The attorney could have conceded that Trump slept with Stormy (sleazy but not illegal) and then argued that the payments made by Cohen to Stormy (again, for which the evidence is overwhelming)
were to keep the info from Melania (again, sleazy but not illegal) and not to influence the election. This latter point is important because influencing the election - if found to be true by the jury - is what turns the simple misdemeanors of falsifying records into felonies.
As a trial attorney, I love it when the facts of a case allow me to argue to a jury that the defendant did this (a misdemeanor only) but not this (a felony). People have an inherent and often unconscious desire to split the baby. But jurors are never told which charges
are misdemeanors and which are the far more serious felonies. So, playing to that desire to be “fair” it’s so desirable to be able to steer the jury toward the misdemeanor and away from the felony.
So why didn’t Todd Blanche make the arguments that fit the evidence, maintain his credibility, and protect Trump from a felony conviction?
Why is he taking a position that seems absurd on its face: Cohen just decided, without talking to Trump, to take out a mortgage on his own home so he could pay a porn star to keep quiet about an affair that didn’t really happen? Does that even make sense?
It does when you know this: a defense attorney MUST pretty much accept his client’s version of the facts, no matter how implausible. Trump - who’s gotten away with creating his own reality for decades - is trying it again, in court and with this jury.
So the best way for Trump to win would be to humbly admit what everyone already knows (that he slept with Stormy) but was then so concerned about hurting Melania, that he paid Stormy to keep quiet. He had no intention of influencing the election - his only concern was his family
@rogertansey Sure, like that's what he was concerned about!
@rogertansey Hopefully not. How can he fool anyone at this point? He doesn't GAF about anything but himself, NEVER has!