Fox News host Eric Shawn argued that Michael Cohen's claim that Donald Trump made hush money payments to influence the 2016 election was more believable because he had a tape recording of the former president.
During an interview on Sunday, former federal prosecutor Katie Cherkasky asserted that prosecutors in the case had an uphill battle because their star witnesses were former attorney Michael Cohen and adult film actress Stormy Daniels. Trump is accused of falsifying business records following the hush money payments to Daniels.
"The defense is going to make it clear that the prosecution has a very high burden here, and they certainly have very unfortunate witnesses on which to rely to reach that burden, Michael Cohen and Stormy Daniels, namely," Cherkasky said.
"And in fact, with regard to the falsified business records, he claimed that these were legal expenses," she continued. "He's paying his lawyer. I'm not even sure how the prosecution is going to show how that in and of itself is a false statement."
Shawn explained how prosecutors would prove Trump broke the law.
"It'll have Michael Cohen on the stand has to find that it was all part of this cover-up scheme, that he took money from his home equity to pay Stormy Daniels, that the Trump organization reimbursed him," Shawn noted. "And this was all orchestrated by the former president."
"And he has a tape recording of the former president talking about about cash," the Fox News host added. "Do you think that will weigh in with the jury?"
"Well, it's going to come down to Michael Cohen's claims that Donald Trump essentially directed him to structure it this way," Cherkasky said in defense of Trump. "The question is whether this was actually a campaign expense that was not reported as such."
"Just because the story was more valuable because Donald Trump was running for office doesn't mean that the payments were made simply to influence the upcoming election," she remarked.
