Day 462: Hypocritical Trump: Fifth Amendment Edition

The hypocrisy of Donald Trump knows no bounds. Unlike past instances, the one currently present is dangerous to the man himself.

Trump’s lawyer, Michael Cohen, is alleged to have paid adult film star Stormy Daniels $130,000 just before the 2016 election to buy her silence. This payment — and potentially other actions — has drawn federal scrutiny and has his home and office to be raided by the FBI and Cohen to be under federal investigation for bank fraud and violation of campaign finance laws. Many of Trump’s team — and even Trump himself — are concerned that Cohen will flip.

Now, Cohen has notified that the court in the civil matter surrounding the hush agreement between Trump and Daniels that he will exercise his rights against self-incrimination regarding the alleged payment.

Trump has spoken out frequently and harshly about those that assert their Fifth Amendment privilege, including once saying, “The mob takes the Fifth. If you’re innocent, why are taking the Fifth Amendment?”

Now that Trump is personally implicated by Cohen’s actions, and it’s Trump’s staff being investigated (or indicted) and pleading the Fifth, it remains to be seen whether Trump changes his tune about the Constitutionally-protected right. It’s hypocritical at best to criticize someone for using the privilege while your staff later uses the same privilege to protect themselves and you. It seems Trump is satisfied robotically repeating the tropes “witch hunt” and “fake news” on Twitter multiple times per week.

462 days in, 1000 to go

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