# Manhattan Prosecutors file criminal charges for Trump re Stormy Daniels case - ongoing discussion here (Guilty on all 34 counts, May 30, 2024) **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Tags:** trump\ **Created:** [March 9, 2023, 10:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/manhattan-prosecutors-file-criminal-charges-for-trump-re-stormy-daniels-case-ongoing-discussion-here-guilty-on-all-34-counts-may-30-2024/980953 "2023-03-09T22:53:57Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 163
**Author:** ![TroutMan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/troutman/32/6721_2.png) [@TroutMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TroutMan)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2024, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/manhattan-prosecutors-file-criminal-charges-for-trump-re-stormy-daniels-case-ongoing-discussion-here-guilty-on-all-34-counts-may-30-2024/980953/3241 "2024-05-08T19:23:06Z")
I believe the statute of limitations had expired for some of the potential crimes he could have been charged with (including misdemeanor falsification of records). So that could be a potential reason for this charge and not others. ---
**Author:** ![Measure\_for\_Measure](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/measure_for_measure/32/557_2.png) [@Measure\_for\_Measure](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Measure_for_Measure)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2024, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/manhattan-prosecutors-file-criminal-charges-for-trump-re-stormy-daniels-case-ongoing-discussion-here-guilty-on-all-34-counts-may-30-2024/980953/3242 "2024-05-08T19:25:47Z")
> [@Joey\_P](#): > > Would that have been a deductible business or personal expense? If he would have had to pay tax on it, he wouldn’t have done it. It would have been a non-deductable campaign donation of $130,000, rather than a fraudulent tax deductible business expense of $420,000. Cohen wanted the higher figure because it was income that Cohen would have had to pay taxes on. I doubt whether the tax deduction was worth the $290,000 difference (even if you needed a separate line item to pay for Cohen’s negotiation work). ---
**Author:** ![DavidNRockies](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidnrockies/32/6279_2.png) [@DavidNRockies](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DavidNRockies)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2024, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/manhattan-prosecutors-file-criminal-charges-for-trump-re-stormy-daniels-case-ongoing-discussion-here-guilty-on-all-34-counts-may-30-2024/980953/3243 "2024-05-08T21:09:54Z")
I’m going to tack this onto the threads for all four of Trump’s criminal trials: > **[Timeline: Key legal and electoral dates for Donald Trump](https://www.yahoo.com/news/timeline-key-legal-and-electoral-dates-for-donald-trump-165958629.html)** > > In order to make sense of Trump's often-overlapping election and court dates, we’ve put together a comprehensive timeline that is constantly being updated. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2024, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/manhattan-prosecutors-file-criminal-charges-for-trump-re-stormy-daniels-case-ongoing-discussion-here-guilty-on-all-34-counts-may-30-2024/980953/3244 "2024-05-08T21:20:33Z")
[https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/4651130-trump-new-york-hush-money-gag-order/](https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/4651130-trump-new-york-hush-money-gag-order/) _trump knocks gag order, saying ‘sleazeballs, lowlifes, and grifters’ can speak out_ This is actually good logic on the part of trump **IF sleazeballs, lowlifes, and grifters’ can speak out.** **and given that trump _is_ a sleazeball, lowlife, and grifter** **The trump should be allowed to speak out.** Logic. However, the first part fails, afaik, since even sleazeballs, lowlifes, and grifters get gag orders sometimes. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2024, 9:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/manhattan-prosecutors-file-criminal-charges-for-trump-re-stormy-daniels-case-ongoing-discussion-here-guilty-on-all-34-counts-may-30-2024/980953/3245 "2024-05-08T21:48:51Z")
> [@Northern\_Piper](#): > > For the 25th Amendment to apply, the Vice-President and a majority of the cabinet have to issue a declaration that the President is unable to carry out their duties. Would Trump’s new VP do that? Presumably Trump would pick a VP candidate who has personal loyalty to him, so hard to see that happening. If the VP doesn’t invoke the 25th, Trump has full presidential powers. > > And even if the VP and cabinet do invoke the 25th, president Trump can contest it and it goes to Congress. It then takes two-thirds votes of each house to declare that he’s unable to act. In the current political climate, I can’t see that happening. Trump has too much support, especially in the House, for a two-thirds vote in both houses. (It would be the new Congress that is faced with the issue, but I don’t think that new Congress will have a significantly smaller pro-Trump alignment, and will have at least one-third pro/Trumpers in each house.) Sure, but you (or more precisely, Trump) can’t have it both ways. If Trump says that he’s not incapacitated, and can carry out the duties of the Presidency from within a cell, then the state that put him in a cell isn’t stopping him from carrying out his duties. And if he does admit that he’s incapacitated by being in a cell, then the state that put him there still isn’t stopping the President from carrying out his duties, because the President in that case is the running mate who’s still free. As for statements made by Trump’s proxies and spokespersons, presumably he could avoid a contempt charge from their statements by saying “What? She wasn’t supposed to say that! I’m firing her as my spokesperson!”. Because that’s what you do with spokespersons who say things on your behalf that they’re not supposed to: You fire them, because their whole job is saying what you want them to say. ---
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2024, 10:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/manhattan-prosecutors-file-criminal-charges-for-trump-re-stormy-daniels-case-ongoing-discussion-here-guilty-on-all-34-counts-may-30-2024/980953/3246 "2024-05-08T22:21:32Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > As for statements made by Trump’s proxies and spokespersons, presumably he could avoid a contempt charge from their statements by saying “What? She wasn’t supposed to say that! I’m firing her as my spokesperson!”. Because that’s what you do with spokespersons who say things on your behalf that they’re not supposed to: You fire them, because their whole job is saying what you want them to say. IANAL, but there have been quite a few comments about Habba and her outrageous comments and whether they could draw a penalty due to the gag order. If she was acting as an official spokesperson, then possibly so, but it’s not clear that she was, or that she’s currently on Trump’s payroll in any capacity. I can see Trump raising an effective defense by saying that he has no control over any opinions she expresses as a private person, the same way that she was in court just as a spectator. ---
**Author:** ![DWMarch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dwmarch/32/1010_2.png) [@DWMarch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DWMarch)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2024, 10:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/manhattan-prosecutors-file-criminal-charges-for-trump-re-stormy-daniels-case-ongoing-discussion-here-guilty-on-all-34-counts-may-30-2024/980953/3247 "2024-05-08T22:57:05Z")
> [@wolfpup](#): > > If she was acting as an official spokesperson, then possibly so, but it’s not clear that she was, or that she’s currently on Trump’s payroll She is Trump’s spokesperson but he’s probably not paying her so… loophole! ---
**Author:** ![simster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/simster/32/1047_2.png) [@simster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/simster)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2024, 11:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/manhattan-prosecutors-file-criminal-charges-for-trump-re-stormy-daniels-case-ongoing-discussion-here-guilty-on-all-34-counts-may-30-2024/980953/3248 "2024-05-08T23:04:49Z")
Could Trump be impeached on day 1 for the actions on jan 6th 2020? Could the articles that were passed then be resent to the senate? ---
**Author:** ![bobot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bobot/32/21622_2.png) [@bobot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bobot)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2024, 11:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/manhattan-prosecutors-file-criminal-charges-for-trump-re-stormy-daniels-case-ongoing-discussion-here-guilty-on-all-34-counts-may-30-2024/980953/3249 "2024-05-08T23:16:52Z")
In your hypothetical, I guess Trump wins in November? ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2024, 11:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/manhattan-prosecutors-file-criminal-charges-for-trump-re-stormy-daniels-case-ongoing-discussion-here-guilty-on-all-34-counts-may-30-2024/980953/3250 "2024-05-08T23:22:48Z")
> [@wolfpup](#): > > . If she was acting as an official spokesperson, then possibly so, but it’s not clear that she was, or that she’s currently on Trump’s payroll in any capacity The chyron when she was making those comments literally referred to her as “PRESIDENT TRUMP’S LEGAL SPOKESWOMAN”. It’s gonna be a pretty hard argument that she wasn’t speaking on his behalf when she allowed herself to be identified as such. [![](https://pbs.twimg.com/card_img/1788037553939152896/J0S3RMIM?format=jpg&name=medium) ](https://pbs.twimg.com/card_img/1788037553939152896/J0S3RMIM?format=jpg&name=medium) ---
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2024, 11:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/manhattan-prosecutors-file-criminal-charges-for-trump-re-stormy-daniels-case-ongoing-discussion-here-guilty-on-all-34-counts-may-30-2024/980953/3251 "2024-05-08T23:29:20Z")
> [@Smapti](#): > > The chyron when she was making those comments literally referred to her as “PRESIDENT TRUMP’S LEGAL SPOKESWOMAN”. Interesting, thanks for that. Not being exactly a Fox News regular, I had not seen that. The repercussions might be quite interesting! I still think the Trumpster will try to weasel out of any potential liability by claiming that he knew nothing about it, a claim which – you gotta admit – is usually true in the wider scheme of things! ---
**Author:** ![Moriarty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/moriarty/32/49_2.png) [@Moriarty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moriarty)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2024, 11:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/manhattan-prosecutors-file-criminal-charges-for-trump-re-stormy-daniels-case-ongoing-discussion-here-guilty-on-all-34-counts-may-30-2024/980953/3252 "2024-05-08T23:30:36Z")
> [@Smapti](#): > > The chyron when she was making those comments literally referred to her as “PRESIDENT TRUMP’S LEGAL SPOKESWOMAN”. You missed the “former”; she’s the _former_ President Trump’s Legal Spokesman. (Former can’t possibly refer to donald. He’s president for life, don’tcha know?) ---
**Author:** ![chappachula](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/d2c977/32.png) [@chappachula](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chappachula)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2024, 11:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/manhattan-prosecutors-file-criminal-charges-for-trump-re-stormy-daniels-case-ongoing-discussion-here-guilty-on-all-34-counts-may-30-2024/980953/3253 "2024-05-08T23:47:59Z")
> [@Smapti](#): > > The chyron when she was making those comments literally referred to her as “PRESIDENT TRUMP’S LEGAL SPOKESWOMAN” Why is the chyron her responsibility? It is a tag written by an anonymous editor in the tv studio. Any time a politician gives a speech, it is covered by several news agencies, and each one publishes the story with a headline or chyron written by an anonymous editor in the agency. The N.Y. Times may write “Trump denies accusation of fraud” while Fox will write “Trump accuses liberal judge of unfair bias”. (just a hypothetical example).But the politician is not expected to monitor and reply to every editor’s tagline. ---
**Author:** ![bengangmo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/50afbb/32.png) [@bengangmo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bengangmo)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2024, 11:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/manhattan-prosecutors-file-criminal-charges-for-trump-re-stormy-daniels-case-ongoing-discussion-here-guilty-on-all-34-counts-may-30-2024/980953/3254 "2024-05-08T23:49:58Z")
The experience I have arranging TV interviews for my clients - their title/how they were introduced was a deliberate decision discussed ahead of time and “approved” by the interviewee. ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2024, 11:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/manhattan-prosecutors-file-criminal-charges-for-trump-re-stormy-daniels-case-ongoing-discussion-here-guilty-on-all-34-counts-may-30-2024/980953/3255 "2024-05-08T23:56:40Z")
> [@chappachula](#): > > Why is the chyron her responsibility? She’s a lawyer. It’s literally her job to make sure she’s not being falsely represented as someone’s advocate if she isn’t. ---
**Author:** ![Horatius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/horatius/32/3572_2.png) [@Horatius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatius)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2024, 11:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/manhattan-prosecutors-file-criminal-charges-for-trump-re-stormy-daniels-case-ongoing-discussion-here-guilty-on-all-34-counts-may-30-2024/980953/3256 "2024-05-08T23:58:25Z")
You’re parsing it wrong. Not “Former president Trump’s” spokesperson, but Former “president Trump’s spokesperson”. /LionelHutzNo,MoneyDown! ---
**Author:** ![Euphonious\_Polemic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/euphonious_polemic/32/3002_2.png) [@Euphonious\_Polemic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Euphonious_Polemic)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2024, 12:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/manhattan-prosecutors-file-criminal-charges-for-trump-re-stormy-daniels-case-ongoing-discussion-here-guilty-on-all-34-counts-may-30-2024/980953/3257 "2024-05-09T00:06:31Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > “If I have to warn you again you may force me to warn you again!”. “And next time will be a _stern_ warning, followed by another different warning.” ---
**Author:** ![DavidNRockies](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidnrockies/32/6279_2.png) [@DavidNRockies](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DavidNRockies)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2024, 12:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/manhattan-prosecutors-file-criminal-charges-for-trump-re-stormy-daniels-case-ongoing-discussion-here-guilty-on-all-34-counts-may-30-2024/980953/3258 "2024-05-09T00:11:54Z")
And if he comes back? Shall Judge Merchan taunt him a _second_ time?? ---
**Author:** ![CaptMurdock](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/captmurdock/32/11736_2.png) [@CaptMurdock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CaptMurdock)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2024, 1:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/manhattan-prosecutors-file-criminal-charges-for-trump-re-stormy-daniels-case-ongoing-discussion-here-guilty-on-all-34-counts-may-30-2024/980953/3259 "2024-05-09T01:01:26Z")
Well, yeah. You don’t want to shoot the Mona Lisa and steal JFK, right? ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2024, 1:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/manhattan-prosecutors-file-criminal-charges-for-trump-re-stormy-daniels-case-ongoing-discussion-here-guilty-on-all-34-counts-may-30-2024/980953/3260 "2024-05-09T01:17:10Z")
> [@DavidNRockies](#): > > And if he comes back? Shall Judge Merchan taunt him a _second_ time?? That might be backwards as it’s Trump (literally) farting in Merchan’s general direction. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/manhattan-prosecutors-file-criminal-charges-for-trump-re-stormy-daniels-case-ongoing-discussion-here-guilty-on-all-34-counts-may-30-2024/980953.md?page=162) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/manhattan-prosecutors-file-criminal-charges-for-trump-re-stormy-daniels-case-ongoing-discussion-here-guilty-on-all-34-counts-may-30-2024/980953.md?page=164)