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Manhattan DA Withheld Exculpatory Evidence from the Trump Grand Jury
Independent Sentinel ^ | By M Dowling - March 22, 20232

Posted on 03/22/2023 11:27:52 AM PDT by Red Badger

Michael Cohen‘s attorney, Robert Costello, was on Tucker Carlson’s Fox News show and Rob Schmitt’s show on Newsmax, making the same comments each time. He explained that the Manhattan prosecutor had 321 emails and cherry-picked six to show to the grand jury. The prosecutor shared INCOMPLETE EVIDENCE with the grand jury.

That’s not justice.

Mr. Costello absolutely shredded Michael Cohen as a serial liar and completely untrustworthy.

Cohen’s former attorney was shocked that the Manhattan DA was going forward since their case depends on Michael Cohen, a convicted perjurer. Schmitt asked him about the cherry-picked emails and if that amounted to withholding exculpatory evidence.

Mr. Costello said, “I think it’s giving the grand jury incomplete evidence. I asked them during my grand jury proceeding to deliver the entire 321 emails because they are chronological, step-by-step, day-by-day communications, between Michael Cohen and myself, and between myself and my partner Jeff Citron, about Michael Cohen. And if you want to get a clear view of exactly what was going on, you need to see everything. You don’t just cherry-pick six out of 321. That’s less than 2%.”

Schmitt asked if he was shocked to learn that Alvin Bragg was going for something like this after the feds had already dumped it.” “Yes,” Costello said, “I mean, it just doesn’t make any sense. First of all, that, whatever case Alvin Bragg is bringing here rests almost exclusively on the credibility of Michael Cohen. Michael Cohen is a convicted perjurer. That was one of the counts that he pled guilty to. Besides being a convicted perjurer, if … the District Attorney went through those 321 emails, you will see probably another hundred lies that Michael Cohen made to us when we were representing him. It makes no sense. But if you look at those emails, you will see that one e-mail contradicts another e-mail, and Michael would forget that he took position A one day and position B a second day.

“So if you go to the end of the emails, which is really at the tail end of our representation and communication with Michael, you will see that there’s four or five emails in which he makes numerous false statements, and I respond and point out exactly why those statements were false, because and in fact, I said to him in one of the emails, Michael, you cannot write emails with false statements in it. I’m not going to let you. I’m going to respond each time, even though we thought that nobody would ever see those emails. This was a matter of principle. I would not let Michael Cohen write emails that were false and just sit by and do nothing.

Schmitt played a clip of Michael Cohen on MSNBC doing what he does best – Lying. He accused Mr. Costello of allegiance to Rudy Giuliani and Donald Trump. Mr. Costello said he never represented Donald Trump or any of his companies. It’s not about that. It’s about the truth. People should also know that Cohen waived attorney-client privilege.

[The Manhattan case rests on Donald Trump paying Stormy so he could win the presidency, but all the evidence indicates he did it to protect his marriage. Donald Trump denies ever sleeping with Stormy Daniels.]


TOPICS: Conspiracy; Government; History; Society
KEYWORDS: lockuptrump; nonsense; nyc; trump
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1 posted on 03/22/2023 11:27:52 AM PDT by Red Badger
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To: Red Badger

as far as I understand the process the DA only presents its evidence against the accused.

It has no obligation to present a defense. Which is why they say you could “indict a ham sandwich”


2 posted on 03/22/2023 11:29:14 AM PDT by TexasFreeper2009
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To: TexasFreeper2009

That’s is their objective.

Trump will make them regret it.................


3 posted on 03/22/2023 11:30:14 AM PDT by Red Badger (Homeless veterans camp in the streets while illegal aliens are put up in hotels.....................)
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To: TexasFreeper2009

You are correct — but most DAs wouldn’t do any of this knowing it would eventually lead to their cases falling apart.


4 posted on 03/22/2023 11:31:34 AM PDT by The Old Hoosier (Right makes might)
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To: Red Badger

Withholding Exculpatory Evidence
from any Agency is TERRORISM.

The DA and his controller Soros, are terrorists.


5 posted on 03/22/2023 11:34:48 AM PDT by Diogenesis (Si vis pacem, para bellum)
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To: Red Badger

But certainly not politically motivated.


6 posted on 03/22/2023 11:39:02 AM PDT by Huskrrrr (Alinsky, you magnificent Bastard, I read your book!)
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To: Diogenesis

The FIB apparently does the same everyday when dealing with “domestic terrorists” created in their fervent minds.


7 posted on 03/22/2023 11:40:05 AM PDT by Paladin2
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To: TexasFreeper2009

as far as I understand the process the DA only presents its evidence against the accused.

It has no obligation to present a defense. Which is why they say you could “indict a ham sandwich”
*********
True, but this needs to be changed. Otherwise, an accused can be put to the expense and risk of a trial even when there is a mountain of evidence in his favor — evidence that would have resulted in no trial if it had been seen. Why bother to have grand juries if they are only puppets of the prosecutor?


8 posted on 03/22/2023 11:44:46 AM PDT by Socon-Econ (adi)
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To: TexasFreeper2009

It gets trickier than that.

I have just gotten off a month of grand jury duty. We dealt with a lot of cases. One example: some of the evidence presented to us consisted of security camera footage. We actually had one full shooting scene captured on the security camera of a building across the parking lot.

So here’s the question: what if a corrupt prosecutor edits the video? Maybe he just cuts off the beginning or the end to delete footage that refutes his case. Is this legitimate? Of course not.

That is substantively no different from what Bragg appears to have done in this case.


9 posted on 03/22/2023 11:47:35 AM PDT by sphinx
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To: TexasFreeper2009

The prosecutor has the resources of the entire Gouvernement at his disposal. He/she is required by law to present the evidence all of it and to make it available to the defense.


10 posted on 03/22/2023 11:51:25 AM PDT by dirtymac ( Now Is The Time For All Good Men To ComeTo The Aid Of Their Country! NOW) )
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To: The Old Hoosier

A DA on the up and up wouldn’t have even gone to the grand jury if they were in possession of hundreds of pages of truly exculpatory evidence


11 posted on 03/22/2023 11:51:57 AM PDT by jpp113
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To: The Old Hoosier

Assuming the indictment occurs and Trump is charged, I look forward to the (legal) evisceration of Alvin.


12 posted on 03/22/2023 11:53:48 AM PDT by fretzer
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To: Red Badger

This is merely a high profile case. Our system of pseudo-justice often denies jurors the taped confession, the testimony of a person not Mirandized perfectly and the narcotics, guns and stolen property found without a minutely detailed search warrant. And DA’s often withhold exculpatory evidence to hurt a defendant they don’t like-——such as Trump. Both sides in the pseudo-justice system suffer.


13 posted on 03/22/2023 11:55:44 AM PDT by frank ballenger (You have summoned up a thundercloud. You're gonna hear from me. Anthem by Leonard Cohen)
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To: fretzer
Assuming the indictment occurs and Trump is charged, I look forward to the (legal) evisceration of Alvin.

Hopefully there are cameras in the court room.

14 posted on 03/22/2023 11:56:05 AM PDT by 1Old Pro
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To: TexasFreeper2009

It’s my understanding that if a DA fails to present exculpatory evidence that refutes an element of the crime, any subsequent indictment should be dismissed. The DA is also subject to professional disciplinary action.


15 posted on 03/22/2023 12:01:57 PM PDT by Stormy_MS1 (CHINA VIRUS!!)
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To: dirtymac

there is no defense during a grand jury. You are thinking of what is required during a trial.


16 posted on 03/22/2023 12:07:23 PM PDT by TexasFreeper2009
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To: Stormy_MS1

that’s at the trial, not the grand jury.


17 posted on 03/22/2023 12:07:38 PM PDT by TexasFreeper2009
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To: Red Badger
I watched Robert Costello's presentation on Tucker Carlson (here).

He is really putting his reputation on the line with this story.

18 posted on 03/22/2023 12:12:57 PM PDT by Steely Tom ([Voter Fraud] == [Civil War])
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To: TexasFreeper2009
There can be a defense during a grand jury. I was on a grand jury where the accused man and wife presented their defense. The whole case was a political hit job and the majority of the grand jury agreed and we voted "no bill" and the Asst DA was pissed.

You cannot be compelled to testify in a Grand Jury proceeding.

19 posted on 03/22/2023 12:14:42 PM PDT by frogjerk (More people have died trusting the government than not trusting the government.)
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To: frogjerk

how could the man and wife defend themselves at the grand jury, when they wouldn’t even be there?

quote from google “The process is not an adversarial process. The defendant is not present, and the defense attorney does not have a right to be in the room.”


20 posted on 03/22/2023 12:17:07 PM PDT by TexasFreeper2009
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