Donald Trump Criminal Charges Report for Receiving Hush Money to Stormy Daniels Gets Lawyer’s Response

What happened to Donald Trump and Daniels’ Hush Money Case?

People’s reactions to this potential legal action have ranged from here we go again to “I’ll believe it when see it,” as New York City prosecutors consider filing criminal charges against former president Donald Trump based on an alleged years-old hush money payment to adult film star Stormy Daniels.
Donald Trump
Source- ABC News
According to “people with knowledge of the case,” The New York Times reported on Monday that Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg (D) is attempting to revive the same inquiry that previously came to halt under Cyrus Vance (D).

What are the previous remarks on Donald Trump’s Case?

Former friend of Donald Trump, lawyer, and fixer Michael Cohen admitted to making the hush money payment, which led to the latter’s conviction for violating federal campaign finance laws but legally exempted Trump. 
That’s partly because, according to Empire State law, the DA’s office only believed they could show that the 45th president committed petty violation by manipulating business records when Cohen was given $150,000 by Donald Trump’s family firm to pay.
That’s partly because, according to Empire State law, the DA’s office only believed they could show that the 45th president committed petty misdemeanor by manipulating business records when Cohen was given $150,000 by Trump’s family firm to pay Daniels.

Attorney Cohen’s response to the report on criminal charges of Donald Trump?

Cohen responded to the Times piece, saying, “As of this writing, I have not personally spoken to DA. Bragg or any member of his team.” “The Trump-Stormy Daniels affair has received extensive media coverage, including the fact that my actions were carried out at Donald J. Trump’s direction and for his benefit,” he added.
Donald Trump
Source- NPR

Evidently, it was not worth the money and time to file a misdemeanour complaint against the president at the time. The obfuscation could only have been used to cover up or aid in another crime for the DA to be able to charge business records falsification as a felony offence. The Times said that the only connection Vance’s office could make was Cohen’s guilty plea to a federal campaign finance violation, which the DA’s office deemed to be far too flimsy.

Jonah E. Bromwich, Ben Protess, and William K. Rashbaum of the Times examined the persistent uncertainties in their report on Donald Trump and Stormy Daniels.

What the Legal Experts have to state regarding the case?

Legal experts speculated that Mr. Bragg may be seeking to prove a case by alleging a violation of a New York State election law. The prosecutors considered charging Mr. Vance with violating a state election statute, but ultimately decided against it since the presidential contest during which the hush-money payment took place was a federal election. How Mr. Bragg may handle that problem is unknown.

The news that Bragg was investigating whether the hush money payment may be converted into felony charges against the former president, who just started his third presidential campaign, had a muted response on social media. While some saw a connection between the report and Donald Trump’s recent launch of his 2024 presidential campaign, others didn’t think much would come of the often-repeated Stormy Daniels story.

Using a political metaphor from Charles Schultz’s “Peanuts” comic strip, one typical mocking retort was employed. Lucy van Pelt holds a football for Charlie Brown to kick in a recurring joke. Each time, Charlie Brown musters all of his courage, strength, and momentum in an effort to kick the football while running. But every time, Lucy snatches the football away just in time, causing Brown to fall every single time.

At least one legal expert expressed similar scepticism and raised the possibility that the accusations against Donald Trump brought up by the Cohen investigation would be problematic.

Donald Trump
Source- The Leaflet

National security attorney Bradley P. Moss wrote in an email to Law&Crime, “I’ll believe it when I see it. And the statute of limitations must be closing in at this time.

Norm Eisen, a former White House ethics lawyer, responded to the revelation by providing a June 2021 legal analysis that offered numerous potential legal avenues through which Donald Trump might have been charged for the payment to Daniels.

The criteria of both business records falsification and tax fraud may be met, the study claims, “if that falsification were carried over into the Trump Organization’s tax returns—if, for instance, it turns out that the payments were purposefully misclassified to decrease tax liabilities.” The extended five-year statute may be applicable here in that case. Moss responded by bringing up the statute of limitations once more.

What are the rumours regarding Donald Trump’s Hush Money Case?

The initial rumours about Vance’s office interacting with the then-Trump Organization CFO Allen Weisselberg over the hush money scandal surfaced in November 2019. The bookkeeper later turned on the Trump Organization, confessed to tax-related crimes, and testified against the Trump Organization in the Trump Organization’s own trial for those same tax-related offences. Weisselberg hasn’t flipped against Donald Trump, either, which may be a sign of things to come.

According to a Times report citing unnamed sources, Bragg’s office may pursue one final strategy to win the cooperation of the former money man in an effort to profit from the hush money payment by accusing Weisselberg of further charges relating to insurance fraud. According to the Times, if the insurance charges are ever filed, they would have no connection to the hush money payment and would only be used as leverage.

Lisa Rubin, a veteran litigator and legal expert, wondered whether Weisselberg would face charges if such actions were taken against him.

She tweeted, “Will NYDA succeed if they need Weisselberg to charge Trump? “Unclear. He has shown extreme loyalty by accepting five months in Rikers and excluding the Donald Trump from the tax fraud plot while being humiliated by their attorneys. He was paid time off and a birthday celebration in return for his plea.

But fresh insurance fraud charges—and possibly further felony counts for perjury and other offenses—could shatter the most tenacious of soldiers, particularly if he was not entirely truthful during this trial. Do not forget that this veteran is 75 years old despite his rugged exterior.