I would say that 70% of CNN's coverage of the trial today

[senseandsensibility]

is bashing Cohen. I recorded Wolf Blitzer's show and fast forwarded through it. They did cover the dressing down of Costello, but other than that it has all been "Cohen is a liar!" "Cohen is a thief!" One of their guests reminded Wolf that Cohen was hired by cheato, and he is not the one on trial.

Forty minutes into the show, they began a separate segment on Cohen, going through all his misdeeds and lies already covered at the beginning.

I don't know about you, but I get that he's a liar. I don't need it repeated for forty minutes. MSNBC is so much better and so much more insightful. Andrew Weissman pointed out that we only know about Cohen's theft because he admitted it, but we are not to believe anything else he says even with supporting evidence?
And I'm sure Lawrence will have much more interesting coverage tonight.

[Ocelot II]

1. Cohen is indeed a sketchy character, but that's really the point.

Trump wouldn't have hired a fixer who wasn't sleazy and dishonest. Cohen is really more of an exhibit than a witness; he's evidence of the kind of operation Trump was running, and specifically the kind of person he had to use to cover up what he'd done. Anyhow, the prosecutor has the documents backing up Cohen's most significant testimony.

[senseandsensibility]

2. Yes, but if today is any indication

CNN is not interested in the supporting evidence that the prosecution has. They are not criticizing the defense for not addressing the evidence. It's all "Cohen lied!"

[Ocelot II]

17. The jury isn't watching CNN.

[getagrip_already]

3. Yeah. What they choose not to mention is....

That while he WAS a liar and thief, he is now telling the truth.

That is what the jury needs to decide. Is he now telling the truth about his past lies and crimes?

My take is they will believe him. He is coming across as credible, contrite, and resolved to correct his mistakes.

He really has no reason to lie, and every reason to be honest. He is still on probation, and new charges would send him away for a very long time.

[Oldtimeralso]

4. Is it theft?

Cohen knows that the mango moron is widely known for not paying for goods and services. He was just using a tactic of his client to insure that he would get anything. As far as being a liar, who is he working for? 31,000 plus lies during during the term of his boss.

[senseandsensibility]

5. Well, you bring up a good point.

They can only call it theft because he admitted to it.

[spanone]

6. I saw Lanny Davis (Cohen lawyer) on with Wolf Blitzer.....

Wolf asked if the prosecutors were going to charge Cohen for the $30,000 he stole from the trmp org.
Davis told Wolf that Michael Cohen is not the defendant.

Dumbfuck msm

[miyazaki]

7. It's being coordinated from the top.

There has been a sharp shift with their anchors I've certainly noticed going back a year and a half or so. Very apparent, as if they've been thrown a playbook and directed to stick to it.

[MadameButterfly]

9. We have to keep in mind that the owners of all the networks are conservative,

not just Fox, but also CNN and MSNBC. They'll switch to a conservative POV if they think it will make more money or if their politics matter more to them than money, or perhaps in preparation for a Trump presidency.

They've definitely given up their liberal leanings and are gradually turning into Fox. They could do that to MSNBC if they want, and probably would if Trump were to win. We need a truly Democratic-owned network.

Not that Olberman is the only word on this, but listen to his podcasts for a clue of behind the scenes at these networks. He forecast the shift in CNN the second a new CEO was hired a couple of years ago.

[miyazaki]

11. Word.

[NanaCat]

14. The traitor media never had liberal leanings

Somewhere, video exists of the NBC newsroom cheering at the announcement of Nixon's 1968 victory.

A liberal media wouldn't have spent years carrying the GQP water about the Clinton 'scandals' like Whitewater and Travelgate. A liberal media would have focused on the reality that the allegations were not only lies, but stupid as well.

A liberal media wouldn't have even noticed allegations of Gore claiming to invent the internet, or covered his 'sighing' for days on end.

A liberal media wouldn't have made a big deal about Howard Dean's 'scream.'

A liberal media wouldn't have given one pixel of column space to the Swiftboat lies about John Kerry.

A liberal media wouldn't have acted like Sarah Palin was a serious VP candidate.

A liberal media wouldn't have wasted a second complaining about Obama's tan suit or what mustard he put on a hamburger.

A liberal media wouldn't have given credence to the lies about Hillary failing to protect Benghazi, or the email nonsense, or the Clinton Cash lies.

The GQP traitor lapdog media has never hidden that they are right wing traitors. They've reveled in it.

It's sort of sad that so many people have taken so long to see the light--and some still haven't. Many of them are right here on DU, defending a media that has betrayed the country repeatedly in the name of profits.

[MadameButterfly]

16. Remember how they went after Jimmy Carter's

official's Bert Lance and Cyrus Vance, claiming there was a "sleeze-factor" in the Carter administration? I recall Jimmy replying "There's nothing sleezy about Bert Lance." Still he was forced to resign in scandal, later cleared of all charges. Vance stayed on, but the media still had a lot of fun with the Lance/Vance rhyme and lumped them in together.

With Jimmy Carter's post presidency reputation, it seems comical that anyone could ever call him sleezy. But that's what Republicans do to every Democratic president (or presidential candidate) and they couldn't get away with it if the media was doing it's job.

[MadameButterfly]

18. Gary Hart's political career was destroyed by a photo that

Rachel Maddow now claims was a Republican staged trick, accusing him of an affair that never happened.

John Kerry was made to look too wealthy riding on a wind-surfer, and suspicious in hunting fatigues, while George W. Bush posed as a political ousider and a rough and tumble Texas rancher (despite a New England birth, a legacy admittance to Yale, and a grandfather who made much of his fortune working with a German Nazi company).

Dukakis was portrayed as heartless for being consistent in his position on the death penalty, saying he wouldn't apply it even if his wife was raped. Besides looking awkward in a tank. Oh, and they found one parollee who committed murder in Massachussets, so that was Dukakis' fault. No matter Bush's pardons (recommended by Bill Barr) to cover up involvement in Iran-Contra and Irangate.

i recall even NPR going on and on about who looked more presidential. I would yell at the radio to please talk about the issues. i think that was between Dukakis and Bush. Then there was "Who would you rather have a beer with?" That was either Kerry or Gore with W.

Issues favor Democrats, so they have to make it about something superficial.

[bullimiami]

8. Yes he was a fucking lying gangster and his crime boss was trump. Another cheating liar.

[MadameButterfly]

10. It's practically humorous that they are going after Cohen for lying

as a defense for Trump, the lying-est person on the planet (along with maybe a couple of other dictators, like Putin, Trump's mentor)

[senseandsensibility]

12. Yes, it seems that cheato's lies no longer register with CNN

What happened to Daniel Dale, their fact checker?

[ThoughtCriminal]

13. Not following closely, but...

Have they shown that Cohen ever told a lie that was NOT related to PROTECTING Trump?

[Bucky]

15. Cohen was always the weak link in this case. That, plus...

...it's a collection of misdemeanors that only by virtue of the conspiracy can be rolled up into a felony charge. It's the weakest of the cases against Trump, frankly.

The gods of statistical probability smiled on The Donald when they handed the slam dunk documents case to Aileen Cannon. Almost tempts me to believe that God is trying to make Donald Trump president. Only question is for what sin are we being punished with this human plague?

[miyazaki]

19. I also see CNN brought back the Haberman Unit

They probably thought turning her off for a few days was a good idea after being outed as a Trump Stooge. Not that we already didn't know. JFC.