I joined Monocle 24’s The Briefing on Thursday to discuss how Donald Trump’s lawyer Rudy Giuliani stumbled when he used a Fox TV appearance to try and sweep away a $130,000 pay-off to porn star Stormy Daniels — 11 days before the 2016 election — to be silent about a 2006 sexual encounter with Trump:
This is an attempt by Giuliani and the remaining Trump lawyers to close ranks over what [Trump’s personal lawyer] Michael Cohen might say about the pay-off to prosecutors.
The problem is that Giuliani has only gotten Trump into further problems. If Trump did repay $130,000 to Cohen, it is a possible violation of campaign finance laws.
See TrumpWatch, Day 469: Giuliani Gets Trump Into More Trouble as White House Caught Off-Guard
We also discuss how Giuliani and Trump’s legal team are trying to escape the danger of Trump being interviewed by Special Counsel Robert Mueller in the Trump-Russia investigation. And we chat about why Trump seems to be relying now on a risky strategy crafted only by him and his New York friend Giuliani.
Giuliani’s task on Fox TV was to appeal to those 35% of American people who will rise or fall with Donald Trump. Make the facts go away, make the evidence, make Robert Mueller go away.
There’s only one problem with that: the facts, evidence, and Mueller aren’t going to go away.
Listen from 1:01: