Tim Murtaugh, Trump’s 2020 communications director, said former President Trump’s ongoing legal battles were political “from start to finish” and that he was disappointed in his decision to run for president again. He argued that this was likely to be the cause.
“When we talk about the trial, or jury selection, which is about to begin on Monday, I mean, if we take this and the three other legal actions that are being taken against former President Trump, the Republican I think that’s the first question that every member of the public, Democrats, independents, and others have, is, “If Donald Trump hadn’t run for president of the United States again, would these things have happened? ” you should ask yourself. Murtagh told NewsNation on Friday. “And the obvious answer is, no, no, I don’t think that’s going to happen.”
“When you come to that conclusion, the only possible explanation is that this is all political,” he continued, later adding. It’s political from start to finish. ”
Murtaugh argued that Trump’s hush money trial in New York, scheduled to begin Monday with jury selection, allegedly took place several years ago, in 2016 and 2017. He said he chose to file the lawsuit now to disrupt President Trump’s 2024 campaign.
President Trump’s hush money trial is scheduled to begin on April 15, despite attempts to delay the trial until after the November election. The highly publicized case is attracting a lot of attention as the first criminal trial of a former president.
The case is expected to feature two key witnesses: adult film star Stormy Daniels and Trump’s former personal attorney Michael Cohen. The lawsuit alleges that President Trump illegally falsified Cohen’s business records in order to force Cohen to repay payments he made to Daniels to cover up an alleged affair before the 2016 presidential election.
Mr. Murtaugh criticized Mr. Cohen, saying that “nothing” he said during the trial should be taken at face value because Mr. Cohen had “an ax to grind” with his former boss.
The former president was asked about his upcoming trial Friday during a press conference at the Mar-a-Lago resort. Trump, the presumptive Republican nominee, said juror selection was “mostly luck” and that he would “absolutely” testify if necessary.
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