Attorneys George Conway and Arthur Aidala erupted at each other during a CNN panel on Thursday over former President Donald Trump’s ongoing hush money trial in New York and the credibility of the key witness: former Trump attorney and convicted felon Michael Cohen.
Prosecutors say that right before the 2016 election, Trump arranged for Cohen to pay off porn star Stormy Daniels to keep her from revealing Trump had an affair with her in 2006. Trump later reimbursed Cohen, the prosecution alleges.
The former president has rejected the claims and denies the tryst with Daniels. He has pleaded not guilty to falsifying business records as part of the alleged arrangement.
“At the end of the day, what’s a reasonable doubt?” said Conway during the panel. “A reasonable doubt has to be that there has to be some plausible, alternative explanation for all these things that happened, and at the end of the day, I think it’s gonna be hard for the jury to believe that Donald Trump didn’t know that these payments were for–”
Aidala then interrupted:
George, at the end of the day, an experienced lawyer of your magnitude, you know what you would say if you were tried in this case? You know what you would say to the jury? “Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, you’re one of the luckiest juries around because you got to meet Mr. Reasonable Doubt. You saw him walking here, you saw him walk in here, you saw him take the stand.” If there’s any human being on the planet Earth that should be– his picture should be next to the definition “reasonable doubt,” it’s Michael Cohen.
“No, no, no,” protested Conway, to which Aidala replied, “Why? His history of being a liar, of being a fraud.”
Conway shot back, “As opposed to the defendant?” before bursting into laughter.
“The defendant’s credibility, unless he takes the stand, is not on trial,” Aidala argued.
Conway insisted, “It is! Because he’s been saying all sorts of stuff. They’ve been showing him lying and lying and lying.”
“No, no, no! It is all about Michael Cohen,” Aidala replied. “Two months ago, he got in trouble, Michael Cohen, for submitting fake cases to a judge when he has his probation. He lied to a federal judge, two months ago!”
“Show us something he lied about that has something to do with what he’s saying on the stand!” Conway demanded.
Aidala concluded, “The guy spent Christmas in Otisville. Everyone should know that’s a prison.”
Watch above via CNN.
