Ex-Trump Lawyer Says Michael Cohen Is ‘Connecting’ With Jury

Former Donald Trump attorney Tim Parlatore said on Wednesday that Michael Cohen, also Trump’s former attorney, is “connecting with the jury” amid Trump’s criminal trial in New York.

Parlatore, who exited Trump’s legal team in May, said on CNN when asked if Cohen is coming across as credible, “I think it’s difficult for somebody with that history to generally come across as credible, but from what I hear, he has been connecting with the jury and really kind of telling them the story. So, it is something … they’ve done a good job trying to corroborate the pieces that they can and hope that the jury will connect with them on the pieces that they can’t.”

Cohen, the star witness for the prosecution, has alleged that Trump forged financial documents in an attempt to conceal a hush money payment that Cohen made to adult-film actress Stormy Daniels during the 2016 presidential campaign. Trump, the presumptive Republican nominee in the 2024 election, denies that he had sexual relations with Daniels and has pleaded not guilty to all charges.

Newsweek has reached out to Trump’s campaign via email and Cohen via LinkedIn for comment ahead of Thursday’s trial.

Parlatore also said on CNN that Trump attorney Todd Blanche really needs to “refocus on inconsistencies within the testimony [Cohen’s] itself … and if you can show the jury, you know, really, that he lied about anything during the questioning by the prosecutors, I think that that’s going to be much more effective than just simply saying, ‘You said this on Tik Tok about Donald Trump.'”

Newsweek senior reporter Katherine Fung has been following Trump’s trial from inside the courtroom and watched as Cohen faced questions from both the prosecution and defense this week. Fung described Cohen’s demeanor on Monday as both “calm” and “somber” while on the stand. He was also asked numerous times this week by prosecutor Susan Hoffinger if he had bullied people and lied while working for the former president. Cohen stated he had done both.

Trump, meanwhile, on Tuesday was seen at the trial accompanied by North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum; Representative Byron Donalds of Florida; former Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy; Trump’s middle son Eric Trump; and Lara Trump, Eric’s wife and co-chair of the Republican National Committee. House Speaker Mike Johnson was also seen with the former president outside the courtroom and delivered remarks outside the courthouse, saying in part, “[former] President Trump is a friend and I wanted to be here to support him.”

When asked if the congressional members and lawmakers inside the courtroom could impact the jury, Florida’s Palm Beach State Attorney Dave Aronberg told Newsweek on Wednesday, “I don’t think it will impact the jury. The jury is told not to watch any media reports about the trial and to base their decision only on the evidence and the law. I don’t think a bunch of political speeches, even outside the courthouse, will change that.”

Trump’s trial will resume on Thursday with Cohen back on the stand.