'That's the whole point': CNN's Kaitlan Collins shuts down Trump lawyer on hush money case
Kaitlan Collins jousted with former Donald Trump attorney William Brennan over the specifics over how prosecution star witness Michael Cohen was repaid by his future commander-in-chief boss for buying the silence of porn star Stormy Daniels ahead of the 2016 election.
Collins confronted Brennan, who served as an esquire for Trump's payroll corporation tax fraud case, about the circumstances involving Cohen's payback.
"Why did Donald Trump cut Michael Cohen 11 checks and sign them pursuant to an invoice that said it was because of a legal retainer?" she asked, noting that Cohen admitted in testimony that has never had a legal retainer while working under Trump's employ.
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The former president, who faces potential jail time if convicted for the 34 counts of falsifying business records — one for each record involved in the reimbursement of Cohen: 11 checks, 11 invoices and 12 entries in the Trump's books — has pleaded not guilty and claimed these were legitimate legal expenses.
Brennan retorted that there are a variety of ways to set up retainers and it's not all cut and dry.
"When you have a new client, you must express in what you call it an engagement letter or fee agreement, or a retainer agreement of the terms and scope of your representation," he said. "However, when it's a recurring client, you need not do so. So I think it's kind of a term of art that we lawyers..."
But Collins wasn't convinced.
"But they paid him pursuant to a retainer; that's the product — that's the whole point — is if there's not a retainer, then why did he pay him pursuant to a retainer?"
Brennan appeared to momentarily be rowing in shallow water.
"Kaitlan, I mean again it's tomato, tomato to me — when somebody says, 'What's your retainer?' I hear 'What's your fee?'"
Cohen, who was the former president's fixer, testified to a pair of central meetings that dealt with the alleged crime.
One took place in early 2017 where Trump supposedly first became privy to the plan to fudge the records. A month later, the next meeting in the Oval Office had the 45th president confirm his intention to remit a check to Cohen.