Trump and his legal team are currently seeking to persuade the judge to prevent former White House employees from giving testimony against him in Manhattan.
Jose Pagliery of The Daily Beast was present in the courtroom and shared:
I *think* the judge just said he'll address that as it comes at trial.
Next, the judge says he'll rule next week on Trump's claim that "he believes his conduct was legal because Cohen as an attorney negotiated the payments in question."
— Jose Pagliery (@Jose_Pagliery) April 19, 2024
Executive Privilege, which is likely the direction Trump and his legal team are taking, does not apply because it does not cover illegal activity. Despite Trump's attempts to argue otherwise, Executive Privilege does not grant presidents the right to commit crimes.
The second argument presented by Trump and his legal team appears equally absurd. A crime does not become lawful simply because a lawyer is involved in its commission. However, the notion that Trump believed he could engage in criminal activities as long as a lawyer was involved reflects a very Donald Trump-like manner of thinking.
With each passing moment that Trump spends in court, his efforts to avoid accountability appear increasingly unrealistic and desperate. Trump's strategy in this case has been to blame Michael Cohen for years, so it appears that evading conviction by blaming Cohen remains the plan.
