Donald Trump’s defense team began its highly anticipated cross-examination of Michael Cohen on Tuesday with questions about the witness’s constant criticisms of the former president and his attorneys.
“You went on TikTok and called me a crying little s***, didn’t you?” attorney Todd Blanche asked as his first question, according to CNN reports from the courtroom where Trump’s hush money trial was taking place.
“Sounds like something I would say,” Cohen replied.
Prosecutors working on behalf of Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg raised objections to the question, resulting in Judge Juan Merchan striking it from the record.
Blanche, however, continued to grill Cohen, Trump’s former lawyer, on comments he has made during his livestreams on the popular Chinese-owned app.
Cohen turned against his former boss in recent years after he was prosecuted in part for the same hush money incident for which Trump is now on trial. In the lead-up to the trial, and even after it started, Cohen spoke about his grievances with Trump in media appearances, on X, and to thousands of listeners on TikTok.
Cohen drew criticism for ranting about Trump while being a known witness in the case, and Merchan eventually asked prosecutors last week to encourage Cohen to stop making extrajudicial comments until his testimony concluded.
Blanche asked Cohen about an April 23 appearance he made on TikTok and if he recalled calling Trump a “dictator d*****bag” during it.
“Sounds like something I would say,” Cohen replied.
“On that same TikTok on April 23 you referred to President Trump when he left the courtroom, you said that he goes right into that little cage, which is where he belongs, in a f***ing cage like an animal?” Blanche asked.
“I recall saying that,” Cohen responded.
Blanche, a former federal prosecutor leading Trump’s defense team, continued to zero in on public comments Cohen has made on TikTok before showcasing to the jury how Cohen has profited from targeting Trump on the app.
When Blanche asked if Cohen holds TikTok livestreams to make money, Cohen replied, “Money is made from it, yes.”
“That’s not my question,” Blanche said. “One of the reasons you do it is to make money, yes or no?”
“Yes,” Cohen replied.
Blanche also asked about a shirt Cohen wore on one of his TikTok appearances last week depicting Trump behind bars, asking if Cohen encouraged his followers to buy it.
“Yes, it’s part of the merch store,” Cohen replied.
Cohen’s cross-examination had just begun at the time of this publishing, and Blanche indicated that he expected it to stretch into Thursday. Cohen is expected to be the last witness called by prosecutors for the Democratic district attorney’s office.
Blanche and his team are expected to chip away relentlessly at Cohen’s credibility while they question him. They have indicated through court papers that they plan to paint him as a felon with a history of perjury who has repeatedly demonstrated he wants revenge on Trump and that he has profited from making salacious claims about his former boss.
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Cohen pleaded guilty in 2018 to several crimes, including tax evasion, lying to a bank, and lying to Congress. One of his crimes involved taking out a loan under false pretenses to pay porn star Stormy Daniels.
Trump was never prosecuted over the matter, but he is now facing charges brought by Bragg for allegedly attempting to conceal Cohen’s payment to help his 2016 presidential campaign.
