MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow reported Wednesday that she obtained documents written by former President Donald Trump’s attorneys this summer purporting to show Trump’s desire to once again silence adult film actor Stormy Daniels with a nondisclosure agreement on the eve of a presidential election. Maddow obtained those documents from a lawyer for Daniels.
He was convicted, in large part, based on a scheme to conceal hush money payments he made to Daniels before the 2016 presidential election.
In May, Trump became the first former president in our nation’s history to be convicted of a felony when he was found guilty on 34 counts of falsifying business records. He was convicted, in large part, based on a scheme to conceal hush money payments he made to Daniels before the 2016 presidential election. Simply put, he was convicted of funneling money to Daniels before the 2016 election so she did not share her story of her alleged sexual affair with the married Trump.
According to Maddow’s reporting, Trump seems not to have learned from his mistakes. According to the documents she was provided, this time Trump was not offering to directly make a new payment to Daniels. Instead, he reportedly offered to accept less money than he claimed Daniels owed him after an unsuccessful defamation suit she brought against him. In exchange, he wanted her to agree not to say anything disparaging about him. In the immortal words of Shirley Bassey, “It’s all just a little bit of history repeating.”
“We disagree that a payment of $620,000 would be in full satisfaction of the three judgments,” Trump’s lawyers said in a July letter obtained by Maddow from Daniels’ lawyer.
“However, we can agree to settle these matters for $620,000, provided that your client agrees in writing to make no public or private statements related to any alleged past interactions with President Trump, or defamatory or disparaging statements about him, his businesses and/or any affiliates or his suitability as a candidate for President,” the letter continued.
It’s important to remember that Trump was not convicted of trying to buy Daniels’ silence; he was convicted of the way he tried to go about it — that is, by falsifying business records. Trump’s new apparent offer to accept less money in exchange for Daniels’ silence does not appear to be illegal, but the revelation of it could still hurt him.
Daniels’ lawyer told MSNBC that they declined the offer and settled on $627,500 without Daniels’ agreeing to remain silent.
Daniels’ lawyer told MSNBC that they declined the offer and settled on $627,500 without Daniels’ agreeing to remain silent.
In a statement to MSNBC, Trump campaign spokesperson Steven Cheung said falsely that the documents Maddow obtained “were attained as part of an illegal, foreign hacking attack against President Trump and his team.”
He said, “We are working with authorities to determine the legal repercussions for those likely committing federal offenses by posting and utilizing stolen material by terror regime adversaries,” and “Ms. Daniels has been held to account by having to pay President Trump over and above the money she owes to him as a result of her wrongdoings.”
MSNBC obtained the documents from Daniels’ lawyer, not through a hack.
However, when (if?) New York state Judge Juan Merchan sentences Trump for those 34 convictions, Trump’s new alleged attempts to obtain Daniels’ silence could come into play. Under New York’s Criminal Procedure Laws, Merchan appears to have the discretion to consider Trump’s new behavior, particularly if the prosecution opts to put such in a presentencing report. It certainly does not suggest any remorse, which a judge who is sentencing a defendant would like to see. Trump, it’s important to remember, has already attacked Merchan, even after his conviction, calling him “highly conflicted.” Such accusations, when lodged against judges, cut deep. Judges are duty bound to act impartially, but any judge worth his or her salt will bristle at being accused by a convicted defendant of bias. Trump was convicted of class E felonies in New York. Each count carries with it the possibility of up to four years in jail. Let’s be clear, if Trump were sentenced to any jail time, his sentences would almost certainly run concurrently, which means all at the same time. In addition, it is very unlikely that he would be sentenced to the maximum of four years for any count. Even so, since was found guilty, Trump has not done much to help his case or to give Judge Merchan a reason to go easier on him. Trump has not done much to help his case or to give Judge Merchan a reason to go easier on him. The political reasons behind this new reported attempt to obtain Daniels’ silence are unclear. Is there anything left for us to know about this incident? Will it truly sway anyone’s vote? If Trump thinks so, then his attempt to keep her name out of the news certainly backfired. Here we are, weeks before the election, mentioning Daniels and Trump in the same sentence. That cannot boost his chances with swing voters. This truly is déjà vu all over again. Trump’ first attempt to buy Daniels’ silence, just before the 2016 election, led to his criminal convictions. The second alleged attempt, revealed less than a month out from Election Day, could remind voters of the very story he wanted to keep suppressed and lead to a harsher sentence.
Jessica Levinson is a Loyola Law School professor and MS NOW columnist. 
