Former President Donald Trump is fighting a fierce battle against District Attorney Alvin Bragg over the notorious "Access Hollywood" tape the Manhattan prosecutor says proves motive in his hush-money case, newly released court records show.
Bragg filed Tuesday his argument for introducing the tape — in which Trump can be heard boasting that his celebrity status allows him to sexually assault women without consequence — into evidence during the Manhattan criminal court trial.
"The Access Hollywood Tape bears directly on defendant’s intent and motive, both at the time that he and his confederates made the Stormy Daniels payoff and later when they sought to conceal that payment," writes Bragg.
"The release of the Access Hollywood Tape caused a panic within the campaign about defendant’s electoral prospects and ultimately served as the catalyst for consummating the Stormy Daniels payoff."
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Meanwhile, Trump's legal team is scrambling to get the tape excluded on the grounds that it is more inflammatory than informative in a case revolving around financial documents, notes MSNBC legal analyst Jordan Rubin.
"It’s true that a case involving business records necessarily involves documents," Rubin writes. "But that’s not all it’s about, and the tape could help the prosecution explain to the jury how that’s so.
"Its potential power likewise explains why Trump’s lawyers are fighting to keep it out."
While Bragg has charged Trump with 34 counts of falsifying business records — the former president pleaded not guilty to the charges — legal experts point out that election interference, in the 2016 race, is at the heart of the criminal case.
Prosecutors contend Trump cooked his books to hide a $130,000 payment made to Daniels to hold her tongue about their sexual encounter.
The trial is slated to begin March 25, the same day the $454 million penalty is due in Trump New York civil fraud case.
