On CNN's New Day, Alysin Camerota brings on legal analyst Jeffrey Toobin to comment on the opening statement released by Michael Cohen last night.
"You've looked through these 20 pages of blockbuster testimony that we are previewing this morning. What jumps out at you?" she asked.
"Well, as I was reading it, I was trying to divide it into allegations that are sort of morally reprehensible, the racist comments about African Americans, things like that. and the legally imperiling parts of it," Toobin said.
"And there are plenty of both. There are any number of crimes, actual crimes, which he implicates the president in. Among them are bank fraud. I mean, he talks about false financial statements that were submitted to Deutsche Bank to get loans. That is classic bank fraud. Again, if it's true. There's an extraordinary story in here, I haven't heard whether you've talked about it yet, involving a fraud involving his foundation where he uses a straw donor to buy a portrait of him and then reimburses the donor. Another, you know, if true, an outright fraud.
"And, of course, perhaps the most important part of it which is the Roger Stone conversation about Wikileaks which implicates him in the entire collusion issue."
"Stand by one moment because first to CNN, we have a new piece of evidence that Michael Cohen promised in this statement he would deliver, is the check that he promised he would deliver under oath that he says and shows on this check is from Donald J. Trump, 725 Fifth Avenue, New York, New york, it is dated August 2017," John Berman said.
"He was president of the United States when he wrote this and it is signed with the president's signature on the bottom for $35,000. Cohen says this was the reimbursement, part of the reimbursement for the payments to Stormy Daniels. This is evidence that Michael Cohen is providing, Jeffrey. What does it mean?"
"Just to put it in context for people, Michael Cohen has pleaded guilty to facilitating an unlawful campaign contribution by giving money to Stormy Daniels for her silence. That is one of the crimes to which he pleaded guilty for. This is money that went from this straw company to Stormy Daniels. This check, according to -- according to cohen, is a reimbursement for the money that went to Stormy Daniels. So if it is what Cohen says it is, if that check is the reimbursement, we don't see it on the check, it's a participation in criminal conspiracy," Toobin said.
He pointed out that this is evidence submitted to the Southern District of New York, for crimes in which Michael Cohen pleaded guilty.
Cohen has no incentive to lie, and every incentive to tell the truth. It should be quite a day, folks.
