Will Stormy Daniels finally be the one to take Trump down, or is this just more of the same old “walls are closing in on Trump” narrative? Watch my panel with Kevin Corke.
Transcript:
Howard Kurtz
Gayle, it’s hard to imagine, given all the things that Donald Trump has been accused of, and often without any charges being filed, that the Stormy Daniels case is the one that would result in criminal charges. But how do you avoid covering it when the Manhattan District Attorney who had passed on this some time ago is actually taking testimony right now before a grand jury about this?
Gayle Trotter
Well, time is going to tell whether or not this is yesterday’s news, which is recycled, because as you know how since 2017, the media has endlessly reported that the walls are closing in on Donald Trump. And yet, in this case, even the time the New York Times article on this acknowledged that the legal theory behind charging him is tenuous, that it’s untried, that we don’t even know if he’s going to be charged with anything. And more importantly, even if he were to be charged in this case, are the prosecutors actually going to be able to prove their case? And we know that with Stormy Daniels, she had a civil case against Trump that was dismissed in 2019. And we remember who Stormy Daniels lawyer was. Michael Avenatti. And where is he now? Prison.
Howard Kurtz
Well, Kevin, this would make getting Al Capone on tax evasion seem super serious. Not to completely dismiss it, but it just seems of all the things January 16, you go through the list that this would be the thing that is going to a grand jury. And so I wonder if there actually were charges brought by Manhattan D. A. Alvin Bragg, whether or not that would actually make the MAGA base rally behind Donald Trump as an unfair victim of a New York prosecutor.
Kevin Corke
You couldn’t have said it better, Howie. This is a perfect example of the dog pile, if you will. People sort of feel like the hits just keep on coming, and yet they can’t seem to lay a real glove on Donald Trump. Remember this as well, and I think Gayle pointed this out very adroitly. They kept saying, the walls are closing in. And look, we know you can indict a ham sandwich, okay? But it doesn’t necessarily mean that this is going to amount to, ah, a molehill or mountain. I just don’t see where this goes. And why they would even pursue this, to me, is curious.
Gayle Trotter
And this is after $40 million of taxpayer money that was spent trying to find every yes, exactly. That only ended up showing no obstruction, no collusion.
