Why pros­e­cu­tors in Trump’s hush mon­ey tri­al are telling the jury about all of their star witness’s flaws

Michael Cohen, for­mer Pres­i­dent Don­ald Trump’s ex-lawyer and a key wit­ness in his hush mon­ey tri­al, has quite a few detrac­tors in the New York court­room.
Pros­e­cu­tors have been con­tribut­ing to skep­ti­cism about their star wit­ness by high­light­ing per­son­al­i­ty flaws and his alleged wrong­do­ing. Those pros­e­cu­tors, jurors, and even the judge in the case have crit­i­cized Cohen’s actions. It may not make sense that pros­e­cu­tors are using him as a crit­i­cal cog in a machine that aims to con­vict Trump on 34 felony counts and could be under­min­ing the for­mer attorney’s cred­i­bil­i­ty at the same time.
But it’s inten­tion­al.
Pros­e­cu­tors are hop­ing the jury dis­likes Cohen enough to reflect those feel­ings as a “boomerang” effect against Trump, who once called him a “very tal­ent­ed lawyer.” They are try­ing to put Cohen in a frame on their own terms — before the for­mer president’s team can do …