CNN senior legal analyst Elie Honig said Michael Cohen stealing from the Trump Organization is a “more serious crime” than Donald Trump allegedly falsifying business records.
Cohen is the prosecution’s star witness in Trump’s criminal trial in New York for allegedly falsifying business records to pay hush money to adult film star Stormy Daniels during the 2016 campaign to hide their affair.
Under cross-examination Cohen admitted that he stole $60,000 from the Trump Organization. Cohen testified that he sought a reimbursement from the company for $50,000 to pay a tech vendor, Red Finch, that attempted to skew online polls in Trump’s favor in 2016. But Cohen gave the owner of the firm only about $20,000, according to Politico.
“Here’s the direct testimony the way Michael Cohen explained what happened. Michael Cohen explained this whole thing, quote ‘That’s what was owed and I didn’t feel Mr. Trump deserved the difference.’ That’s a lot different than ‘I stole $60,000 from my boss on the transaction at the heart of this case,’” Honig said in a clip highlighted by Mediaite.
He continued: “By the way, the fact that he was never charged with larceny is important because stealing $60,000 through fraud, which would be larceny in New York State, is more serious of a crime than falsifying business records.”
Cohen paid $130,000 in hush money to Daniels to prevent her from going public with her story about having had a sexual encounter with Trump during the 2016 election. Cohen said Trump authorized the deal and assured him he’d pay him back.
Trump allegedly falsified business records in a series of payments to Cohen falsely recorded as legal expenses.
