Happy Wednesday!

Let’s get this Brew pouring. Michael Cohen testified that today’s Brew really stinks. That’s how good it is.

The Felon Is the Finale: Michael Cohen Faces Cross-Examination

Michael Cohen, who makes Stormy Daniels look like one of the Little Sisters of the Poor, faced cross-examination Tuesday at former President Donald Trump’s so-called “hush money” trial in Manhattan.

Cohen admitted he wants to see Trump convicted. He also acknowledged profiting financially from his new-found hatred of Trump, including from sales of a coffee mug that reads “Send him to the Big House, not the White House.”

Cohen is expected to be the final witness for the prosecution.

Once again, several heavy Republican hitters, including U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson, were on hand for yesterday’s testimony.

(One question: Where were they when all this lawfare started? It’s easy to show up now, when the polls show Trump gaining strength and the public not buying what New York District Attorney Alvin Bragg and the U.S. Department of Justice are selling — but what about just doing the right thing because it’s the right thing, even before it seems politically expedient?)

Meanwhile, the New York Court of Appeals has upheld Judge Juan Merchan’s gag order on Trump, saying Merchan “properly determined” one was needed.

I bet Merchan is excited. Tomorrow is “Take Your Daughter Who Makes Millions Off the Trump Cases to Work Day.”

Think I’m being snarky? Michael Cohen is on the stand. On Tuesday, Rep. Dan Goldman told Morning Joe that he met with Cohen “a number of times to prepare him.” Goldman is a client of Merchan’s daughter, Loren, who runs Authentic Campaigns; he’s paid the firm $157,000 for political guidance.

Sean Davis of The Federalist asks: “How on earth can you have someone who pays off the judge’s family deliberately coaching witnesses in the trial, and call it a fair trial? You can’t. This entire thing is a farce.”

The judge’s daughter got paid by Goldman. How on earth can you have someone who pays off the judge’s family deliberately coaching witnesses in the trial, and call it a fair trial? You can’t. This entire thing is a farce. https://t.co/DtcEKuqYMN

— Sean Davis (@seanmdav) May 14, 2024

Here’s another farce for you.

Dude First Alternate for U.S. Women’s Open

Here’s some good news for marginal male golfers: Put on a dress and you, too, might be able to compete in the U.S. Women’s Open!

Hailey Davidson, who identifies as female, was named by the USGA as the first alternate for the upcoming U.S. Women’s Open. Davidson finished third by one shot in an Open qualifier over the weekend, with the top two women advancing to the Open later this month.

As Outkick notes, the chance of a female competitor dropping out of a major championship is small, but is not zero. “In other words, a biological male competing in the most iconic women’s golf tournament is not out of the question,” reporters noted.

Interestingly, Davidson’s two-round score of 143 was matched by two women, Jasmine Suwannapura, who was named second alternate, and Louise Olsson Campbell, who was shut out (by Davidson) from her chance at going.

And yet another farce.

Russians Able to “Walk Right Into” Northern Ukraine After Defense Money Swindled Away

U.S. Sen. Rand Paul and others have been begging for an accounting of the taxpayer dollars that have been sent to Ukraine — to no avail. In fact, even asking about it is enough to get one labeled as being a Putin stooge.

Now comes news from a Ukraine-based watchdog agency that millions of dollars earmarked to build up the nation’s northern defenses were funneled to fake companies instead of being used for fortifications, leaving the Kharkiv region wide open for the new Russian advance that began Monday.

The BBC reports a regional Ukrainian commander in Kharkiv called this a massive “betrayal.” Denys Yaroslavskyi, commander of a Ukrainian Special Reconnaissance Unit, said, “There was no first line of defense. We saw it. The Russians just walked in. They just walked in, without any mined fields.”

Along The Stream

Dr. Michael Brown finds “Confirmation That the World Has Lost Its Mind.”

Yesterday’s serving of Al’s Afternoon Tea covered the story of pro-life activist Lauren Handy, who was sentenced to nearly five years in the slammer yesterday.

Al Perrotta is The Stream’s Washington bureau chief, coauthor with John Zmirak of The Politically Incorrect Guide to Immigration, and coauthor of the counterterrorism memoir Hostile Intent: Protecting Yourself Against Terrorism.