It happened again. First, ABC Good Morning America co-host George Stephanopoulos interviewed current Trump lawyer Joe Tacopina about a hush-money payment to porn star Stormy Daniels. Then on Friday, Stephanopoulos returned to the bimbo-eruption beat to interview former Trump lawyer Michael Cohen.
George was much milder this time. He sounded like he was prepping Cohen for the hard work ahead. He began: “So you have spent days with prosecutors. Based on all that, are you convinced an indictment of President Trump is coming? Are you prepared for cross-examination?”
Cohen said “absolutely,” and added “I talk about the credibility issue that everybody wants to attack me on. They want to attack me on the five counts of the tax evasion or the misrepresentation.”
In his toughest line to Cohen, he noted “Well, you are a convicted liar.” Cohen objected, naturally, saying he lied for Trump, so you should believe him now. It continued:
STEPHANOPOULOS: So you’re ready for the cross-examination. I spoke with one of president trump’s attorneys earlier this week. He’s been doing the rounds of the media as well, and one of their arguments is that the president’s denial of making a payment to stormy Daniels was not a lie and making the payment was not a crime.
COHEN: Right, obviously you’re talking about Joe Tacopina. The guy looks completely unhinged. I predict that Donald will cut him loose. He’s done an absolutely horrible job and you know Donald well. If you don’t do right by him, if it makes him look foolish, which Tacopina made him look foolish, he cuts you loose.
That sounds bitter. Then the ABC “newsman” just underlined how Team Trump would attack: “One thing that’s being signaled by Trump and his attorneys they’re going to come hard both at you and the prosecutors arguing political bias, again, saying that you are a liar.”
That’s obviously the way Stephanopoulos worked for Clinton, like in squashing press interviews with former Secret Service agent Gary Aldrich when he came out with a tell-all book.
Cohen boasted “I’m not worried about it. The facts are the facts. The truth is the truth, and the truth will always rise, so I’m not worried about anything that they want to come at me with.”
Stephanopoulos closed with puffballs: “You know, you’ve obviously turned on former President Trump. You believe now he is a danger to democracy. You helped him for so many years. You also paid a high price for that. What’s your biggest regret?”
After Cohen said he should have never worked for Trump, George closed: “Think justice is gonna be served?” Cohen answered: “I know it will be.”
This softball interview was supported in part by Colgate.
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