CNN legal analyst Elie Honig said Thursday on CNN’s coverage of former President Donald Trump’s business record trial that witness Michael Cohen had his “knees chopped out” during defense lawyer Todd Blanche’s cross-examination.
Host Brianna Keilar said, “I just wonder how we got to this point and what you think you’ve seen a lot of things develop in court. You’ve seen a lot of trials. Have you ever seen something like this kind of a twist like this?”
Honig said, “I don’t think I’ve ever seen a star cooperating witness get his knees chopped out quite as clearly and dramatically as what just happened with Michael Cohen. I’ve certainly seen very effective cross-examinations of cooperating witnesses. I’ve seen aspects of their story cut into and called into question.”
He continued, “But this goes to the heart of the allegation here. That phone call on October 24th, and it looks to the jury and to Anderson Cooper and Kara Scannell, Judge George Grasso, who are all in the courthouse, that that was a devastating moment.”
Honig added, “We are at an interesting moment right now. We 25 minutes away from the end of the court day, which ends at 4 today? I believe that Todd Blanche is going to keep his cross going so that when they come back into court for five days and on Monday, if he finds new stuff in the next four days, he will have the ability to continue the cross.”
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