May 16, 2024, 11:29 a.m. ET


Jonathan SwanReporting from inside the courthouse

A key question the jurors will have to answer for themselves is on what date — if at all — they believe Michael Cohen began telling the truth. Was it this week, when he started testifying in this case? Or before then? Todd Blanche is demonstrating that Cohen told lies, big and small, over a long period of time and for various reasons.

May 16, 2024, 11:30 a.m. ET

Jesse McKinleyReporting from inside the courthouse

Jurors might also need to consider a more philosophical question: can a liar sometimes tell the truth?


The prosecution should have (perhaps did) conditioned the jury to this in voir dire. The answer to McKinley’s question legally is “Yes.” Nobody gets excluded from testifying at a trial as long as they have relevant testimony and can take the oath to tell the truth. The jury weighs whether they think the witness is telling the truth on this occasion. But that an attentive NYT reporter is waxing philosophical on the question is a powerful sign that Cohen has been discredited.