Trump trolled for contradicting his lawyers' argument of him not being aware of hush money payment deal

MANHATTAN, NEW YORK: Former president Donald Trump was caught on a courthouse corridor tirade seemingly admitting to being involved in the $130,000 nondisclosure agreement with Stormy Daniels.

This contradicts his lawyers’ claim to a jury that the real estate magnate wasn’t even aware of the hush money deal.

During his post-trial comments to reporters on Thursday afternoon, Trump remarked, “‘NDAs are legal and common, yet Bragg alleges Trump’s was illegal.’ I have the only illegal NDA.”

The 77-year-old MAGA strongman was reading from an article written by a supporter claiming Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg was unjustly persecuting him.

But his argument that "only" his NDA was deemed unlawful seemed to confirm that he had given his prior consent to it, HuffPost reported.

What happens now that Donald Trump has acknowledged participation in hush money NDA? 

The charges against Donald Trump for falsifying business records stem from reimbursements made to his then-lawyer, Michael Cohen, for the Stormy Daniels hush money payment, which the former president claims not to have known about until well after the fact.

The legality of the NDA was never in doubt, and the payment to Daniels was not a charged offense, despite Trump’s claims.

It is uncertain how this admission will impact his ongoing hush money criminal trial, in which the ex-POTUS has pleaded not guilty.

The 2024 presumptive Republican nominee continues to deny Daniels’ claim of a sexual encounter between the two in 2006, putting his attorneys in the unfamiliar position of having to explain payments to silence the story of an extramarital affair that Trump insists never occurred.

Throughout the hush money trial, Trump’s legal team has asserted that the efforts to buy Stormy Daniels’ silence about the alleged sexual encounter with Trump in 2006 were carried out by his employees, not the former president himself.

Trump attorney Todd Blanche told the jury in his April 22 opening statement, “Michael Cohen paying Stormy Daniels or Stephanie Clifford $130,000 in exchange for her agreeing to not publicly spread false ― false claims about President Trump is not illegal.”

While interrogating the prosecution's witnesses, he and Trump's other legal representatives have been working to challenge the testimony suggesting that Trump was aware of the scheme as it unfolded.

For instance, on Thursday, Blanche attempted to imply that a phone call on October 24, 2016, between Michael Cohen and Donald Trump was not related to the Stormy Daniels payment, but rather focused on Cohen informing his former employer and his bodyguard about receiving harassing calls from a teenager.

Glenn Kirschner, a former federal prosecutor, suggested that Trump's latest comments may have major implications for the outcome of his Manhattan trial.

“This latest comment, Trump acknowledging that ‘I’ had an NDA, illegal or otherwise, with Stormy Daniels, at least inferentially, seems to be inconsistent with the suggestion that Trump knew nothing about what Michael Cohen was doing to suppress the Stormy Daniels information,” Kirschner contended. “All inconsistencies will not be lost on the jury once introduced by prosecutors.”

However, former Trump White House lawyer Ty Cobb, who has turned into a critic of the former president in tandem with many of his previous staff members, pointed out that Trump's defense team may argue that he was only providing commentary on the case.

“Can easily be argued by Trump’s lawyers as fair comment on the evidence presented,” Cobb noted.

Prosecutors have been closely monitoring the ex-president’s public statements for several months, as evidenced by their complaints to trial Judge Juan Merchan about Trump repeatedly violating a gag order that prohibits him from verbally attacking witnesses and court personnel.

If they intend for jurors to consider Trump’s statement, they would need to find a way to have it admitted into evidence, as jurors are not supposed to use information from external sources such as news reports during their deliberations.

Prosecutors have informed Judge Merchan that Michael Cohen, who worked under Trump for years before pleading guilty and being sent to prison on multiple federal charges, including the Daniels hush money scheme, is their final witness.

His testimony is expected to conclude on Monday, which means the case could go to the jury next week unless Trump’s lawyers decide to bring in multiple witnesses.

If Donald Trump is convicted of the falsification of business records charges, he could face up to four years in prison.

Trump mocked for contradicting his lawyers of him not being aware of hush money deal

One X user remarked, "Pretty sure he just blew up his whole defense."

Another user said, "Pretty sure his lawyer didn't advise him to say that.."

Another user claimed, "This is DJT admitting he was part of the NDA. No one can legitimately make this stuff up, No one!"

One user explained, "The NDA is incidental & irrelevant. It's not about the NDA. It's about the payment. Paying off Stormy aided his campaign on the eve of an election. That made it a campaign contribution. Cohen went to prison for it 6 years ago. Trump is again admitting he paid for it."

Another X user quipped, "Well there goes his defense. Stable genius he is!"

Another user asked, "Will it be used by the prosecution though? One can only hope!"

Finally, this user tweeted, "If Cohen went to prison for doing all these things for Trump, how could Trump be innocent. It should be as simple as that."

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