In his upcoming criminal trial in New York City, Donald Trump has informed the presiding judge that he plans to employ a legal strategy that places the blame for any alleged criminal actions on the guidance provided by his attorneys.
The former president will assert, in part, that he cannot be held accountable for purportedly falsifying business records to hide payments made to an adult film star as hush money. He will argue that he was following the guidance of his legal advisors.
According to his attorneys, Mr. Trump will not formally rely on what is commonly known as an “advice-of-counsel” defense.
Donald Trump has chosen not to assert a “formal” advice-of-counsel defense, which would have required him to waive his attorney-client privilege and disclose confidential communications or other privileged materials.
Instead, according to his lawyers, the former president did not have the intention to commit the conduct mentioned in the Indictment. They argue that he was aware of the involvement of various lawyers in the underlying conduct that led to the charges. This argument was presented to New York Judge Juan Merchan.
According to Mr. Trump’s attorneys Todd Blanche and Susan Necheles, he plans to extract these facts from witnesses during the trial. One of the witnesses expected to testify is his former attorney, Michael Cohen, who will shed light on President Trump’s awareness of counsel’s involvement in the charged conduct.
Prosecutors were adamant that there is absolutely no basis for them to hear Mr. Trump’s defense before the trial.
Jury selection for the criminal trial related to the hush money payments made to Stormy Daniels before the 2016 presidential election is set to take place on March 25th.
This trial marks a significant milestone as it is the first criminal proceeding against the former president. It is also a historic event, as it is the first time in history that any former president is facing a trial. This is just one of the four criminal cases that he is currently dealing with in four different jurisdictions.
