‘Final Nail in the Coffin’ for Donald Trump – Donald Trump haters may finally get what they have wanted since Trump first ran for president – a criminal indictment. Liberals believe Trump is guilty of something and that something may have to do with an alleged extramarital affair and hush money payoff from Trump’s attorney to adult video actress Stormy Daniels.
Columnist Thinks Trump’s Goose is Cooked
Vanity Fair’s Bess Levin, one of Trump’s fiercest critics, smells Trump’s blood in the water even though the former president and his lawyers are pleading his innocence.
The leftwing magazine summarized a recent Levin article that said Donald Trump could be in a significant legal morass. “Grand jury testimony from Trump’s former attorney could be the final nail in the coffin when it comes to criminal charges for the ex-president.”
Background on the Case
The Trump-Daniels tryst and subsequent investigation has everything the public craves about political news – mainly sex, lies, and paying off the mistress in exchange for silence. It all started in 2006 when Trump met Daniels at a golf tournament in Lake Tahoe, Nevada. The two allegedly consummated the affair in a hotel room at the resort. Trump and his attorneys have always denied that this took place. Trump’s youngest son was less than a year old at the time.
Daniels Spoke Out to One Media Source
In 2011, Daniels went public about the affair in a tell all interview she gave to Touch Weekly, but Trump’s attorney threatened the media outlet with legal actions if they printed Daniels’ accusations. However, the Touch Weekly decided to release the story in 2018. Before that, Daniels claimed her family was threatened by a mysterious man who told Daniels not to pursue the allegations against Trump.
Daniels Said She Accepted the Payment to Protect Her Family
This is why she accepted $130,000 in “hush money” payments from Donald Trump and his lawyer Michael Cohen in 2016. The grand jury is trying to determine if Cohen made monthly payments to Daniels to make it look like Cohen was receiving legal fees from the Trump Organization in reimbursement installments.
Hide the Affair at All Costs
Cohen and Trump, the prosecutors would likely allege if there is an indictment, wanted the affair to remain secret before the election since the negative press could have hurt Trump with voters, not to mention shocking his wife and damaging his marriage.
Donald Trump Fixer Has Turned State’s Evidence
Fast forward to the grand jury convened by the Manhattan district attorney and Cohen has already testified on March 13 and will be called back to answer questions on March 15. Vanity Fair’s Levin has pointed out that the grand jury has heard from seven other witnesses besides Cohen and even invited Trump to testify. Usually, when a panel hears from that many witnesses, an indictment is imminent, according to the New York Times, which interviewed legal experts on March 13.
What Are the Charges?
The potential charges against Trump are not completely clear, but he could be accused of falsifying business records since the Trump Organization classified the Daniels payments as legal fees. For charges to be a felony, prosecutors would have to show that Donald Trump and the Trump Organization were acting with criminal intent to hide other crimes.
How Would a Criminal Trial Jury React
It is always difficult to predict what a grand jury or a criminal trial (petit) jury will do, but hush money to an adult film actress to save a campaign from negative press coverage and hiding it from a wife would likely be easy to understand for members of a jury.
Trump Refutes It All
Trump denies that the affair took place and that he had anything to do with the payments. Cohen has claimed the president knew about the hush money and that Trump directed the installments to Daniels.
Trump thinks this is a political witch hunt and that Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg is a “racist” prosecutor. He believes an indictment will result in more voters rallying to support his campaign.
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Author Expertise and Experience:
Serving as 19FortyFive’s Defense and National Security Editor, Dr. Brent M. Eastwood is the author of Humans, Machines, and Data: Future Trends in Warfare. He is an Emerging Threats expert and former U.S. Army Infantry officer. You can follow him on Twitter @BMEastwood. He holds a Ph.D. in Political Science and Foreign Policy/ International Relations.
