Michael Cohen, the former lawyer of ex-President Trump, criticized the Department of Justice (DOJ) for not being clear in the New York hush money case before a hearing on Monday.
Cohen, Trump’s past fixer, appeared on MSNBC’s “The Weekend” Saturday where he expressed anger that his request for documents in the case has been met with silence, while his former boss requests documents and they suddenly appear.
“I’d like to know what’s happening. I’d like to know what’s happening with the SDNY, which is concerning, I’d like to know what’s happening with the DOJ,” he said, referring to the district court.
“What’s happening here? Those documents belong to the people and should have been released under the FOIA because I’ll tell you what those documents will reveal,” Cohen continued. “It will reveal that Donald Trump, with a willing and complicit Attorney General, misused the United States Department of Justice and unconstitutionally reinterpreted the United States Constitution.”
The trial was supposed to start Monday, but has been postponed for several weeks due to new relevant documents. It could still go to a jury soon, marking Trump’s first criminal trial.
Instead, Judge Juan Merchan scheduled a hearing on Monday to address the last-minute evidence presented by Trump’s lawyers. His lawyers asked for requested a minimum 90-day delay to review the over 100,000 pages of records federal prosecutors provided.
Prosecutors believe that only 270 documents, related to Cohen’s federal criminal case, are relevant and were not previously disclosed.
Earlier this week, Merchan decided on over a dozen requests from both sides to exclude different evidence in the case against Trump. The decision will allow permitted Cohen and adult film star Stormy Daniels to testify at the trial, despite Trump’s objections.
The decision means Daniels, who claimed she was paid hush money by Cohen to keep quiet about her alleged affair with Trump, will be involved in the case. The actress stated in a recent documentary that she only accepted the money because she feared for her life.
Trump, the probable GOP nominee for president, has been accused of 34 counts of falsifying business records related to reimbursements he gave to Cohen for a hush money payment to Daniels before the 2016 election. The former president pleaded not guilty.
