Michael Cohen and Donald Trump/MSNBC screen shot
Legal analyst Andrew Weissmann was bothered by one line of questioning of Michael Cohen he said Donald Trump's lawyer was twisting out of context as cross-examination started in the hush money trial Tuesday.
MSNBC co-host Chris Jansing hushed the debating panel as they heard reports coming from the courtroom, saying, "It's getting a little brutal."
Inside the court, Jansing said that Trump's lawyer, Todd Blanche, over and over asked if Cohen, Trump's former lawyer and a key prosecution witness, was told to "stay away and not communicate with [Trump] and his family."
Cohen answered that he was told not to speak to Trump, but he wasn't told he couldn't see his children.
Read More: Michael Cohen: Trump mastered the art of the dodge to avoid accountability — until now
Weissmann, who previously served as the FBI's general counsel, said the questioning is "totally misleading."
"When a criminal investigation occurs, and I know this, both from the defense side and the prosecution side," he said, "Everyone is getting lawyered up. So, President Trump had lawyers. Michael Cohen had lawyers. All of those lawyers will say to their clients, do not speak. The principals should not speak to each other. It goes through counsel."
The defense team attempted to, among other things, claim that Cohen was angered because he was being shunned by Trump, said Weissmann.
"No one's shunning each other," he said. "In fact, the fact that all of them have counsel and are being told don't speak to each other is in the interest of everyone in the conspiracy. It's standard practice. To make that a motive of — 'Oh! See! You were shunned outside of the group.' That's not what happened."
Co-host Katy Tur pointed out that in Trump's orbit, it isn't unusual for people to have a love-hate relationship with him based on how he treated them in public at the time.
See the full conversation below or at the link here.
'Getting brutal': Trump's lawyer pokes Cohen using 'totally misleading' information www.youtube.com
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