I would say that I don’t care that Donald Trump had an adulterous tryst with adult movie star Stormy Daniels and then made an impermissible campaign expenditure to cover it up, except for one thing. Trump’s lawyer, Michael Cohen, “spent about 13 1/2 months behind prison walls and a year and a half in home confinement” for his role in facilitating the transaction with Daniels. I don’t see how that can be fair and just if Trump (aka INDIVIDUAL-1) pays no price.
Manhattan attorney general Alvin Bragg appears to be wrapping up the grand jury that has been looking into this case, and Cohen is expected to testify on Monday. Under New York State law, Trump must be afforded an opportunity to appear for the grand jury, and an invitation has been offered to the twice-impeached disgraced ex-president. His attorney, Joe Tacopina, says that Trump has no plans to show up. That’s not unusual. It’s not generally a good idea for the accused to talk to grand jurors. It does indicate, however, that he’s likely to be arrested sometime soon.
Mr. Tacopina is still denying that his client actually had a sexual encounter with Daniels. In his telling, Trump authorized the payment, which he termed “extortion,” for no other reason than “to prevent something coming out false but embarrassing to himself and his family’s young son.” For this reason, it wasn’t a campaign contribution because it had nothing to do with possible harm to his chances in the 2016 presidential election: “It’s not a contribution to his campaign…That’s not a campaign finance violation, not by any stretch.”
I am not a lawyer and I don’t know which charges will be brought. But I do know that Trump’s best chance at acquittal is not actual innocence but jury nullification. If one or more jurors think this is no big deal and Trump is just being harassed by political adversaries, then he may get a pass. But it won’t help his credibility that he’s still insisting that Stormy Daniels is lying about their pathetic hotel room romp. No one is going to believe that.
Personally, I find it easier to offer forgiveness and cut someone a break if they admit what they’ve done and apologize. If they’re asking for special treatment while still insisting they’ve done no wrong, I’m going to feel obligated to teach them a lesson. I didn’t care about President Bill Clinton’s pathetic trysts with Monica Lewinsky, but I had no problem with seeing him pay a big price for lying about it under oath. And, in that case, he lost his Arkansas law license despite coming clean.
It just seems like a bad idea to continue on with the denial that he ever slept with Daniels.
In the end, he’s probably not going to face prison time unless he commits perjury during the trial. A conviction might make it illegal for him to vote in Florida, however.
I’d like to see him convicted on charges related to Stormy Daniels scandal for the simple reason that Cohen shouldn’t be the only one held accountable. What’s good for the goose is good for the gander.
