The judicial persecution of Donald Trump was in evidence this Thursday when the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals of California ruled in favor of the former president in a case investigating him for the same fact that prosecutor Alvin Bragg is trying to arrest him in the New York justice.
The extremely left-wing California justice, even more than the New York justice, ruled that Stormy Daniels, the porn actress who accused Trump of using money from the 2016 presidential campaign to silence her, defamed the former president with lies.
The sex worker, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford, will have to pay Trump US$120,000 in legal fees and another US$460,000 for defaming him with falsehoods.
In total, she will have to pay some US$600,000.
In 2018, the porn actress sued Trump for defamation when he called Daniels’ account that she had been threatened by a stranger in 2011 not to talk about her relationship with the former president a “scam.”
Daniels claims that she had a sexual relationship with Trump in 2006 and that to keep her story secret, Trump’s then-lawyer, Michael Cohen, gave her US$130,000 weeks before the 2016 presidential election, which the Republican won.
The lawsuit was dismissed last year, and the actress tried to appeal the decision. Still, a judge again ruled in Trump’s favor, ruling that Daniels was the one who slandered the Republican presidential candidate.
In response, Daniels assured that she would rather go to jail “than pay a penny” and re-filed a motion to reduce the fee payment, but this was also dismissed, and the extra costs generated increased the debt.
This strange situation has led to Trump being investigated for the same crime in two different courts simultaneously, which the Constitution does not allow.
In California, the plaintiff is Stormy Daniels, and the case failed.
However, in New York, Daniels got the support of the Democratic prosecutor Alvin Bragg, and they are betting on getting a more left-wing jury to convict him.
For now, defense motions will be filed in August and responded to by the prosecution in September.
The next summons is set for December 4 of this year, with the trial proper beginning only on January 4, 2024.
THE CASE IN NEW YORK: THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY’S BIG BET TO WEAR DOWN TRUMP IN HIS 2024 CAMPAIGN
Like the California justice, the New York justice is investigating the payment of US$130,000 to porn actress Stormy Daniels, who in 2016 had publicly threatened that she would release a book telling that she had an affair with Trump shortly after his marriage to Melania Trump.
Daniels signed a confidentiality agreement with Trump’s lawyer, Michael Cohen, and ultimately did not publish the book.
But two years later, in 2018, attorney Michael Avenatti convinced Daniels to press charges against Trump, given that the payment had been made amid the presidential campaign and could be considered a political bribe.
The case could only find Michael Cohen, Trump’s former lawyer, guilty, as there was no evidence that Trump had ordered or reimbursed him for the money.
The justice ruled that Cohen acted of his own free will without the knowledge of the then-presidential candidate.
The situation was sealed when Avenatti went to prison in 2019 after it was proven that he had defrauded Daniels and stolen money from her.
However, in 2021, the case was revived by Bragg, who decided to continue with the investigation.
After two more years leading the case, the prosecutor announced that he had obtained all the evidence necessary to file charges against Trump.
Court documents were leaked by Fox News last Sunday, which showed Bragg saying he would recommend Trump’s immediate arrest.
The former president posted the news on Truth Social and accused Bragg of illegally working with the FBI to coordinate his high-profile arrest.
Ultimately, the court agreed to charge Trump but denied the request for pretrial detention.
Just as in California, all indications are that the New York case should not prosper.
In a 2018 letter, Michael Cohen assured the Federal Election Commission (FEC) that the money paid to Stormy Daniels came entirely from his personal funds.
In the same letter, it is further specified that neither the Trump Organization nor Donald Trump’s campaign team had any involvement in the transaction with Stormy Daniels, nor was reimbursement made directly or indirectly to Cohen for the amount disbursed.
Finalizing with the content of the document, on behalf of Michael Cohen, his lawyer, Stephen Ryan, expressed that Cohen in no way made any contributions to Donald Trump’s presidential campaign or any political campaign, highlighting that the role of the Election Commission (FEC) has no place in the investigation since it has nothing to do with electoral matters.
This letter is before the court and is part of the evidence in the case, so, strangely, the Manhattan court has decided to prosecute Trump for a crime he did not commit.
With information from La Derecha Diario