During Donald Trump’s hush money trial, a legal analyst pointed out a potential mistake by Trump’s legal team.
Andrew Weissmann, a former federal prosecutor, noted that testimony from Jeff McConney contradicted Trump’s claim of paying Michael Cohen for legal fees.
McConney stated that Trump reimbursed Cohen $130,000 but was unsure of the purpose, which challenges Trump’s defense.
The ongoing trial, now in its fourth week, aims to determine if Trump falsified business records related to payments made to Stormy Daniels before the 2016 election.
Prosecutors allege these payments were part of a scheme to conceal damaging stories about Trump. Despite pleading not guilty to the charges, Trump denies any wrongdoing.
During the cross-examination, Trump’s lawyer, Emil Bove, questioned McConney about whether Trump’s payments could be considered legal expenses. According to NBC News, McConney agreed to this characterization during the questioning.
“Payments to lawyers by the Trump Organization are legal expenses, right?” Bove asked. “Yes, sir,” McConney replied.
Weissmann wrote that this was an error, saying: “An apparent slip by Trump counsel as he elicits from McConney that Weisselberg told him the money was for some sort of reimbursement. Remember: that is the DA’s position, and that the paperwork disguised it as legal fees. And Trump wants to say it was really legal fees and not a reimbursement.”
Tristan Snell, a legal analyst and former New York assistant attorney involved in prosecuting Trump University for deceptive marketing practices, criticized Trump’s legal team for objecting to most evidence in the trial, implying they are creating an impression of concealment.
Snell suggested that Trump’s lawyers are not helping his case. In another development, Judge Juan Merchan fined Trump $1,000 for violating a gag order for the tenth time and warned of potential imprisonment for repeated violations.
Despite expressing reluctance to take such actions against a former and potential future president, Merchan emphasized the seriousness of the violations. The trial, expected to span six weeks, continues with ongoing scrutiny of Trump’s defense strategies.
daniel jones
May 8, 2024 at 4:39 pm
Regular citizens fight a charge based on whether or not they did the crime. Rich people rarely address the crime. They fight tooth and nail for delays and loop holes.
Matt
May 8, 2024 at 5:25 pm
paying hush money is not a criminal offense unless he claimed it was a campaign expense like Bill Clinton did, even then it’s a finable offense that does not rise to the level of a misdemeanor or felony