about what he was doing with money, he pocketed at least the $30,000 by lying to Weisselberg … $60,000, which by the way, this is crushing to the prosecution’s credibility because the prosecution did not ask Michael Cohen about that on direct and they haven‘t made him plead guilty to larceny, which this is, so let‘s start with that.”
“The other reason it’s so important is the money that Michael Cohen stole from under Donald Trump’s nose by his own admission, was part of the $420,000 that Michael Cohen was reimbursed for Stormy Daniels,” Honig added. “So the heart of the prosecution’s case is, that whole setup where they were going to repay Michael Cohen $420,000 to reimburse him for Stormy Daniels. That was all done to pay Stormy Daniels. Trump knew it. Trump knew every penny. That’s why he‘s guilty. Now it turns out Trump is getting robbed by his own guy.”
