As Donald Trump's New York hush-money criminal case trial heats up, former Department of Justice Attorney Andrew Weissmann on Tuesday offered his take on the court proceedings.
Tough For Either Party: It's a high-profile matter for both the prosecutors because not every day you have this "searing spotlight," said Weissmann in an MSNBC interview. It could be rocky for the witness and prosecutor, he said.
"High-profile case brings out every flaw you have," said Weissmann, who previously served as Assistant U.S. Attorney from 1991 to 2002. "Stormy Daniels...may not be proud of everything in her life and certainly for Michael Cohen, who has to admit a lot, it's difficult," he said.
Weissmann said defense lawyer Susan Necheles dehumanized Daniels and allowed her to speak. "She was more comfortable and I think that happens when you have another day to sort of relax," he said. Moving on to star witness and Trump's ex-lawyer turned foe Cohen, the DOJ veteran said, "I think Michael Cohen, having heard him live, I thought he was sort of remarkably good."
Weighing in on views among some that Cohen was a different person in court, Weissmann said when in court under oath, you are a different person. "There's a different circumstance. You act differently," he said.
Defense Cross-Examination: Weissmann also took exception to the cross-examination by Trump's lead attorney, Todd Blanche. "He's not an experienced defense lawyer. He's an experienced prosecutor. It's a very different art form," he said. The legal expert said he was shocked that Blanche did the way he did and termed it "beyond thin-skinned, rude."
"It was clearly going to get an objection," he said.
Weissmann also said there was some "fast and loose with the facts," adding that there were misleading statements. He referred to the defense lawyer's argument that Cohen was not allowed to talk to Trump during the Russian investigation. It was like "You have been shunned and that Donald Trump couldn't possibly have told you indirectly what to say when you testified in front of Congress," he said.
"That is not how it works. In these kinds of cases, everyone is lawyered up. The fact that you are told that means you are inside the tent, not outside the tent," Weissmann said.
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