Did anybody watch Barry Berke cross examine Lewandowski?

[NewJeffCT]

I heard he really gave a master class in how to cross examine a witness.

Link to tweet

?s=20

Text of tweet above:

Barry Berke absolutely killed it. Every lawyer and law student must watch this segment of the hearing. Such amazing cross-examination of Corey Lewandowski.

From tweet 177 - 206.

[malaise]

1. Berke nailed him to his own book cover

Absolutely delish!

[George II]

30. He did that a couple of times when Lewandowski said something like, "I can't talk about that"....

....and Berke came back with "but you could write about it!"

[MFGsunny]

55. WELL SAID as usual, malaise. K&R a million times over.

On top of it all, it occurs to me that main reason LewyLou is unaware of key parts of his own book (s) is because there is a CO-AUTHOR to them named David Bossie.

And, oh what further delish .... Bossie is president/chairman of Citizens United.

Check it out :: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1733113/bio

[malaise]

56. You mean he didn't read that either

Thanks for that link

[mcar]

2. I did

He was excellent. Lewy was squirming and sweating.

Berke led him along a path of "I don't know," "I don't recall." Then brought up Lewy's recent book, which had all of the things in it that he said he couldn't talk about or didn't remember.

Judiciary should have had him do a full hour or two as the entire hearing.

[NewJeffCT]

6. House Dems should cede all their time to Berke

for future witnesses

[mcar]

7. They really should

[Baitball Blogger]

16. +1

congresswoman pramila jayapal was good too.

[Peregrine Took]

21. Absolutely!

He's my new hero!

[NewJeffCT]

22. He kind of had a Clark Kent vibe about him

when looking at him

[Rebl2]

28. I second that!

[NastyRiffraff]

34. At the very least they should have him question first

then let the Committee members have their 5 minutes, like Rachel suggested tonight. Berke was definitely the best part of the hearing.

[Rebl2]

32. There were times

he didn’t seem to know what he wrote in his own book. Wouldn’t you think he would remember what he wrote in his own book? Maybe he didn’t write it?

[Mike Nelson]

3. Yes!

...it was great... got him to admit he was a liar. Masterful how he brought the book in and played on Corey's vanity and greed.

[azureblue]

4. what I got out of the hearing

was this oh so superior brat came in thinking he was going to stonewall and deride the committee. Then he got arrogant and made a fatal mistake by confirming, in one of his smug retorts, what the committee was after - obstruction of justice. Lew was so busy thinking he was playing games with the committee that he blurted out that important point.

[Mersky]

5. Yes, and I recommend watching Berke's questioning

For the most concise drilling down as to why lewandowski was called before the committee.

Starts at about 06:02:40

[NewJeffCT]

8. Thanks for that

I'll definitely need to look at the whole of it

[Mersky]

25. You're very welcome :)

I've gotta watch the first thirty mins or so, as I got into it a little late. Is worth witnessing, just be sure to wear some waders for the maga bs rolling in from the right.

[Perseus]

39. Lewandowski seems to like to play at being damn

What an ass! Amazing Berke's attitude, very professional.

He is a republican, Lewandowski, so I guess he will be seen in his circles very well when he admitted to lying to the American people on TV, and when admitting that he only tells the truth when under oath, and in front of Congress, other than that, like a good republican, he can lie whenever he finds it necessary.

[asiliveandbreathe]

9. This lawyer Barry Berke was on his game..even when Lewie spewed his venom like a rat cornered..

What was Lewies game? defending his behavior, because somehow growing up in Lowell Ma..not having all the advantages of a Harvard Education..trying to throw Berke off in someway?? - feel sorry for me 'cause I don't have the education you do?? playing the victim - pumping his book..became the right hand of the pos in the wh mean Lewie had made it? Tweeting his start of his campaign for NH Senate during recess??

I think psychologists will have a field day with that as well.

[Hermit-The-Prog]

10. encouraging that there are smart people reporting ...

I was afraid there were only game show hosts and sportscasters reporting on the hearings. I've only seen a little "analysis" and that was all about appearances and sounds.

The fact that Lewandowski tried to dodge and duck illustrates obstruction that is ongoing. Are any "news" organizations reporting this?

[StarfishSaver]

11. He was brilliant. It truly was a master class

Among other things he showed why a great trial attorney must be a good listener - to not just ask questions but to listen carefully to the answers and follow up

He also never took the bait, no matter how much the witness tried to egg him on. While it might have been more satisfying to some observers to watch him wrestle the witness to the ground, it was so much more effective for him to just look at him like he was crazy, stay focused and move on to the next question.

It was exciting to watch him at work!

[NewJeffCT]

12. That's part of the problem with the committee members questioning

there are a lot of smart Democrats on the committee, but too often they feel the need to respond to the bait from Lewandowski and also to get in their own one-liners/quips

[StarfishSaver]

13. Yes. And the 5 minute limitation is a problem since they feel the need to rush

to get their questions in, so there's little opportunity to follow up.

[George II]

15. Unfortunately that's been a House rule for some time. If only they could reduce the membership...

...of these committees and double their allotted time. Even ten minutes would give each one an opportunity to develop a line of questioning.

[StarfishSaver]

18. Reducing the number of members on committee is an advisable since they need a lot of to handle the w

Questioning witnesses is a really small part of what committee members do.

[George II]

20. I realize that - and that's something many people don't understand. There is a lot more...

...going on in the background than just occasional hearings.

There was one hearing back in the summer where many of the Democratic members yielded their time to one member who pursued a few lines of questioning rather than what we saw today, about 20 members disjointedly asking questions.

[StarfishSaver]

24. I've seen that happen with lower profile hearings

And, you're right, it works very well.

Unfortunately, they rarely do that for high-profile hearings like today because every member wants to get time. And that's not just ego. Their constituents expect to see them speak and they get really pissed off when they relinquish their time to someone else. Maybe because they assume that if their Member is not asking questions at a hearing, they're not really working.

[Grammy23]

17. And Lewandowski was very good at stalling...eating up time.

He pretended not to hear or understand the question. Asked for them to repeat the question. Acted snarky and made sarcastic remarks. Argued instead of answering the question. He ate up a lot of time by playing dumb or being a smart ass.

Then Barry Berke came along and wiped that smirk off of his face. It was a sight to see. Hope we see more of this guy because he made all the other bullsh*t of the day bearable.

[StarfishSaver]

19. "Then Barry Berke came along and wiped that smirk off of his face"

Didn't he though?

[Grammy23]

27. Yes, he did!

I hope he treated himself to a nice dinner and some adult beverages to celebrate his very good day!

He did good!

[mcar]

37. He never took the bait

That impressed me. He just looked a Lewy and went on.

[George II]

14. I saw every single second of it.

[calimary]

23. I missed some of it - including the good parts.

Had a pretty busy day today.

I’m glad it seems to have ended better than it was going earlier in the day, when the nasty little weasel was dancing all over Nadler and the Dems.

Glad it ended well.

MIGHTY glad!

[True Dough]

31. Here you go, calimary

Apologies for the quality, but it will allow you to get the gist of it.

[spanone]

26. K&R...

[BeyondGeography]

29. Star player

[Leith]

33. Berke's questioning was a thing of beauty

No wonder the rethugs stomped their little feet and tried to claim that an outside consultant wasn't "staff" and whined about points of order.

Berke was even better than Al Franken in terms of questioning a witness.

[MyOwnPeace]

43. Yes, I could see Al doing that........

but DAMN, that guy is good!

[shanti]

35. The Dems

should stick with this line of thinking. It's time to play hardball.

[badhair77]

36. Berke's Cross-exam renewed my faith that there's a chance

these thugs will see justice at some point. We need more Barry Berkes.

Plus it was near the end and CL thought he was home free, and then “BAM!” Where’s that smirk now, Corey?

[MyOwnPeace]

49. Oh, yeah!!!!

You're sitting there and watching another smirking monkey spew/throw the stuff that monkeys at the zoo do - and then there is this.....

Just SO encouraging, thrilling, giving one hope that indeed, truth, justice, and the "American way" (I'm sorry, my early days of TV were filled with Superman!) can still possibly happen.

We look for signs of hope every single day - it can happen.

[eleny]

38. I wouldn't even want Burke to question me about my grocery list

..... .....

[MyOwnPeace]

44. Oh, SNAP!!!!!!!

That was SO good!!!!!

"So, can we talk about when you turned down aisle 4, did you mean to.............."

[eleny]

52. And what about that pepperoni pizza, hmmm?

[kacekwl]

40. THAT

was fantastic.

[Takket]

41. i just watched it............

Lew was so combative but Berke just carried on without displaying a hint of emotion or reaction. a very surgical questioning. wish he could have gone on all day.

This testimony is all about building the case against drumpf for obstruction and pretty clearly put out there that the Sessions conversation happened.

[RainCaster]

42. If only Nadler had the power to back up this intelligence

The two missing witnesses showed his supple spine.

The lack of a solid, cohesive response to the notion of "privelege" was very frustrating to me.

[StarfishSaver]

48. How did "the two missing witnesses showed his supple spine"

I have a feeling Nadler's spine is a lot sturdier than those of people sitting at home with no experience and no responsibility telling him what he's doing wrong and calling him weak.

[Laura PourMeADrink]

45. Just did on tape...you have got to watch Jeff! We have got

to get as many real attorneys as possible. Well intentioned Reps, but switching to legal counsel without 5 min clock like night and day better!!! Lots of drama right after .. amazing drama.

[SKKY]

46. Barry Berke singlehanded ended Lewandowski's chances of....

...running for office. It shows what happens when kids play adult games.

[Historic NY]

47. How to take on a hostile witness.

[dalton99a]

50. Kick

[ffr]

51. Berke: You didn't deliver the president's request to stop the Mueller investigation to Sessions

because you knew it was against the law. Isn't that correct?

Cory



I want my mommy!

[DFW]

53. Over 20 years ago, I guy I know from the UK got into a dispute with US Government

He was steered toward a young lawyer in New York named Barry Berke. I met Berke for about 30 seconds when we were all in the same place at once. It took me about half that time to figure out that I was in the presence of one of the smartest people I would ever meet.

Lewandowski in one of the slimiest characters I have ever seen. Eels are nowhere near as slippery.

[triron]

54. Yep. Relished it.

Had Lewindowsky squirming.