James A., Ph.D, Paralegal
In my professional opinion, the following is what I believe happened:
Daniels knew the risk of a defamation suit, so she never wanted to say she slept with Trump. She approached Trump’s lawyer, Michael Cohen, first, and said she MAY HAVE slept with Trump (she was quite evasive on Jimmy Kimmel so she has a pattern of this kind of elusive ambiguity and ‘read-between-the-lines’ gimmicks). Daniels knew that with the media hosting several ‘sexual assault victims’ against Trump during the election, this would be a hot story, but it’s better to try getting a pay day then to have to prove the story if challenged.
Cohen then took it upon himself to offer her a pay day ($130,000) thinking he’s doing Trump a favor, and would foolishly think that Trump would reimburse him for being such a fine, thoughtful lawyer. So Cohen offered to pay for her silence over a story that was likely a bluff to begin with. That Cohen acted on his own explains why Trump’s name was not used in the non-disclosure agreement (“NDA”), and why there was no signature (not even of the supposed alias, David Dennison). Why any lawyer would think that using an alias would constitute a binding contractual obligation is beyond me, but I digress.
As a year passes, Daniels thinks she can get more than $130K because several media outlets are now offering her a lot of money to dish on Trump, but she acts as if she can’t speak of “it”, she can simply give the IMPRESSION that something happened without ever having to actually confirm it. To bolster this impression even more, her lawyers then sue Trump over the NDA, not because Daniels actually plans to tell a story, but because the lawsuit actually puts the NDA in the public. Hence, Daniels can speak through her lawyer without Daniels actually confirming the affair so as to not violate the NDA, but it’s not quite defamation against Daniels if it’s the lawyer saying “it” and not Daniels (the lawyer can simply say he “thought” that’s what his client meant), and by putting the NDA in the spotlight, it gives the appearance that SOMETHING must have happened or there wouldn’t be an NDA in the first place. In other words, Daniels and her lawyers have constructed a slick legal maneuver to get around the NDA, while at the same time, using the NDA as the ‘evidence’ that an affair actually occurred because the NDA makes it appear as if Trump has something to hide. It’s a way of making petitio principii a bona fide legal maneuver.
Daniels’ lawyers have thrown a monkey wrench into the plot, though. Perhaps inadvertently. They publicly claimed that Daniels can speak about the “affair” without being in violation of the NDA because Trump never signed the NDA which makes the contract void. The question then remains, if that were true- WHY HASN’T SHE? I believe she’s simply waiting for the biggest offer from the likes of CNN, MSNBC or Megyn Kelly and the highest bidder gets a (not THE) story. Think about it, what’s the real risk in speaking out? If these allegations were true, do we REALLY think that Trump’s going to enforce an NDA that he claims no knowledge of? Daniels’ lawyers have surely thought of that as well. If Trump litigated a breach of contract, it would be a tacit admission to the allegations. The smartest thing mainstream media could do to implicate Trump would’ve been to pay Daniels millions of dollars to breach her NDA and dare Trump to sue her over it. So then why hasn’t she spoken? Because Trump was never involved in the first place, and the agreement was solely between Michael Cohen and Stormy Daniels without Trump ever being privy to the NDA. To speak out over a story that she knows is false would give her and the mainstream media a bloody nose. But as long as she can continue to play a game of well placed ambiguities she stays protected…and gets paid for it.
Trump probably first found out about the NDA when the FEC questioned Cohen and it was leaked to the media. Trump would’ve likely then called Cohen to his office and asked him why he did such a stupid thing like let some porn actress dupe him into a settlement when what Cohen should’ve done was brought this to the attention of the president and called her bluff. It wasn’t an accusation of sexual assault so it likely wouldn’t have affected the campaign. If the other 13 accusers and the Billy Bush tape didn’t slow the campaign down, one has to wonder what Cohen was thinking here. Cohen panicked.
The media will do anything to sabotage Trump’s presidency even if that includes trying to destroy all of his family members and his marriage. There’s even the possibility that the Deep State and the media want to create a scenario where after Trump hides an affair after the birth of his son with Melania, Melania becomes so enraged that she wants Trump dead; the Deep State then arranges the assassination and blames it on the First Lady. (Think about the speculation surrounding the Kennedy assassination regarding Jackie Kennedy’s motive for supposedly assisting in the assassination of her husband after discovering JFK’s multiple affairs, including one with Marilyn Monroe.) Granted, I believe the initial motive of the Democrats is to link the payment of this NDA to an election campaign issue as a grounds to impeach Trump, but they know they can’t prove Trump knew about it, so I believe there’s a much bigger, long-game with this Stormy Daniels issue.
I believe Cohen made a foolish choice and expected to get compensated for it. I’m reminded of a time where I bought my mother something expensive for her car that I thought she needed without getting her permission first. My mother didn’t want the item and certainly it was unreasonable to ask for reimbursement because I made the decision on my own (a refund was not an option). Cohen owns this, and there’s no evidence that Trump actually did what Daniel’s said, or that he knew about the claims that made up the substance of the NDA. But I’m sure at this point, Daniels will come up with a Stephen King novel if she gets paid enough.
On a personal note, as a Christian I am disgusted by many of Trump’s past trysts, and I don’t think Trump has a very knowledgeable spiritual life. But the reality is actual conservatives had a Hobson’s choice: elect an immoral boss who at least wanted to honestly help the country with policies that we agreed with, or express our outrage over his immoral behavior by letting a murdering, deceitful Communist/Socialist in office that would’ve destroyed what’s left of any freedoms America had. Those Never Trumpers who call that an erroneous ‘lesser of two evils’ argument are…well…idiots.
Do Right Christians 