So far, Donald Trump's hush money case in New York City has had a lot in common with cases concerning organized crime. Many of the witnesses in the case come from non-traditional backgrounds or have spent time in prison.
One might think that people with these types of issues may be bad witnesses in a trial. But during a weekend piece for MSNBC, former federal prosecutor Glenn Kirschner explained why the witnesses could help the prosecution.
Noting that Cohen is, "a nearly perfect cooperating witness," Kirschner continued, "He was in direct communication with the bigger criminal fish. He even had a covert audio recording that helped prove Trump was involved in the corrupt scheme to hide damaging information for political advantage. Cohen testified that he committed crimes at the direction of Trump and, importantly, for the benefit of Trump."
Kirschner then wrote:
"In closing arguments, defense attorneys frequently fall into a trap of urging the jury to disbelieve a cooperating witness’ testimony that incriminates their client but believe the same testimony when it incriminates the witness. The defense attorney likely will tell the jury, 'You can’t credit Cohen’s testimony because he’s a thief, having stolen from the very person he, as an attorney, was supposed to zealously represent.' That argument carries some superficial appeal."
You can read the piece in its entirety here