‘This case is obviously a corruption of the law,’ Mr. Musk said. ‘Lawfare.’
Elon Musk has called the New York “hush money” trial against former President Donald Trump “obviously a corruption of the law” and an act of “lawfare,” as the first-ever criminal trial against a former U.S. president kicked off in a Manhattan courtroom.
Mr. Musk made the remark in a post on X in response to a post by former Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy, who offered his own critical commentary on a trial that he believes is “tearing our country apart.”
This case is obviously a corruption of the law.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) April 15, 2024
Lawfare.
President Trump’s trial got underway on April 15 in a case officially known as The People of the State of New York v. Donald J. Trump, in which the former president is accused of hiding so-called “hush money” payments to an adult film actress by falsifying business records.
He has repeatedly denied wrongdoing and, before he entered the courtroom on Monday, reiterated his position that the case is politically motivated.
“This is really an attack on a political opponent. That’s all it is,” President Trump told reporters outside the courtroom before going inside.
‘Legal Stretch’
In the case, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg charged President Trump with 34 counts of falsifying business records.
Such charges would normally be a misdemeanor but Mr. Bragg elevated them to the rank of felonies by claiming that the payments were part of a scheme to influence the 2016 election by burying potentially embarrassing news coverage of President Trump’s alleged tryst with adult film performer Stormy Daniels in exchange for $130,000 in “hush money” payments.
The former president has denied the affair and on April 10, he shared a photograph on social media of a document bearing the heading “Official Statement of Stormy Daniels” that’s dated Jan. 30, 2018, and bears her signature.
“I am not denying this affair because it was paid ‘hush money’ as has been reported in overseas owned tabloids,” the undersigned statement reads. “I am denying this affair because it never happened.”
Ms. Daniels, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford, has since recanted the contents of the letter, claiming she signed it under pressure from her representatives, before writing a salacious “tell-all” book about the alleged affair, from which she’s made an undisclosed sum.
By Tom Ozimek
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