I can’t tell you how many people I know who do not like former President Donald Trump yet nonetheless smell prosecutorial overreach in Manhattan.
District Attorney Alvin Bragg has charged the former president with 34 felony counts of falsifying business records. Trump has pleaded not guilty.
The case began with Michael Cohen, Trump’s onetime fixer, making a “hush money” payment to the former adult film actress known as Stormy Daniels to keep her from revealing information about an apparent sexual relationship with Trump in 2006. Bragg used the fact that Cohen paid $130,000 to Daniels in 2016, when Trump was running for president, as a pretext to turn a moldy misdemeanor offense into a felony.
But is it even illegal? This trial showcases something rich men and big corporations have been doing for years — paying off mistresses or wronged staffers with cash settlements with little public scrutiny thanks to nondisclosure agreements.
I don’t like it, but it’s not a crime.
On Tuesday, National Enquirer editor David Pecker testified that during a 2015 meeting in Trump Tower, he told Trump, Cohen and campaign stalwart Hope Hicks that he wanted to help the Trump campaign, if behind the scenes.
What followed was “catch and kill,” the term for the scheme of paying to get dirt on a public figure, then killing the story, as happened with another alleged Trump gal pal, Karen McDougal. The National Enquirer paid her $150,000 for a story that never ran.
Trump has denied that anything extramarital occurred with McDougal and Daniels.
But as Sen. Mitt Romney, R-Utah, told CNN, “You don’t pay someone $130,000 not to have sex with you.”
Back to Cohen. He’s a flawed witness to be sure, who in 2018 pleaded guilty to charges that included tax evasion and lying to Congress when he testified about Trump, his former master. Cohen was sentenced to three years in prison.
Then, last year, Cohen claimed that he lied when he admitted to tax evasion. A more careful prosecutor would not hang a case on an accomplished liar.
Given his capacity for self-pity and self-sabotage, it’s no surprise that Trump told reporters after the second day of trial, “I’m not allowed to defend myself.”
Trump also continued to throw shade at Judge Juan Merchan, whose gag order, Trump maintained, robbed him of his “right to free speech.” Trump also offered that Merchan “should recuse himself.”
Pecker testified that he was glad to help by running “positive stories about Mr. Trump,” as well as negative stories about his campaign rivals. I’m guessing many Big Media hot shots feel the same way — about Biden.
Contact Review-Journal Washington columnist Debra J. Saunders at [email protected]. Follow @debrajsaunders on X.
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Wake up Black New York voting community members, and save yourselves by voting out the Democrat party of tax slavery, incompetent mayors and corrupt D.A.s in actions of self-race embarrassment. If the current black mayor and D.A. is all the best you have to offer as New York city leadership, then you must love having all the worst things thought about the incompetency and inability of black people to achieve equal results, because you have sold yourselves out, every bit as the slave masters sold your ancestors. Just why is intergenerational failure your political comfort zone, and the cause of voting in the same corrupt race baiting losers and racial turncoats, expecting to EVER get a different result. How many generations of poverty and dependency on a democrat party run government can ypu tolerate, that continues to un-earn and abuse your trust, exactly like the sins of the Biblical father that are passed down to the children to the 3rd and 4th generation. MLK is spinning in his grave who must be thinking that he just died for nothing. Guess what,,,,you were equally created for unequal better things and unequally better leadership designed to lead, not follow and dance to the tune of the Democrat Party Pipers. Corrupt DEMOCRATS are the reason your lives are stormy,,,not Ms. Daniels and her attorneys, nor Trump.
“A District Attorney could get A Jury to Indict A Ham Sandwich if that’s what he wanted,”
sol WHITER
The left LOVES saying that, but why then, do DEM DA’s refuse to INDICT ACTUAL criminals?
BECAUSE ITS NOT about the law or Justice. BUT ABOUT punishing a political opponent/furthering a LEFITST agenda.
inluminatuo
Remember the Democrat Voters of New York City voted to elect AOC the radical, Bimbo bartender to represent them in congress twice.
This has to tell you something about the mentality of N.Y. Democrat Party’s brain washed voters.
Did anyone notice that the leftist democrat Administration offical’s names bring to mind A Childrens story, For instance The Name, Wyray, Mary, Mary, Quite Contrary, How Does Your Garfen Grow…” Or New York’s District Attorney, Calvin Bragg. ,”..Tom Thumb Stuck In His Thumb and picked out a Plum and said, What A Good Boy Am I, Merrick Garlen.
“Tyrants Have Always Some Shade Of Virtue, they Support The Laws Before Destroying Them.”
Voltaire
A few blacks are finally ‘waking up’ to the dem nonsense. BUT STILL NOT enough to make a difference.
” Expecting The World To Treat You Fairly, Because Your A Good Person Is Like Expecting A Bull Not To Attack You Because Your A Vegetarian.”
Author Unknown.
Y
I’m so tired of this imposter of a DA. He doesn’t have one shred of ethics or respect for the law. New York, Wake Up and get rid of him. Your state is going in the toilet. Why voters want this is beyond me.
I’d say 99% OF LEFTIST DA’s and judges, have NO RESPECT for their oaths of office to UPHOLD Our laws or constitution.
District Attorney Alvin Bragg , ” … BUT YOU KNEW THAT I WAS A SNAKE WHEN YOU PICKED ME UP…”
District Attorney Alvin Bragg ,
ALSOPS FABLES-“… BUT YOU KNEW THAT I WAS A SNAKE WHEN YOU PICKED ME UP,,,”
THE press is the enemy. The establishment is the enemy. The Professors are the enemy. PROFESSORS ARE THE ENEMY. Write this on A Blackboard 100 Times and Never forget it.” Richard M. Nixon
I may be wrong, but doesn’t Congress have a “slush fund” for just such a purpose?
Should anyone be shocked or surprised by any of this?
If you’re rich and connected, depending on what side of the fence you’re on, you can either do no wrong, or do no right – simple as that.
Meantime, the hard-working Americans, ya know, the ones who make the country work, get repeatedly screwed with an un-lubricated telephone pole.
Maybe that’s why so many people actually support Trump, whether they like him or not – he’ll bring us back to “normalcy”, and a whole lot less screwing of the little guy will be going on.
The demon-rats, they’ll screw you every time.
Thank you!
I’ve been pointing this out to anyone who will listen, even if they didn’t want to listen, for years now.
The American taxpayer, without anything to say about it, was contributing to the Hush Money of morally philandering Congressmen and women. And they have the nerve to cast judgement on anyone else legally settling out of court for alleged philandering?
Go figure.
Normalcy is when domestic home grown Democrat Crime families fleece THE PEOPLE,,, instead of Chinese and Ukrainian bought criminals. At least the money stayed in the country to be reinvested and create new jobs and industry instead of going overseas to build paliaces in the middle east and Central American jungles. Just look what the local mafia did to create a Las Vega booming metropolis, while the politcal crime families in New York, Chicago, Washington D.C, and San Francisco just created slums out of what used to be an American financial paradise.
“In Politics, Nothing Happens By Accident, If it happens, You can bet it wAs planned That Way.”
Franklin Roosevelt.
ESPECIALLY WHEN SOROS Is funding it.
YES> AND EVEN WITH Knowledge of their ‘slush fund’ for HUSH MONEY to their victims of sexual harassment, WE STILL HAVE NEVER BEEN TOLD WHO it was paid out to protect.. and i fear, Never will.
Ituser said: “WE STILL HAVE NEVER BEEN TOLD WHO it was paid out to protect.. and i fear, Never will.”
Let’s face it, this is Congress, both the House and the Senate, whose duty is to Us, the American taxpayers who voted them in to represent and be accountable to for their actions. I think it’s somewhere in their pledge to Office.
So yes. We’ll never know.
Just pay the tab and shut up, we needn’t otherwise concern ourselves or fret over these matters…
Former democrat Socialis, Communist President, Barack H. Obams, Had A Known Communist , Frank – Davis As A Mentor As A Child
CORRECTION-Never Forget,THE press is the enemy. The establishment is the enemy. The Professors are the enemy. PROFESSORS ARE THE ENEMY. Write this on A Blackboard 100 Times and Never forget it.” Richard M. Nixon
Correction- Barack H. Obama’Mentors Name is Frank Marshall Davis, A known Communist… Sorry.!
Never Forget, THE press is the enemy. The establishment is the enemy. The Professors are the enemy. PROFESSORS ARE THE ENEMY. Write this on A Blackboard 100 Times and Never forget it.” Richard M. Nixon