April 15, 2023
DISCOVERY CHANNEL:
How Trump's Lawsuit Against Michael Cohen Could Backfire (DENNIS AFTERGUT, APRIL 15, 2023, Slate)
Vengeance is in Trump's blood, whether it was learned from his father, Fred--described by his niece, Mary Trump, as an emotionally abusive sociopath--or from his master-bully mentor, the disbarred lawyer Roy Cohn.In this case, Michael Cohen voluntarily cooperated with Manhattan prosecutors investigating Trump's actions. After multiple interviews with the district attorney's office, Cohen testified before the Manhattan grand jury that indicted Trump on 34 counts of false business entries on March 30. The charges against the former president relate to his alleged cover-up of a $130,000 hush money payment to Stormy Daniels on the eve of the 2016 election.There are two tip-offs that Trump's lawsuit against Cohen was brought in retribution for testifying against his former boss.First, Trump only sued Cohen after being indicted. Trump could have brought his legal action at any time over the three years since Cohen publicly testified against Trump to Congress in 2019.Second, Trump's lawyers tripped all over themselves trying to explain why they brought their complaint now. Cohen's conduct, they said, had "reached a proverbial crescendo and has left [Trump] with no alternative but to seek legal redress."It's the crescendo, stupid!Our eyes are not lying when we look at Trump and see a vindictive personality demonstrating an obvious, retaliatory motive. The problem for Trump is that his quest for payback often lands him back in the crosshairs of his targets. His suit against Cohen is likely to do just that.Trump just opened a pathway to discovery--and information for the public--that Cohen had sought in a different lawsuit which a judge reluctantly felt compelled to dismiss last November because of Supreme Court law limiting personal actions against government officials.
Posted by Orrin Judd at April 15, 2023 8:06 AM