Gotta love this New York Judge

[Ombligo]

The prosecution in Trump's case is arguing for a dismissal claiming that Cohen is not a credible witness.

Merchan is skeptical.

"You said his lies are irrefutable," he says to the attorney. "But you think he’s going to fool 12 New Yorkers?"

[Speedy]

Ombligo wrote:
The prosecution in Trump's case is arguing for a dismissal claiming that Cohen is not a credible witness.

Merchan is skeptical.

"You said his lies are irrefutable," he says to the attorney. "But you think he’s going to fool 12 New Yorkers?"

No doubt you mean the defense.

[mattkime]

Speedy wrote:
No doubt you mean the defense.

pfft, prosecution, defense, whats the difference??

[PeterB]

Since when is the credibility of a single witness the basis for dismissing a case?

Isn't it up to a judge or jury to decide the witnesses' credibility?

Are they going to argue that EVERY witness the prosecution has produced isn't credible? (I concede that Cohen might not be the most credible witness, but by all accounts, Stormy was VERY credible... down to a description of what Dump was wearing in the bedroom, and that it didn't include a condom... ::o)

[dk62]

PeterB wrote:
Since when is the credibility of a single witness the basis for dismissing a case?

Isn't it up to a judge or jury to decide the witnesses' credibility?

Are they going to argue that EVERY witness the prosecution has produced isn't credible? (I concede that Cohen might not be the most credible witness, but by all accounts, Stormy was VERY credible... down to a description of what Dump was wearing in the bedroom, and that it didn't include a condom... ::o)

Tryst with Stormy is not really in question, despite Trump's protestation. The issue is tying payment to Stormy to campaign funds and miscategorizing them. She cannot testify to that - that was an issue mainly between Trump and Cohen.

[PeterB]

dk62 wrote:
[quote=PeterB]
Since when is the credibility of a single witness the basis for dismissing a case?

Isn't it up to a judge or jury to decide the witnesses' credibility?

Are they going to argue that EVERY witness the prosecution has produced isn't credible? (I concede that Cohen might not be the most credible witness, but by all accounts, Stormy was VERY credible... down to a description of what Dump was wearing in the bedroom, and that it didn't include a condom... ::o)

Tryst with Stormy is not really in question, despite Trump's protestation. The issue is tying payment to Stormy to campaign funds and miscategorizing them. She cannot testify to that - that was an issue mainly between Trump and Cohen.
Well but it does go (indirectly) to Cohen's credibility, since -- as you point out -- Dump has denied the whole thing. It's a question of setting the foundations of the crime.

[jonny]

Apparently, the judge had to clear the courtroom so he could admonish defense witness Costello for his behavior in court.
Cohen… Costello… trump sure knows how to pick 'em!

[davester]

dk62 wrote: The issue is tying payment to Stormy to campaign funds and miscategorizing them. She cannot testify to that - that was an issue mainly between Trump and Cohen.

Actually, the payment and miscategorization has been well established by the other witnesses. Cohen simply corroborated what those earlier witnesses had shown to be true. The only key bit of information that Cohen has is that Trump is the one who ordered the payment and miscategorization to be made. The defense has to prove that somebody other than Trump led that effort and that Trump didn't know anything about it (and if you believe that, I have a bridge you might be interested in buying).

[special]

I saw a headline earlier today when Cohen admit he stole money from Trump. he got $30k and paid only $20k and the Defense asked if he stole the 10k and he said YES.

EDIT: the figures are different but same idea

https://www.cnn.com/politics/live-news/t...cbd0c96d24

[davester]

special wrote:
I saw a headline earlier today when Cohen admit he stole money from Trump. he got $30k and paid only $20k and the Defense asked if he stole the 10k and he said YES.

Actually, I thought that he received $50k but then the service he was buying (which was by a company that falsified poll data to benefit Trump) reduced its charge to $20k so Cohen didn't bother refunding Trump. His justification for that was that Trump had stiffed him on his bonus. Tit-for-tat! A dishonest guy hired a dishonest guy to do his dishonest dealings. What a surprise!