'A non-starter': Trump's key defense in 'imminent' Manhattan indictment slapped aside
Reacting to an assertion by Donald Trump that reported imminent indictment expected against him for paying hush money to an adult film star before the 2016 election should not be allowed to proceed, former U.S. Attorney Barbara McQuade stated his argument is a "non-starter" for the former president's attorneys.
Appearing on MSNBC's "The Katie Phang Show," the former prosecutor was presented with Trump's comments that the statute of limitations has passed -- and she quickly and curtly pointed out that he was dead wrong.
As McQuade noted, the rules changed during the Covid-19 pandemic and now Trump and his lawyers will have to come up with another defense.
"Speaking of lying low and not talking, Trump, of course, released a likely statement about this investigation, denying any wrongdoing and saying, in part quote, the following: 'I relied on counsel in order to resolve this extortion of me, which took place a long time ago. Additionally, the statute of limitations has long since ended and in fact, the Radical Left media, one and a half years ago, did a countdown on the statute of limitations, which was allowed to expire.'"
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"We are not opining on the accuracy of that statement," host Phang smirked. "Are either of those really available defenses to Donald Trump?"
"No," McQuade shot back. "The statute of limitations, you know, ordinarily, it's five years, where we're more than five years out from 2016. But in Manhattan, during the Covid pandemic, the courts tolled the statute of limitations so it bought them extra time."
"In addition, if any part of that conspiracy spills into that five-year period, then those activities can count, including concealing those efforts," she clarified. "So, I'm sure [Manhattan DA] Alvin Bragg has done his calculations and knows how the statute is gonna apply in this case. So that's a nonstarter."
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