I wrote in great detail last week about a story that is being mostly ignored for now but that I think will almost certainly end Trump’s presidency (Shera Bechard, Elliott Broidy, and the Inevitable End of a Presidency).
An extremely short recap:
- Trump had a multi-year affair with Playboy model Shera Bechard that resulted in a pregnancy and an abortion
- Bechard agreed to sign an NDA and remain silent about the whole thing in exchange for $1.6MM.
- Trump’s attorney, Michael Cohen, arranged for the money to be paid by Elliott Broidy, a wealthy Republican operative, who then gained close White House access which he parlayed into hundreds of millions of dollars.
- Cohen’s office was raided on April 9, 2018, and the NDA was among the documents siezed.
- Trump and Co. panicked and “leaked” the details of the NDA to the WSJ, among others, but did so in a way to create the impression that Broidy, not Trump, actually had the affair with Bechard
- Broidy, apparently tepidly on board with this plan, released a vague statement admitting to paying Bechard but not actually admitting to having an affair with her.
- This admission will prove to be a fatal mistake, as being able to prove that Broidy agreed to pay Bechard was going to be extremely difficult...significantly more difficult than proving an affair.
- Once the affair is exposed, the payment confession becomes instant evidence of violations of a multitude of laws and the whole thing will collapse. The abortion plus the admitted bribery will be too much for Trump to overcome.
The purpose of my post today is to point out a few developments from the last few days that move us slightly closer to the endgame:
Federal Election Commission and the Department of Justice Complaints
Newsweek (in the article I cited in my title) reports that non-profit watchdog group Free Speech for People has filed complaints with the FEC and DOJ questioning whether the payments made by Broidy to Bechard was actually for Trump’s benefit, and whether the payments violated federal campaign laws. Yet another potential source for the truth about the relationship.
A “person close to Broidy” addressed the allegations with the following statement: “The meritless allegations do not deserve a response.” Yet again, Broidy has declined to make a definitive statement regarding the existence of an affair between himself and Ms. Bechard.
Why dance around and not just go all-in on the cover-up?
My guess is that Broidy realizes that his best defense against any criminal charges will be that there is nothing inherently illegal about making large gifts to Playboy models; proving that he did so to benefit Trump is more difficult. As of now all that he has done is confess to doing things that he actually did; actively participating in a cover-up will make it much harder for him to claim a lack of awareness regarding whether or not his payments were really for Trump.
Michael Cohen is looking to hire attorneys with expertise in plea deals
Michael Cohen’s attorneys are not going to be representing him much longer, and McClatchy reports that Michael Cohen has been reaching out to attorneys with expertise in negotiating plea deals. Obviously, if Cohen flips, Trump is in big, big trouble.
Trump’s Charity not really a charity
The AG of New York has sued Trump and his children over illegal conduct related to the operations of the Trump Foundation. This is not really relevant to Bechard affair, but I think looking at the way Trump treated the Trump Foundation is useful in understanding the Broidy-Bechard payment.
While there is plenty of evidence available indicating that Donald Trump is a questionable “business man”, he is certainly a hell of a salesman….but he seems to lack an even basic understanding of accounting, or any details regarding various corporate entities. The only account he can see is “money that he can use”, and he uses that money to buy the things he wants to buy. He sees a Tim Tebow helmet that he wants, has a charity account that he controls, and so he buys it. He has an ex-girlfriend that he wants silenced, has an Elliott Broidy account that he controls, and so he makes it happen. These are obviously terrible ideas, and will be his downfall.
(x-posted here)