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| Cohen taking oath in front of Congress |
In his hearing in front of the House Oversight and Reform Committee, Michael Cohen, Trump's former lawyer for 10 years made explosive accusations against Trump under oath, stating that he "is a racist. He is a con man. And he is a cheat." Among the accusations, Cohen asserts that Trump lied and made Cohen lie to the public about various issues such as his business dealings in Russia (ex. Trump Moscow), stolen Democratic emails and payments to cover up his sexual affairs. Cohen supported his claims by providing documents such as checks issued by Trump to him, contradicting Trump's previous statements. While Cohen denied allegations of visiting Prague in 2016 to collude with Russians, Cohen pleaded guilty to previously lying under oath and other charges against him, stating that he did it to protect Trump, though now he will not. Cohen's testimony thus implicates Trump for federal crimes.
While Democrats took Cohen's testimony as a proof of Trump having committed crimes during office, Republicans still stood by Trump, challenging Cohen throughout the hearing in addition to coining him as a liar and claiming that the hearing is organized by Democrats seeking to kick Trump out of office. Though not so consistent with the specific details, Cohen's general perspective of Trump aligns with most of Trump's closest advisers and staff who have left him.
In response, Trump has lashed out against Democrats for scheduling the hearing to take place during the same time as his summit with Kim Jong Un in Vietnam and repeatedly called Cohen a liar without providing much evidence on Twitter.
Michael Cohen's testimony in front of Congress parallels with that of John Dean's against President Richard Nixon during the Watergate scandal. Both testimonies were from close aides of the Presidents that implicates them for crime in front of Congress.
Questions
- Given that he lied under oath in the previous hearing, how much of Cohen's testimony this time is true? What motivates him to speak out against Trump?
- What consequences do you think Cohen's testimony will have on Trump?
- Why do you think the Republicans still stand by Trump? How far can Trump go before the Republicans withdraw their support for him?
Sources
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/02/27/us/politics/michael-cohen-trump.html
https://www.cnn.com/2019/02/28/politics/donald-trump-michael-cohen-liar/index.html
https://www.cnn.com/2019/02/27/politics/michael-cohen-prague-testimony-russia/index.html
Given that he lied under oath before, one can never be 100% sure about his testimony. If someone close to Trump that either works for him now or previously worked for him testimonies and makes similar if not the same claims, that would make his testimony 10 times more believable and credible. Republicans of course are jumping to question him, seeing that he's lied before. However, his reasoning that he lied for Trump does make sense and have logical reasoning behind it. I believe Cohen's thinking behind this testimony is that he's going to jail regardless, therefore he might as well speak up and out against the President.
ReplyDeleteBecause Cohen had previously lied under oath his statements should be thoroughly scrutinized before being treated as fact. Additionally, his motivations for speaking out against Trump are suspicious given the time line and probably contribute to the potential invalidity of his statements. Cohen's testimony has not brought up any new allegations that were not already being circulated throughout the media, however, his claims might strengthen allegations and motivate other parties to continue searching for evidence. I think Republicans will stand by Trump until there is overwhelming proof that he committed a crime, but as of right now there is no strong evidence of his clear involvement in illegal affairs and so I believe Republicans will continue to support him
ReplyDeleteSince Cohen had lied under oath before, he should half his statements double checked before accepting it as a fact. Him speaking out on Trump is very sus as it can affect Trump. Republicans would stay with trump until there is proof or at least major proof that he committed a crime while in office.But, trump is innocent until proven guilty.
ReplyDeleteI think that he can at least be considered more trustworthy in this hearing, especially because of the fact that he provided actual evidence. While he may lie, checks for hush payments certainly wouldn't. He's speaking out against Trump now because he has nothing to gain by protecting him, he's already been found guilty of perjury and left the Trump campaign, so lying more would lead to a risk of him being caught for no potential gain. Cohen's testimony is a massive look into the campaign, and is one of the first public pieces of evidence that directly accuse the president of committing criminal acts. Republicans stand by Trump because he won them an election, and no longer supporting him would endanger their chances at reelection, because it would alienate a large portion of their base. Once Trump looses support of more American people, Republican legislators will be able to act against him pragmatically.
ReplyDeleteI think that Cohen is now telling the truth because he wants to reduce his sentence. Yes, he did do incriminating things for our president, but I believe he is trying to undo his wrongs and distance himself from the president. He has realized that affiliating with the president can't always be beneficial for some, especially as the president will even attack the people that work with him.Finally speaking out against Trump might push for others to speak up as well. Trump can sometimes be a bully to those around him, so this will prove that they can fight back.
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