The second week of testimony in Donald Trump’s hush money case concluded on Friday with yet another ho-hum day for the office of Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg. The prosecution is gearing up for crucial testimony from Michael Cohen, the former attorney of Trump, who facilitated the $130,000 payment to adult film actress Stormy Daniels allegedly in exchange for her silence.
Earlier today, jury consultant Carolyn Koch offered a candid assessment of the hurdles facing Bragg in the high-profile trial of former President Trump. The heart of the prosecution’s case hinges on testimony and recordings from Cohen, specifically a tape discussing a potential deal to purchase a story about Playboy model Karen McDougal, who claimed she had an affair with Trump.
Koch was doubtful about the impact of the audio recording on a jury, noting the tape’s incomplete nature and Cohen’s questionable reliability. “Audio is good, and audio is like a document, but jurors are going to respond to the case like a mosaic,” Koch explained. She likened the evidence to an unfinished conversation in a Jenga tower—valuable yet precarious without full context.
Jurors typically look for credible and complete evidence to piece together a narrative. Koch pointed to the inherent challenge in relying heavily on Cohen’s testimony, stating, “If there’s missing information on Cohen’s cell phone, and he’s not the most credible person… That’s a problem.”
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The conversation captured between Trump and Cohen on tape marks a significant moment in the trial, as it is the first time the jury can hear Trump directly engaging with his former lawyer. Despite this, Koch voiced her skepticism about its evidential value. “Most jurors will hold the government to its burden to prove a case beyond a reasonable doubt. And witnesses have to have some quality and some credibility. I think they’re going to be a little stunned that that’s a little bit lacking here,” she explained.
The trial presents a deep dive into what Koch called an “unseemly world” of politics and personal betrayals. The real challenge for Bragg and his team will be to navigate these waters with credible, concrete evidence to convince a jury—something Koch suggested may be an uphill battle given the current trajectory of the case.
Trump also targeted the “Soros-backed” Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg while addressing reporters after exiting court on Friday. “Lately, this office of DA, which is letting crime, violent crime run rampant all over our city,” Trump remarked.
“What they’ve done to people in my company, they’ve been after us for years. You take a look at what’s happened, years, the Democrats, the radical left, they’ve been after us for years and they’ve destroyed people’s lives. They’ve gone out, hired lawyers, they’ve been with lawyers for years, being sucked dry. And it’s a shame. It’s a shame what they’ve done to this country and it’s a shame what they’ve done to a lot of great people that have been absolutely ruined and destroyed, not only here, all over.”
“These are vicious, vicious, radical left lunatics. The DA here is sort of Soros backed. They shouldn’t be wasting time on this,” he added. “In the meantime, you can’t do anything in the country. The country is going to hell.”
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