You have to admire MSNBC's Lawrence O'Donnell. He is better at defending Michael Cohen's criminal behavior than even Michael Cohen. 

Cohen, you see, admitted twice in court that he stole from the Trump organization. You know, took money that wasn't his legally. 

That's not how O'Donnell sees it, though. Michael Cohen was such a loyal soldier for Trump that he was taking what was owed to him. It wasn't really stealing, but rather correcting an injustice. 

MSNBC’s @Lawrence O’Donnell defends Michael Cohen stealing from the Trump Org.: “Cohen [was trying] to rebalance the bonus he thought he deserved, & it still came out as less than the bonus he thought he deserved & the bonus he had gotten the year before” pic.twitter.com/UsdEfQUetR

— Tom Elliott (@tomselliott) May 20, 2024

If you ever embezzle, remember this excuse and call Lawrence O'Donnell as a witness to explain how much of an injustice it is that you couldn't steal even more money to make up for the fantasy salary you think you deserve. 

JUST IN: ‘Star witness’ Michael Cohen admits he stole $30,000 from the Trump Organization while getting questioned by Trump’s attorney.

Witch hunt.

Cohen said he requested $50k for IT services when the services were only $20k.

Attorney: “You stole from the Trump Organization,… pic.twitter.com/wT0bHbeY67

— Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) May 20, 2024

Admittedly, Michael Cohen is famously honest, so if he says he deserved the bonus he didn't get, he must have. And if you think you deserve a sum of money, it must be so. 

Cohen flat-out admitted on the stand at Trump’s hush money trial that he stole from the Trump Organization, describing billing the company for a $50,000 expense, but he only paid $20,000 of the actual bill in a bag full of cash. pic.twitter.com/fXIQykojb5

— I̾T̾'̾S̾🫦A̾S̾H̾ (@LegitAshQ) May 20, 2024

Ed, I deserve an extra $50 grand this month. Pay up. I have no way to steal it, so you have to cough it up. 

Other MSNBC analysts at least have the decency to admit that stealing the money didn't make Cohen look good, and CNN has been positively trashing the guy even before this new revelation. 

‘I’m Still Reeling!’: CNN Anchors Shocked by Revelation that Cohen Stole Money from Trump Organization

Jake Tapper on Monday reacted to the news that Manhattan D.A.'s "star witness" Michael Cohen stole $30,000 from the Trump Organization.

TAPPER: “Yeah. No, it’s — it’s… pic.twitter.com/6AEDBk90Vk

— Kyle Becker (@kylenabecker) May 20, 2024

If I didn't know better, I would be thinking that Alvin Bragg and Judge Merchan are Trump shills, working as hard as they can to expose the lawfare being waged against Donald Trump. But the truth is that they honestly believed that holding this trial and dragging it out as long as humanly possible would help President Biden and harm Donald Trump. 

They want to keep him off the campaign trail, but just as importantly they believed that creating the Narrative that Trump has been charged with 1001 felonies would convince people that he was a criminal and should never be president. 

Instead, the lesson people are taking away from this is that Democrats are corrupt, and many are seeing THEM as a threat to Democracy. If they are willing to set up Donald Trump, they sure as heck would be willing to set up you and me. 

Many in the news media are running away from the trial—not in coverage, since it makes good ratings—but in openly critiquing the prosecution's many failures and the bogus nature of the charges. Their legal analysts are panning the prosecution, openly amazed at how flimsy the evidence is, and disdainful of the witnesses. 

It takes a galaxy brain like O'Donnell to defend this travesty. Luckily, we get to see it. It is almost as fascinating as a train wreck.