Readers Debate Michael Cohen’s Credibility: ‘Is There Any Reason Any of Us Should Believe’ Him?

“Michael Cohen is a liar.” Yes, he was Donald Trump’s liar on retainer. The project is “Trump Tower Moscow,” not “Cohen Tower Moscow” and Trump told the EXACT same lies, along with many, many others to the American people, but somehow, in the eyes of Republican in Congress, he’s still an upstanding individual? I wonder if they really believe they can still come out of this on top or if they’re just trying to stall until the next election.

How else do you know what goes on inside of a Crime Family? You find a criminal, a liar, a con man, inside that Crime Family, who is not quite the Boss.... and you get him to talk. Pretending that you can't believe Cohen because he is a "liar" is astoundingly naive, since rolling up the underlings to get to the Boss has been SOP since.... forever! Plus, Cohen has hard evidence, and has named the co-conspirators in the Trump Crime Family... There is no reason not to believe Cohen, unless you're a Republican who played a round of Golf with Trump and can testify that, "Well, The Don seemed honest to me"???

If he's saying the opposite of a President who has lied over 2000 times on fact check he's probably telling the truth. He has also been ventilated by the FBI. He's too scared to lie now. The FBI checks out every thing he says.

The most striking thing about those denouncing Cohen as a liar is that they conveniently overlook why he is going to prison: lying to protect Trump.

For a man who is going to prison for lying to Congress, what would be his motivation to do it again. Like him or not he I think he is telling what he believes to be the truth.

This is simple. Don't take Cohen's word for it. Prove him right or prove him wrong. Period.

Cohen lost all possibility of a Presidential pardon a long time ago. He has no motivation to lie now. Also keep in mind that hinting you want to be offered a job is not the same as actually applying for a job. The hint is the ego at work. The written application is the hope of a job. Thus it is possible for both statements to be true when they were made. Frankly though I cannot see anything Cohen gains now by lying so I believe his testimony.

Donald Trump has told more than 8000 lies since taking the oath of office. Cohen is amateur by comparison and he even brings with him hard written proof of much of his testimony. The Republicans will do everything to discredit him because they are complicit in Trump's crimes through their concerted efforts to keep the American people from knowing that Trump, their mascot, is a a lifelong criminal. Trump has continued to break the law since the GOP slipped him into the Oval Office. Perhaps they would like to initiate new hearings about Hillary's email server to create more smoke and confusion

The only meaningful parts of Cohen's testimony was the documentary evidence he provided, and when he hinted that the SDNY is investigating other illegal acts Trump may have committed. The rest was just theater.

No mass resignations? Not quite mass, more like a steady flow.

Simple enough: 1. The DOCUMENTS presented do not lie, and if Donald Trump, his son, and his chief financial officer signed checks to pay off Cohen for paying Stormy Daniels, they were part of a conspiracy to deliberately misinform the American public in the process of trying to win an election. 2. In many criminal prosecutions, one "bad guy" who has a criminal record is needed to describe what other "bad guys" may have done. That does not excuse "bad guy 1", who may also get convicted. However, for turning "state's evidence", "bad guy 1" may get a partial break when it comes to sentencing. MAY get a break. Not definitely will. Sounds like Michael Cohen, self-admitted criminal, to me. Without any documentation, he may or may not be telling the truth about Trump. With documentation or other corroboration, surprise, even a liar can tell the truth some of the time. That is all that is needed.

When I was younger, I taught my children a pneumonic for examining historic material. It was PROP, P- public or private (Private is more likely to be true.) R- reason to lie or distort O- Opinion of Fact P- primary or secondary The first P speaks against Mr. Cohen. R-I can see nothing that he can gain from this testimony. So this is in his favor. O- The statement contained verifiable supporting evidence and some people to talk to for further evidence were revealed during questioning. P- primary source, Mr. Cohen was directly involved in the events to which he bears witness. Although not perfect, the probability of accuracy seems to lie in his favor.

Want to wait and see where this goes in terms of real consequences before commenting. This is just the opening chapter. More to come I am sure!

Thanks Lela, Wrong question, in my view. Is there any reason anyone should believe anything Trump says at any time?

I don't think we have any choice, but to believe him. He brought proof, whether you like it or not. The Republican side attacked him only for being a liar, but had little evidence to prove him wrong and then trumpeted that he said he was not aware of collusion with Russia. Guys, you can't have it both ways. Plus, he was too busy threatening anyone who might attack or diminish the Donald to be part of the Russia scheme. It's like a member of the mafia that does the mafia don's bidding until they are turned and become state's witness. They may be unsavory, but they certainly know what went on and are happy to spill the beans. Let's face it, we have a president that has more in common with a mafioso than any previous president.

i watched the hearing, I was struck by the posturing and theater. I was sorely disappointed that very few on both the D and R side were actually interested in asking questions that would illuminate the truth. It was another "infomercial" for re-election. They all seem to forget that the oversight is on behalf of the american people, not their political party. I'm deeply sad to see the demise of america televised as infotainment.

I thought a comment made by a talking head was salient in putting Cohen's testimony in perspective. If liars as informants were not credible, the courts would not have been able to break crime syndicates. Put another way, the GOP in the hearings have resorted to the lowest rung of the lawyer's ladder: they don't have the facts, they don't have the law, all they can do is ague.

I believe Cohen over Trump any day in the week. Trump lies out of sheer force of habit. He is incapable of telling the truth.

I have been following the testimony of Michael Cohen with great interest. Logically, his testimony has to be the truth. Here’s why: 1. Mr Cohen has plead guilty to a number of charges including lying to Congress. I can only assume that he pled guilty because of the fact that there was overwhelming evidence of his guilt that could not allow for a verdict of not guilty. 2. If in fact we assume that he plead guilty of lying, it stands to reason that the opposite facts that he pled guilty to must be the truth. It does not make sense that because he lied before that the opposite facts are lies. 3. He has already been sentenced and is going to jail, so what would be his motive to lie. His testimony will not get him less jail time or anything else that he has already lost. As he said he cannot turn the clock back. 4. Why would he testify falsely now? Lying again would put him at risk for further charges to be filed against him and more jail time. It’s not logical. It’s an old lawyer strategy when cross examining a witness, who gives contradictory stores to ask “Are you lying now or were you lying then.” That strategy doesn’t work once the witness has been convicted of lying, because it is evident when the actual lying took place. Finally, Michael Cohen is not the first person to present these facts to the public. All emotions put aside, Mr. Cohen’s testimony has to be true. It’s the only logical answer.

Disbelieving someone caught lying once is no reason not to believe he or she is telling the truth at another time. Don't shut the man out because he admitted to lying and remember that Donald Trump tells lies and never admits to them.

Seriously, is there any reason we shouldn't believe him?

I found him pretty credible. He was careful, and did say that he hadn’t no knowledge of collusion, and also said he didn’t believe Trump had ever, or would ever hit his wife, as well as denying the existence of a “Love child”. If his objective was just to lie and trash Trump, he could have just lied about those things. As he had nothing to gain from lying here, and more to lose (increased jail time for again lying to Congress), I believe logic points to it being mostly truthful testimony.

Michael Cohen should have simply stated, "I'm a liar, I am a con man, I am a hoodlum. And I was hired by the president because he knew what I am. It takes one to know one." That is the most credible thing he can say. I don't understand the concern for Cohen's credibility. He's a liar, period. That alone is damaging to the president. There's no surprise that he broke the law. And there should be no surprise that the president hired him to break the law. It's what he does.

I don’t think Cohen has anything to lose. Having said that, most of what he said agrees with what was already in the public domain about Trump. He is a liar, cheat and a con man.

Everything Cohen said was believable: that Trump “talked in code”, that Trump asked his staff to lie for him everyday, that he inflated his assets’ values when looking to get a loan and deflated them when paying taxes, that he threatened academic institutions, that he cheated most contractors who did work for him, and that Stone called to brag about the information he got from Assange (which phone call should have immediately been reported to the FBI). Cohen could have lied and said he thought Trump would hit his wife, or that there was collusion with Russia. Cohen didn’t.

I found Mr. Cohen's testimony quite credible. However the antics of the GOP is another story. Apparently they have no moral compass. At no time did they have anything nice to say about the president nor did they defend him! Instead they attacked Mr. Cohen. Is this perhaps due to the fact that Mr. Trump is really a liar, cheat and a conman and they know it? Are they just trying to hold on to the power of the presidency? Mr. Cohen has already stood trial and been judged. Isn't it time we went after the real crook and any GOP members who have turned a blind eye, deaf ear to the appalling actions of the president Donald Trump.

The more important question is, what does it say about the "president"* that the dishonest and felonious Cohen was his personal lawyer and right hand fixer guy these past ten years?