Michael Cohen, the former Trump fixer who is now testifying against his ex-boss, might have expected an incisive cross-examination from Todd Blanche, Trump's experienced lawyer. Instead, the Tuesday afternoon grilling turned out to be sleepy and dull, according to CNN legal analyst Norm Eisen.
"[Blanche] committed the cardinal sin of cross-examination," said Eisen, who was in the courtroom at the time. "It was so tangled up at times that it was boring. It actually was some of the first boring moments in all of the 19 or so days of this trial that we've had."
Trump's legal team, led by Blanche, sought to discredit Cohen's testimony as the ravings of a man driven by hopes of financially profiting from his hate towards the former president, who abandoned him in a federal prison after Cohen pleaded guilty to his involvement in the same hush money deals at the heart of the Manhattan trial.
Blanche repeatedly questioned Cohen about calling Trump a "boorish cartoon misogynist" and "Cheeto-dusted cartoon villain," as well as his motives for testifying and the money he made from books and merchandise criticizing Trump. Cohen answered many of these questions with "sounds like something I would say." In response to Blanche asking him if he was lying when he praised Trump in the past, Cohen said that at the time, he was "knee-deep into the cult of Donald Trump."
Eisen dismissed Blanche's line of questioning as ineffective.
"He came out of the box with objectionable questions that were about him and Cohen's criticism of him, that had nothing to do with the case, got a reprimand from the judge, got off on a bad foot," said Eisen. "He meandered all over the map."
On the other hand, Eisen described Cohen as "disciplined" and "credible." The contrasting performances were further underscored by expectations; according to Eisen, many thought that Cohen would be bested by Blanche, who has a strong reputation in legal circles. That reputation might have just taken a hit.
Cohen, a star witness for the prosecution seeking to nail Trump for an allegedly fraudulent cover-up of his tryst with Stormy Daniels, testified that the former president directed the filing of checks that were described as part of a legal "retainer" agreement, when they were actually reimbursement for hush money payments to the adult film star.
