Case Undermined? 2012 Video Emerges Showing Trump’s Understanding of John Edwards Case
Was Donald Trump aware of the illegality surrounding hush money he is alleged to have directed his attorney Michael Cohen to pay to Stormy Daniels and Karen McDougal? That’s a key question surrounding the President’s criminal liability that has arisen since the three-year prison sentence that Cohen received earlier this week.
Old interview footage has emerged that strongly suggests Donald Trump knew that hush money payouts are illegal. The interview comes from an April 27, 2012 Fox News show hosted by Greta Van Susteren, in which the two spoke about a similar case surrounding former Democratic Presidential candidate John Edwards.
The former Vice Presidential candidate from 2004 campaign went through a similar ordeal in 2011 when he was indicted by a North Carolina grand jury on six felony charges after paying money to Rielle Hunter, a New York-based filmmaker with whom Edwards had an extramarital affair and fathered a child out of wedlock. Edwards was eventually found not guilty on one charge, and a mistrial was declared on the other charges.
At issue in criminal liability in the hush money payments that Trump is alleged to have directed Cohen to pay is willful intent. If prosecutors deem that Trump was aware of the malintent to defraud the Amercian electorate. Basically, if Trump knew that the payoffs were illegal, then he is subject to prosecution.
The Van Susteren interview appears to indicate that Trump was aware of the illegality in hush money payments. Or as former Special Counsel to the Department of Defense Ryan Goodman tweeted:
“Here’s President Trump in 2012 showing he knows about the law that applied to John Edwards.
Trump: “a lot of very good lawyers” talked to me about the case.
President Trump has stridently rebuked any claim that he directed Cohen to do anything illegal.
Watch the video above, courtesy of Fox News.
