SEATTLE NEWS ARCHIVES & FEATURES

Medved: Michael Cohen’s remarks undermined both himself and Trump’s defenders

Feb 27, 2019, 2:27 PM

michael cohen...

(AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

(AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

Taken from The Michael Medved Show on Wednesday. Edited for clarity.

My initial response to today’s hearing is two very obvious questions that nobody’s asking and nobody’s answering. Question one is for the Democrats: How does this hearing today help anyone? I understand they want him to testify publicly before he goes away to prison, but why is this important for the country right now? What is the new information that is being generated here?

And the question for Republicans — who are not defending President Trump, and are attacking Michael Cohen, who has lived much of his life as a slimy creature — is why did the President of the United States see fit to employ him and trust him for more than a decade?

RELATED: Attack on John Wayne Show the distance we’ve traveled

It seems to me that purpose of Cohen’s opening statements was to try to make himself seem if not pitiable, at least sympathetic, and the problem is that he undermines his own case for the same reasons that the Republican defenders of President Trump undermine their own case.

Republican defenders want us to believe that Michael Cohen is the worst person in the world; if they’re right and he is, then why did he continually work for Trump, and why was he entrusted with highly sensitive and highly dubious operations?

RELATED: Liberal racism poisons immigration debate

In addition to trying to garner sympathy for himself, much of the statement also seemed intent on portraying Trump as the worst person in the world. Cohen implies that Trump’s insanely paranoid about his college grades, a racist, a cheat who files false reports to banks.

If he claims that he knew these things about Trump, why did he continue to work for him? Why did he take these gigantic risks? Why did he help him become president?

FILE - A thick haze hangs over Manhattan in New York on July 20, 2021. (AP Photo/Julie Jacobson, Fi...

Associated Press

New York’s plan to charge fossil-fuel producers $75B for climate change damages is struck down

New York’s attempt to make fossil fuel-producing industries pay into a $75 billion fund to repair the damage wrought by climate change was struck down by a federal judge, who said the sweeping law reaches beyond a state’s responsibility and into an area of federal interest. The law, signed in 2024 by Democratic Gov. Kathy […]

21 minutes ago

venue seattle crocodile...

KIRO Newsradio Newsdesk

Madame Lou’s and Here-After combining into new social hall at The Crocodile

The Crocodile's new owners plan to gut Madame Lou's and Here-After and combine them into one larger space called Bottlerocket Social Hall.

2 hours ago

third and pine shooting 2020 three years sentence...

Charlie Harger

Harger: Somehow, three years is the full sentence for the Third and Pine shooting. Sentence served, says the state

Monday afternoon, the state sent out a notice that William Tolliver is out of prison. Sentence served. One person dead, seven others shot. He served a little more than three years for it.

2 hours ago

FILE - A now hiring sign is seen in front of an auto body shop in Chicago, June 25, 2026. (AP Photo...

Associated Press

U.S. job openings rise slightly to 7.3 million as labor market remains sturdy despite higher costs

WASHINGTON (AP) — Employers posted slightly more job openings in July but as the American labor market remained sturdy in the face of higher costs that are squeezing household budgets. U.S. job openings ticked up to 7.27 million in July from a revised 7.18 million in June, the Labor Department reported Tuesday. The department’s Job […]

2 hours ago

FILE - White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt speaks with reporters in the James Brady Press ...

Associated Press

For a century, journalists have had a voluntary ethics code. Editors are giving it an AI-era reboot

NEW YORK (AP) — Walk into a corner of a newsroom somewhere and you can often find it affixed to a bulletin board, perhaps peeking out from behind the coffee pot: the Society of Professional Journalists’s Code of Ethics. It’s less than a thousand words, fitting neatly on a poster. But those words — organized […]

2 hours ago

casino tukwila layoffs...

MyNorthwest Staff

Two Tukwila casinos closing Nov. 1, laying off 238 workers

Two Tukwila casinos are shutting down, meaning 238 employees will be out of a job. Maverick Gaming filed notices with the state Monday.

3 hours ago

Medved: Michael Cohen’s remarks undermined both himself and Trump’s defenders