Shameful
His testimony was emotional and riveting. His admission of guilt was dramatic. The assembled politicians of every political stripe were in thrall. His message could not have been clearer:
“I’ve made the worst mistake of my life.”
“I should never have let myself be lured to commit a crime.”
“The administration should never manipulate people like myself.”
And, finally:
“I beg for forgiveness.”
Quite a dramatic mea culpa, wouldn’t you agree? Did Michael Cohen suddenly see the light? Did he suddenly realize the error of his ways as a Trump “enabler”?
Hardly. The quotations listed above were not made by Mr. Cohen. ALL of the quotations were made two years ago by Otto Warmbier, the very unfortunate American student accused by North Korea of the alleged “severe crime” of stealing a political banner. Despite these emotional pleas, readers will recall that Mr. Warmbier was subsequently sentenced to 15 years of hard labor and jailed under inhumane conditions for months until he was returned to the United States in a coma from which he never recovered. The reader can watch Warmbier’s “confession” with the following link:
All Americans, I think, will recognize Warmbier’s “confession” as a text book example of a coerced confession made under duress.
The legal definition of duress is:
Duress is a threat of harm made to compel someone to do something against their will or judgment.
-Black’s Law Dictionary, 8th Edition.
Coerced testimony is considered to be included in this definition. There are, literally, thousands of legal citations which indicate that such testimony is not considered valid, and most jurisdiction prohibit even showing it in court.
Was Mr. Cohen coerced? Of course he was. He is facing 3 years in prison for tax violations and lying to Congress. By showing soulful remorse and, more importantly, attacking Mr. Trump (whom he called a “con man and a cheat”), Cohen was doing everything in his power to justify leniency in his future parole process.
Now, Mr. Cohen’s motivation in this matter is certainly understandable. And, some people might even defend his behavior as a justifiable attempt to save himself. What is NOT defensible, however, is that he was given the platform to do so. Not only was it obvious that Mr. Cohen’s testimony was coerced, and, consequently, should not be given a public hearing, but that testimony comes from a man who had been CONVICTED OF LYING UNDER OATH. There is simply NO justification for giving a platform to a convicted lier under duress. And, by the way, what ever happened to attorney client privilege?
Yesterday’s spectacle by Mr. Cohen was not only self serving, it was illegal. And, by the way, I heard NOTHING in his “testimony” that remotely reached the bar of “high crimes and misdemeanors” which would be necessary for an impeachment conviction. Yesterday, Mr. Trump called the whole proceeding shameful. Indeed it was.