Former President Donald Trump is facing a complex legal situation as he tries to stay out of prison. With his recent conviction on all 34 counts related to paying hush money to a porn actress, Trump is now a convicted felon. However, his defense strategy has focused more on delaying the cases until he can win the presidential election and abuse his presidential powers to dismiss the federal charges against him.
While Trump may have some hope in the state court in Georgia, where efforts are underway to discredit the local prosecutor and the Republican-dominated pardon board may find a loophole to help him if he is elected president, the situation in New York is different. Trump was unable to delay his case there, and the judge showed little patience for his antics. This ensured that the New York trial would take place before the election, exposing a criminal conspiracy designed to help Trump win the White House in 2016.
The case in New York revolves around the cover-up of Trump’s affair with a porn actress, Stormy Daniels, which was meant to prevent another scandal from overshadowing the “Access Hollywood” tape controversy. The prosecutor emphasized the connection between the two events, highlighting how Daniels could have undermined Trump’s strategy of downplaying the tape. Trump engaged in a plot to secretly pay off Daniels and falsified records to hide the payments, leading to charges of fraud and falsifying business records.
The New York case also shed light on the role of the National Enquirer in suppressing damaging stories about Trump through the practice of “catch and kill.” Former CEO David Pecker testified that the Enquirer was involved in payments to silence individuals with negative information about Trump, including a doorman who claimed Trump had an illegitimate child, a former Playboy model who had an affair with Trump, and Daniels.
Sentencing in the New York case is scheduled for July 11, less than a week before the Republican National Convention. This conviction poses a significant obstacle to Trump’s plan to pardon himself, as he is now a convicted felon and would not have the ability to pardon himself if he were to win the presidential election. Trump’s legal troubles continue to mount, and his path to staying out of prison becomes increasingly challenging.
