Trump's 'protect Melania' hush money defense flattened by prosecutor
Previewing Donald Trump's so-called "hush money" trials slated to begin next Monday, one prosecutor stated any assertion by the former president and his legal team that he paid off adult film star Stormy Daniels to keep his wife Melania from finding out will fall flat on its face if it is presented in court.
Appearing on MSNBC's "Morning Joe," State Attorney for Palm Beach County Dave Aronberg pointed out that the trial is actually about business and financial fraud.
In particular, Aronberg argued that the timing of the payment is where Trump's claim that he simply wanted to keep his wife in the dark falls apart.
Speaking with the MSNBC panel on Friday morning, Aronberg laughed at the notion Trump's lawyers might rely on Trump's marital relations as a defense.
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"I think Trump will try to use the [Sen.] John Edwards defense, which is, these payments were not for campaign reasons, they were to protect his family," he began.
"But that can be easily debunked," he then elaborated. "He'll try to say, I was trying to protect Melania from finding out. [Former Trump fixer Michael] Cohen and Stormy Daniels' lawyer first spoke about this affair in 2011 so this was known for years within team Trump — yet no money changed hands until two weeks before the election so that is really damaging."
He also cited Trump's efforts to cover up the payment in internal Trump Organization documents as a key piece of contradictory evidence.
"Plus, as far as falsification of business records, why do that if you're trying to protect the information from Melania?" he asked. "Melania was not likely to pore over the books of the Trump Organization which is a private company. So why falsify the internal records to keep it secret from her, unless you knew it was a campaign election crime?" he added while smiling. "Also, Trump allegedly directed Michael Cohen to delay paying Stormy Daniels until after the election because he didn't want to pay her at all. And after the election, it wouldn't matter. Why? Because Trump knew this was about the campaign."
"A lot of good facts for the prosecution," he predicted. "In the end, I think this is headed towards a conviction."
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