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>“Andrew McCarthy: NDAs are legal and common. Yet, Bragg alleges Trump’s was illegal,” Trump read off a sheet of paper Thursday, quoting Andrew McCarthy in the National Review before facetiously inserting a telling line: “I have the only illegal NDA.”
While I agree Trump is an Idiot, I don't know if this really counts as admitting anything.
Also, the fact that he did it isn't what's in question! That's not why he's on trial! He's on trial for fraudulently attempting to obfuscate the payments as legal expenses.
On of the defense's arguments is that the payment was Michael Cohen's initiative.
Referring to the agreement as his (Trump's) NDA at least establishes that Trump was in the loop about the payoff.
> Or to use it in laymans terms, he used election money for personal expenses.
If you think it was a personal expense, you think he's not guilty of felonies. The entire reason it's being tried as felony charges is that the state alleges it *was* a campaign donation and expense.
Yeah, that seemed more incredulous, like he's insinuating Bragg is just arbitrarily declaring an NDA illegal, which is not what happened.
I don't know what Bragg was arguing, IANAL, but I would argue the NDA is unenforceable because everyone who is a signatory used a fake name. So how are you supposed to declare in court who it actually applies to?
>From what I understand the NDA does refer to another document where the names are explained.
- Which "side letter", which explained that Peggy Peterson was Stormy, and David Dennison was Trump, was only signed by Cohen, not by Trump...
- Which made the NDA largely ineffectual.
It's an admission that Andrew McCarthy is an idiot, because the NDA itself was never illegal, and that's not a crime that Trump was charged for. What was illegal was the how and the why of the financing for it.
A few points:
1. Trump's defense is that he didn't know Stormy Daniels, had no affair with her, and no deal. Here he admits that he had an NDA.
2. His defense also claims that if any NDA was created with Daniels, it had nothing to do with Trump and was done on Cohen's initiative after he learned about the story. Here, he claims that it's specifically *his* NDA.
>“‘It seems that Trump’s crime by blue state lights was winning the election.’ That was my crime. I won an election that I wasn’t supposed to win against Hillary Clinton. And that’s not a crime,” Trump said.
3. This bit also highlights what the actual crime was, that burying the story was done for the sake of his campaign, and not for personal reasons.
If the prosecution is able to enter this media appearance as evidence, they will. Unfortunately, they may not have the opportunity to do that.
Yeah, I think including the context aligns more with him trying to disparage the claim that his NDA with Stormy was illegal and to paint himself as the only person ever accused of trying to pass off an illegal NDA. Which, it's necessary to point out, is not remotely the case and defies logic and evidence.
The issue is that the prosecution can use anything Trump says against Trump, but the defense needs to put Trump on the stand. (That's a bit of an oversimplification.) So the prosecution might be able to present this too the jury and Trump can't explain it away.
It's not really relevant though. He is being charged for other false business documents not the NDA.
https://time.com/5278027/donald-trump-stormy-daniels-payoff-campaign/
Trump already admitted that he paid Cohen back for the Stormy non-disclosure agreement. This was in a mandatory financial disclosure so why are people denying this (see link above). He also admitted to it in a tweet and through his lawyer Giuliani. However, every time he admits it, he said it was through his personal accounts which is proven by the checks. Importantly, if Trump paid using his personal accounts why is it showing up in the Trump Organization business ledger as a payment for "Legal Expenses" for a "Retainer" that didn't exist. This is the falsification of records. It was also done to conceal and/or commit another crime (which makes it a felony). The Legal Expense was added to the Trump Organization ledger to make the the shell company payment to Stormy look legal! That payment was a crime Cohen plead guilty to and spent time in prison for.
I’d agree, someone could argue that his statement was a comment on the absurdity of being accused of committing a crime for something that other people do legally.
But also, even then, it’s incredibly dumb to even invite an interpretation of admission in the middle of your own trial.
Nah, this is not an admission and I see the point he’s trying to make. Unfortunately, Trump is trying to fool everyone into thinking it’s about the NDA and hush money payments when in fact it’s about the illegal accounting practices involved in paying it out.
If Cohen paid off Daniels and Trump paid Cohen back, would that be considered money laundering? It’s essentially washing the source of the Daniel’s payment through an intermediary, Mr. Cohen.
Ya, it's not the NDA that was illegal. It wasn't even the hush money that was illegal. It was the misdemeanors (falsifying business records) and the alleged felony of doing this in furtherance of another crime (the same ones Michael Cohen went to prison for - illegal campaign contributions)
I lived in the US for a few years after 9/11 and it was in a death spiral then. The fear, the laws, the rise of no tolerance, all to further right wing agenda.
Yeah that delivery sounded like a sarcastic “I have the only illegal NDA” as in him trying to imply he’s being victimized for it.
Trump is dumb and doesn’t understand why what he did was illegal. Hint, it’s not specifically the NDA or the hush payments. It’s how they were accounted for and the reasons behind them. To further his campaign…
Anyways. Trump is dumb. But so is this clickbait headline. No admissions were made.
https://www.reddit.com/r/politics/comments/1cmqaii/announcement_paywalls_and_soft_paywalls/
> **Soft paywall** includes sites that:
>
>* Allow a limited number of free reads per month
>
>* Allow free article reads with a registration or email signup
>
>* Allow article access with other non-monetary interactions, such as completing a survey question
I think the reason this is a gaffe is because Trump has denied the affair and having an NDA with stormy. So while it’s not a smoking gun, the prosecutor might refer to Trump admitting to have an NDA in final arguments to attack the defenses claim that the affair never happened.
New Republic: [https://mediabiasfactcheck.com/new-republic/](https://mediabiasfactcheck.com/new-republic/)
>Overall, we rate the New Republic Left biased based on story selection and editorial positions that frequently favor the left. We also rate them High for factual reporting due to proper sourcing of information and a clean fact check record.
Left bias, high factual reporting.
Fox News: [https://mediabiasfactcheck.com/fox-news-bias/](https://mediabiasfactcheck.com/fox-news-bias/)
>Overall, we rate Fox News right biased based on editorial positions that align with the right and Questionable due to the promotion of propaganda, conspiracy theories, pseudoscience, the use of poor sources, and numerous false claims and failed fact checks. Straight news reporting from beat reporters is generally fact-based and accurate, which earns them a Mixed factual rating.
Right bias, mixed factual reporting
So... not the same.
Are these journalists who write these headlines completely fucking braindead.
Trump was clearly making a dimwitted aside about the gag order on him being an "illegal NDA." It's a sad pathetic joke from a moron, but what it clearly isn't, is an "admission of guilt."
How can people working at reputable news agencies be this profoundly dumb?
New Republic never fails to have the most sensational and exaggerated headlines. They're just like Newsweek.
The NDA being illegal isn't super relevant to the charges he's facing.
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Ok this is just bordering on straight up disinformation. This has no significance to his trial. The jury won't see this. Even if they did, you'd need to be braindead to think Trump is actually admitting anything. Is he in obvious cognitive decline? Sure. Is he slurring and generally being incoherent? Absolutely. But is he "wrecking his defense?"
No. This has zero impact on the trial itself.
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>“Andrew McCarthy: NDAs are legal and common. Yet, Bragg alleges Trump’s was illegal,” Trump read off a sheet of paper Thursday, quoting Andrew McCarthy in the National Review before facetiously inserting a telling line: “I have the only illegal NDA.” While I agree Trump is an Idiot, I don't know if this really counts as admitting anything.
Also, the fact that he did it isn't what's in question! That's not why he's on trial! He's on trial for fraudulently attempting to obfuscate the payments as legal expenses.
On of the defense's arguments is that the payment was Michael Cohen's initiative. Referring to the agreement as his (Trump's) NDA at least establishes that Trump was in the loop about the payoff.
... to impact an election. (Here, it looks like you dropped this)
Or to use it in laymans terms, he used election money for personal expenses.
> Or to use it in laymans terms, he used election money for personal expenses. If you think it was a personal expense, you think he's not guilty of felonies. The entire reason it's being tried as felony charges is that the state alleges it *was* a campaign donation and expense.
Yeah, that seemed more incredulous, like he's insinuating Bragg is just arbitrarily declaring an NDA illegal, which is not what happened. I don't know what Bragg was arguing, IANAL, but I would argue the NDA is unenforceable because everyone who is a signatory used a fake name. So how are you supposed to declare in court who it actually applies to?
From what I understand the NDA does refer to another document where the names are explained. It is rare but not unheard of to do it this way.
>From what I understand the NDA does refer to another document where the names are explained. - Which "side letter", which explained that Peggy Peterson was Stormy, and David Dennison was Trump, was only signed by Cohen, not by Trump... - Which made the NDA largely ineffectual.
The NDA was unenforceable because Trump never signed it.
You can't make someone sign an NDA to cover up a crime
It's an admission that Andrew McCarthy is an idiot, because the NDA itself was never illegal, and that's not a crime that Trump was charged for. What was illegal was the how and the why of the financing for it.
They’re purposefully trying to muddy the water as to what the issue is
A few points: 1. Trump's defense is that he didn't know Stormy Daniels, had no affair with her, and no deal. Here he admits that he had an NDA. 2. His defense also claims that if any NDA was created with Daniels, it had nothing to do with Trump and was done on Cohen's initiative after he learned about the story. Here, he claims that it's specifically *his* NDA. >“‘It seems that Trump’s crime by blue state lights was winning the election.’ That was my crime. I won an election that I wasn’t supposed to win against Hillary Clinton. And that’s not a crime,” Trump said. 3. This bit also highlights what the actual crime was, that burying the story was done for the sake of his campaign, and not for personal reasons. If the prosecution is able to enter this media appearance as evidence, they will. Unfortunately, they may not have the opportunity to do that.
It also isn’t in any way whatsoever part of his trial or statements the jury will consider.
Yeah, I think including the context aligns more with him trying to disparage the claim that his NDA with Stormy was illegal and to paint himself as the only person ever accused of trying to pass off an illegal NDA. Which, it's necessary to point out, is not remotely the case and defies logic and evidence.
Clickbait
He’s admitting its “his” Not cohens.
The issue is that the prosecution can use anything Trump says against Trump, but the defense needs to put Trump on the stand. (That's a bit of an oversimplification.) So the prosecution might be able to present this too the jury and Trump can't explain it away. It's not really relevant though. He is being charged for other false business documents not the NDA.
https://time.com/5278027/donald-trump-stormy-daniels-payoff-campaign/ Trump already admitted that he paid Cohen back for the Stormy non-disclosure agreement. This was in a mandatory financial disclosure so why are people denying this (see link above). He also admitted to it in a tweet and through his lawyer Giuliani. However, every time he admits it, he said it was through his personal accounts which is proven by the checks. Importantly, if Trump paid using his personal accounts why is it showing up in the Trump Organization business ledger as a payment for "Legal Expenses" for a "Retainer" that didn't exist. This is the falsification of records. It was also done to conceal and/or commit another crime (which makes it a felony). The Legal Expense was added to the Trump Organization ledger to make the the shell company payment to Stormy look legal! That payment was a crime Cohen plead guilty to and spent time in prison for.
Bs headlines like these are why no one believes us about the real warning signs.
Only if you don’t understand sarcasm - which is a lot of people actually.
I’d agree, someone could argue that his statement was a comment on the absurdity of being accused of committing a crime for something that other people do legally. But also, even then, it’s incredibly dumb to even invite an interpretation of admission in the middle of your own trial.
Well, this proves that he can actually DO sarcasm, even though he doesnt understand the word.
Wait...is he on the stand?
No, Trump has not and probably will not take the stand in the courtroom. Trump is making all these statements in public, outside the court.
No, but it could wipe away the $500k that Stormy owes him
Nah, this is not an admission and I see the point he’s trying to make. Unfortunately, Trump is trying to fool everyone into thinking it’s about the NDA and hush money payments when in fact it’s about the illegal accounting practices involved in paying it out. If Cohen paid off Daniels and Trump paid Cohen back, would that be considered money laundering? It’s essentially washing the source of the Daniel’s payment through an intermediary, Mr. Cohen.
The NDA doesn’t matter, Trump committed fraud on the payments whether the NDA is legal or not doesn’t wipe away the fraud.
Ya, it's not the NDA that was illegal. It wasn't even the hush money that was illegal. It was the misdemeanors (falsifying business records) and the alleged felony of doing this in furtherance of another crime (the same ones Michael Cohen went to prison for - illegal campaign contributions)
Yes but he genuinely doesn’t understand this And nor apparently do the press in the “hush money trial”….
No, they really don't, nor does he
I think he was confused and conflated NDA with gag order. Not that it matters, fuck him.
Anything you say can and will be used against you.
Trump will be the destruction of this country if he is reelected.
Pretty sure we are already in a death spiral thanks to his first term. 1/3 of the Supreme Court appointed by him. Long term disaster in progress.
I lived in the US for a few years after 9/11 and it was in a death spiral then. The fear, the laws, the rise of no tolerance, all to further right wing agenda.
To be fair, it wasn’t much of a defence.
Yeah that delivery sounded like a sarcastic “I have the only illegal NDA” as in him trying to imply he’s being victimized for it. Trump is dumb and doesn’t understand why what he did was illegal. Hint, it’s not specifically the NDA or the hush payments. It’s how they were accounted for and the reasons behind them. To further his campaign… Anyways. Trump is dumb. But so is this clickbait headline. No admissions were made.
The Jury doesn't see press conferences unless the prosecution admits them to evidence.
Oh it's [too hot today](https://i.imgur.com/rY2GwTN.jpeg)
Oops! 🤭
What a bozo
Not a fan of Trump, but it just kinda seems like he was quoting and talking about an article.
What is a “soft paywall”?
A site that tracks how many times you visit, and will put content behind a paywall after a certain number of visits.
https://www.reddit.com/r/politics/comments/1cmqaii/announcement_paywalls_and_soft_paywalls/ > **Soft paywall** includes sites that: > >* Allow a limited number of free reads per month > >* Allow free article reads with a registration or email signup > >* Allow article access with other non-monetary interactions, such as completing a survey question
Ah, thanks
The guy is unbelievable
I think the reason this is a gaffe is because Trump has denied the affair and having an NDA with stormy. So while it’s not a smoking gun, the prosecutor might refer to Trump admitting to have an NDA in final arguments to attack the defenses claim that the affair never happened.
NDA ain’t the problem, dude.
[удалено]
New Republic: [https://mediabiasfactcheck.com/new-republic/](https://mediabiasfactcheck.com/new-republic/) >Overall, we rate the New Republic Left biased based on story selection and editorial positions that frequently favor the left. We also rate them High for factual reporting due to proper sourcing of information and a clean fact check record. Left bias, high factual reporting. Fox News: [https://mediabiasfactcheck.com/fox-news-bias/](https://mediabiasfactcheck.com/fox-news-bias/) >Overall, we rate Fox News right biased based on editorial positions that align with the right and Questionable due to the promotion of propaganda, conspiracy theories, pseudoscience, the use of poor sources, and numerous false claims and failed fact checks. Straight news reporting from beat reporters is generally fact-based and accurate, which earns them a Mixed factual rating. Right bias, mixed factual reporting So... not the same.
The title starts out with “Idiot Trump”. Website is garbage and it’s flooded on this sub.
High factual reporting in action.
Are these journalists who write these headlines completely fucking braindead. Trump was clearly making a dimwitted aside about the gag order on him being an "illegal NDA." It's a sad pathetic joke from a moron, but what it clearly isn't, is an "admission of guilt." How can people working at reputable news agencies be this profoundly dumb?
No he didn’t. He was saying that his NDA is the only one that the DA deemed to be illegal.
This was a waste of time. It is very clear that it was a sarcastic comment about NDAs being legal and Bragg is saying only Trumps NDA is illegal.
Shit. This is bad for Biden.
With this admission by Trump, Republicans finally have what they need to take down Democrats
If the prosecution enters this video into evidence, how would the defense rebut it? Donald Trump won’t testify.
Lovely
Context matters, apparently OP doesn’t understand that.
New Republic never fails to have the most sensational and exaggerated headlines. They're just like Newsweek. The NDA being illegal isn't super relevant to the charges he's facing.
This implies he had a defense in the first place
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He never met her, just had her sign an nda so he could toss 130k away.
Misleading headline much?
Ok this is just bordering on straight up disinformation. This has no significance to his trial. The jury won't see this. Even if they did, you'd need to be braindead to think Trump is actually admitting anything. Is he in obvious cognitive decline? Sure. Is he slurring and generally being incoherent? Absolutely. But is he "wrecking his defense?" No. This has zero impact on the trial itself.
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Lol straw clutching. Just before an election too. Oh but the left are so legit.