Ever since he testified to Congress back in February of 2019, it’s been clear that Michael Cohen — who served as former President Donald Trump’s personal attorney for over a decade — presents a clear and present danger to Trump due to his intimate knowledge of the Donald’s finances and other secrets.
Now, however, with New York authorities reportedly preparing to charge Trump and the Trump Organization with tax crimes, Cohen may become the “star witness” against the former president, according to former federal prosecutor Elie Honig.
Honig was a guest on CNN Tuesday morning, and he laid out what we already know about the investigation being conducted by Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance, Jr.:
“The core theory of the case is that the Trump Organization would falsely inflate or deflate the value of their assets depending on the situation. For example, when they were applying for a large bank loan the theory is they would falsely inflate the value of their assets so they could get bigger loans, but when it came time to pay taxes, they would falsely deflate the value of their assets because they didn’t want to pay as much taxes.”
Cohen would be essential in helping prove Vance’s case against Trump, Honig continued, because he served as a “fixer” for the former president:
“The star witness could be Michael Cohen. We know he’s talking to the Manhattan D.A., spoke to them last month, January 2021, and we have an idea of what he might be telling them because he testified about this in Congress back in 2019.”
Honig also predicted that the Manhattan D.A. will bring a “strong case” against Trump, but added he doesn’t expect that the former president will “take this case lying down.”
However Trump takes the case, it’s clear that prosecutors in New York do indeed seem to be moving closer to handing down indictments against the ex-president and his company. And if Cohen provides testimony that helps convict Trump, it would be some sweet payback for him considering that he had to go to prison for things he did to shield his former client.
Featured Image Via NBC News
