Trump’s Defense Strategy in Upcoming Hush Money Trial: Emphasizing Past Lawyers’ Involvement
Subtitle: The former President’s legal team to focus on the role of past lawyers in the hush money payments during the trial, without using a formal “advice of counsel” defense.
The upcoming New York criminal trial of Donald Trump, scheduled to begin on March 25, will focus on the charges related to falsifying business records in connection with hush money payments made to an adult film star. Trump’s legal team has declared that they will not employ a formal “advice of counsel” defense, as reported in their court filing on Monday. Instead, they plan to argue that Trump’s utilization of lawyers for facilitating transactions at the heart of the case demonstrates his lack of criminal intent.
Trump has pleaded not guilty to the 34 counts that he’s facing. Judge Juan Merchan had previously ordered Trump’s attorneys to inform the court by Monday if they intended to use this legal theory at trial, providing prosecutors sufficient time to prepare and potentially obtain additional records.
Jury selection for what will be the first criminal indictment against Trump to go to trial is scheduled to commence on March 25th. The judge has yet to rule on Trump’s recent motion seeking a delay in the trial until the US Supreme Court makes a decision on his presidential immunity claim.
When the hush money case goes to trial, Trump’s legal team intends to challenge the prosecution’s ability to prove that Trump personally held an “unlawful intent.” They plan to question anticipated trial witnesses, including Michael Cohen and former executives at American Media Inc., the parent company of The Enquirer. Trump’s lawyers anticipate that these witnesses will testify about Trump’s awareness of his former attorneys’ involvement in the charged conduct.
By forgoing a formal “advice of counsel” defense, Trump’s legal team will not be obligated to exhibit that Trump confided in his attorneys, sought advice from them regarding the legality of the actions linked to the indictment, or relied on any related counsel in good faith. As stated in their filing, they will not be required to disclose more communications records between Trump and his lawyers concerning the alleged conduct or reveal further details of Trump’s defense strategy.
It remains uncertain whether Judge Merchan will permit this defense strategy, as noted in the filing that upcoming rulings from the judge on pending pretrial motions may influence Trump’s defense theory. The judge is anticipated to issue an order on these motions this week.
