The Stormy Daniels Case create problems at Trump’s home

The advisers of Donald Trump are telling him that he has the perfect defense against the Manhattan prosecutors who are harassing him about a payment to Stormy Daniels, but the former president has so far refused to use it.

The Manhattan District Attorney’s office is currently laying out its case against Trump, arguing that the $130,000 paid to adult film actress Daniels in 2016 violated election and business records laws. However, two sources familiar with the situation claim that a number of Trump advisers, including at least one of his lawyers, have advised him in recent months that he would have a stronger case if the payments had nothing to do with the election. These advisors, on the other hand, would make Trump claim that Trump was only making the payments to avoid conflict with Melania, his wife.

Under New York law, prosecutors must demonstrate that defendants falsified records to cover up another crime in order to bring felony charges against them. In the case of Donald Trump, the office of District Attorney Alvin Bragg is reportedly making an effort to demonstrate that the paperwork describing Trump’s reimbursement of former fixer Michael Cohen was an attempt to conceal an illegal campaign contribution. By portraying the payments as related to the marriage, Trump’s advisers hope to eliminate any basis for the felony charge Bragg reportedly intends to bring.

However, Trump would face difficult questions as a result of the argument. Because Trump would have to explain why he was willing to spend six figures to keep his wife from hearing about an alleged sexual encounter with a porn star, which he has long maintained never happened, if the payments to Daniels had nothing to do with the election.

One of the two sources tells Rolling Stone, “The [former] president seems reluctant about taking this approach.” That ought to change. The sources spoke anonymously to discuss private discussions with the former president.

Daniels, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford, claims that in 2006, after they met at a celebrity golf tournament, they had a brief sexual encounter. At the time, Melania was pregnant. Trump reiterated that denial on Tuesday, saying that Daniels’ detailed and at times graphic account of the tryst is not true. Never had a problem. This is outdated! Trump made a post to his account on Truth Social.

The former president has been troubled by the issue for a long time. Top aides could tell that Trump was worried about Melania’s anger over Daniels’ accusations when he took over the White House.

Stephanie Grisham, a former senior official in Trump’s White House, tells Rolling Stone, “He at one point called me, after the Stormy Daniels news broke, to ask if we [in the first lady’s office] would be responding to her allegations — and I could tell he was trying to take my temperature to see if his wife was pissed off.” He never called me to inquire about the East Wing’s response to anything. Never. He never did that again. It was evident that he was attempting to determine whether his wife was enraged because his behavior was so out of character. At the time, our East Wing was known for making statements that would surprise or enrage the West Wing. With this one, it was clear that he was trying something new because it was a very personal subject.

Grisham also knew that Melania was clearly upset about the situation. Melania Trump’s office, according to Grisham, “never did put out a statement about Daniels.” I don’t think we ever did.” I would always hear Mrs. Trump say: His issue is this. His issue is this.'”

According to The New York Times, Bragg reportedly appointed a grand jury and sought to interview a number of former Trump campaign officials, Trump Organization employees, and National Enquirer staff. As Trump gets ready to run for president in 2024, the investigation adds to a growing list of legal issues. A civil investigation into the Trump Organization’s alleged fraud in asset valuation is being carried out by New York Attorney General Letitia James. According to reports, prosecutors in Fulton County, Georgia, are close to making a decision regarding whether or not to file charges against Donald Trump for allegedly putting pressure on the secretary of state of Georgia to commit election fraud. Additionally, a special counsel was appointed by Attorney General Merrick Garland in November to investigate Trump’s efforts to sabotage the 2020 election and his possession of classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago residence.

It is uncertain whether Trump’s legal woes would be resolved if his advisers were successful in persuading him to concede that the payments were entirely related to his desire to avoid offending his wife with humiliating headlines about a dalliance. Renato Mariotti, a former federal prosecutor who is not involved in this case, states, “While the fact that the false statements in this case relate to payments to hide an extramarital affair is not a legal defense to a potential charge, nevertheless could be considered by prosecutors as a circumstance weighing against potential charges — and would certainly be considered by the judge at sentencing, when the judge considers the severity of the offense.”

The payment was made to Daniels by Michael Cohen in October 2016, just as she was getting ready to talk about the alleged affair with media outlets. Since then, Cohen has turned against Trump. In his memoir, he wrote that Trump’s decision to authorize the hush money was partly motivated by concern over Melania’s response to possible public allegations of an affair. Trump stated that the $130,000 check was “a lot less than I would have to pay Melania,” according to Cohen. Evidently, it was a reference to a divorce.