A Tempest in the Testimony

I normally watch the news as I brew my morning cup of tea. As we were experiencing a significant winter storm, I was anxious to check school closures and road conditions. I was disappointed to find all news channels filled with Michael Cohen’s congressional testimony. I could either turn off the TV or watch the proceedings as I prepared my scrambled eggs with toast. I thought I could at least find out how Mr. Cohen got into so much trouble. After three cups of tea, I was left wondering why all the hype.

I still don’t know what Cohen did wrong. I understand that he plead guilty to a felony campaign finance law violation, but I don’t understand what law he violated. I try to keep up with the national news and followed the Stormy Daniels story. As I understand the sequence of events, she blackmailed Candidate Trump, and rather than fight the issue, the candidate had his personal lawyer pay her demand. I am still waiting for someone to tell me the difference between extortion and hush money. Cohen paid Daniels and was reimbursed by the candidate who was funding part of his campaign out of his own pocket. I still don’t see a violation, but the investigators found condemning evidence when they got a warrant and searched Cohen’s apartment. Cohen was Trump’s lawyer. I thought all communications between a lawyer and client were privileged. I guess the investigators found a loophole and convinced Mr. Cohen that he had to testify against his boss or go to jail for a long, long time. The whole thing smells of strong-arm tactics to me. The law is supposed to protect us. In this case, it didn’t protect Mr. Cohen from the government.

As part of the deal, Cohen had to agree to appear before the House Oversight Committee. This committee has the power to investigate anything it chooses and has unlimited power to subpoena. I don’t know about you, but if I were called before this august body, I would be intimidated to the point of terror. I’m not sure what the committee members wanted from Mr. Cohen, but I don’t think they got it. The headline moment was when Cohen called his ex-boss a racist, a con man, and a cheat. This statement may be true, but how does that make Trump any worse than a lot of other politicians? The racist evidence was a conversation in which Mr. Trump admits that he has trouble appealing to black voters. Wow! I am underwhelmed. The con man and cheat evidence is equally unimpressive. The one answer that actually impressed me was when Mr. Cohen said he had no evidence of collusion between Trump’s campaign and Russia. As I recall, the allegation of collusion started this whole investigative marathon. After thoroughly intimidating this witness, they have his answer; he knows of no collusion.

As I have stated before, I am not a fan of President Trump. I am even less a fan of abuse of power. Mr. Cohen was caught up in a power struggle initiated by those who want to discredit the President. Power politics destroyed Michael Cohen. The Democrats strong armed him, he was too weak to fight them off, and his boss abandoned him. I see him as a victim of adversarial party politics. How many more victims will there be? The American people deserve better than this.

(Frank Watson is a retired Air Force Colonel and a long time resident of Eastern Washington. He has been a free lance columnist for more than 18 years.)