Veep Nominee Beat Similar Rap
A
candidate for national ofice is accused of arranging hush money
payments to conceal an alleged affair. No, the case isn’t about Donald Trump. But the prosecution of Democrat vice presidential nominee John Edwards just over a decade ago has startling similarities to Trump’s indictment. And they don’t augur well for the
EDWARDS
success of this prosecution. The heart of the indictment against
Cable executives can’t wait for a
trial that will center on hush money payments, sex, and attempted black- mail. And it will feature the most colorful — and comical — characters imaginable. I doubt that any movie producer
could cast a film featuring the follow- ing motley crew: STORMY DANIELS: A porn star
who has nicknamed her breasts “Thunder” and “Lightning.” She is in the story because she approached Trump just before the 2016 election and threatened to expose their alleged affair. Trump paid her $130,000 from his
personal funds to keep quiet. Some say his motive was not to anger his wife, Melania. Others say he was wor- ried about pre-election news cover- age about her allegations turning off voters.
KAREN MCDOUGAL: A Playboy
model who was paid $150,000 to keep quiet about another alleged affair with Trump.
MICHAEL COHEN: Trump’s ex-
lawyer and consigliere who in 2018 pleaded guilty to perjury and tax fraud involving the Daniels payment. He will be Bragg’s star witness but may not be a credible one. He will have to explain in court why, in a new book last year, he
claims to be innocent of the charges he pleaded guilty to. DINO SAJUDIN: A doorman who
was paid $30,000 to keep quiet about a story he wanted to spread about a Trump illegitimate child who was found to not exist. Why would Bragg agree to risk his
legal reputation and defeat in court by getting involved in a circus with these characters? The answer isn’t a mystery. Bragg
won his current office by narrowly winning the 2021 Democrat primary for Manhattan D.A. An underdog, he found it neces-
sary to recklessly outflank his better- funded left-wing competitors by con- stantly bragging “he had sued Donald Trump more than a hundred times” while a prosecutor in the office of the New York state attorney general. He signaled to primary voters that Trump would be a target of his. After taking office in 2022, Bragg
inherited the six-year-old Daniels “zombie” case from his predecessor, Cyrus Vance, who had declined — along with federal prosecutors — to pursue the weak case. Bragg soon found himself pres-
sured to find a case — any case — to indict Trump on. At first, he resisted
Continued on page 12
Edwards was that he had solicited some $1 million from wealthy donors to hide his affair with Rielle Hunter, a videographer who had worked on his two campaigns for president. Edwards’ lawyers argued — as Trump’s
legal team will as well — that the payments did not violate any laws because they were aimed at shielding his family from pain and embarrassment rather than trying to conceal an affair to avoid alienating voters. Jurors found Edwards not guilty on
one count of illegal use of campaign funds. Mistrials were declared on all of the other counts against him when the jury couldn’t reach a verdict. The Justice Department chose not to refile any charges. Today, even Michael Avenatti, the
former lawyer for Stormy Daniels, the porn star at the heart of the Trump indictment, has strong doubts about Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s indictment. Avenatti, 52, is currently serving 14
years for tax fraud and stealing millions of dollars from clients. He points out in a tweet from his
federal prison cell that Edwards beat the charges against him by undermining the credibility of a former aide who testified against him. He thinks the unreliability of Bragg’s
star witness Michael Cohen, who once served as Trump’s personal lawyer and delivered the hush money, will be devastating. “Rule: If you have to meet with a
witness over 20 times to get to the alleged ‘facts’ and the ‘truth,’ RUN!!! Because you’ve got yourself a terrible witness who can’t be trusted and might just crater your career and your reputation,” Avenatti tweeted. — J.F.
MAY 2023 | NEWSMAX 11
STEVEN HIRSCH/POOL/AFP VIA GETTY IMAGES
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