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As yet another week of the arduous Manhattan criminal trial against Trump plays out, the 45th president told the press on Monday that the case was dead on arrival.
He noted that he was in court an hour early and pointed out that he should be out on the campaign trail rather than sitting in court.
Trump said, “I was supposed to be making a speech for political purposes. I’m not allowed to have anything to do with politics because I’m sitting in a very freezing cold courtroom for the last four weeks. It’s very unfair. They have no case, they have no crime. It has been determined by everybody, every legal scholar.”
Monday’s trial featured the testimony of embattled ex-lawyer and convicted felon Michael Cohen, who allegedly played a central role in the so-called “hush money” case against Trump.
However, the tables wildly turned during his testimony on Monday, when he seemed to inadvertently admit that he stole around $30,000 from the Trump Organization when he was working as the president’s lawyer.
Via The Guardian, Cohen told Trump’s attorney, Todd Blanche, that he had indeed stolen from the Trump Organization by a verbal admission.
The alleged crime took place when Cohen made a $20,000 payment to an IT company in 2016 but told former Trump Organization CFO Allen Weisselberg that he needed a $50,000 reimbursement.
Blanche asked Cohen point-blank if he had “stolen” from the Trump Organization. Cohen replied, “Yes, sir.”
Former special assistant to President Trump, Andrew Giuliani, reported from inside the NYC courtroom that “COHEN HAS ADMITTED TO STEALING $$ FROM THE TRUMP ORGANIZATION ON THE STAND.”
He added, “Assist to @KasondraWatkins who tells me her research shows her the statute of limitations on Grand Larceny is 5 years. Cohen will skate on that by a year.”
Nevertheless, Cohen’s shocking admission will likely further erode his credibility in the eyes of the jury as the trial winds down and moves toward final arguments.