A Four-Word Text Message May Be What Sinks Trump In His Hush Money Trial

A four-word text between Keith Davidson, an attorney for Stormy Daniels and Dylan Howard, a former editor at the National Enquirer, could wind up being the most damning evidence that former president Donald Trump and his surrogates directly interfered in the 2016 election, which is a felony and could land Trump in prison for several years, according to legal expert Norm Eisen.

In an op-ed he wrote for CNN, Eisen notes that the text message is crucial to a larger understanding of what Trump was attempting to do: Hide an embarrassing sex scandal from voters shortly after the Access Hollywood tape had been aired and nearly upended his bid for the White House.

“Although Davidson is just a supporting actor in this drama, his role in negotiating the alleged payment to Daniels makes him an important witness to lay down the basic facts of the alleged ‘catch and kill’ plot — and to corroborate the details that former American Media, Inc. CEO and National Enquirer publisher David Pecker established and Cohen will ultimately testify about,” Eisen explains. “Perhaps the most dramatic moment of Davidson’s morning testimony came when he was asked about an election night 2016 text message exchange with Dylan Howard —a former editor of the National Enquirer who helped broker the negotiations for the story. The prosecution asked Davidson to explain the meaning of a text he had sent to Howard that evening. As the election was about to be called for Trump, Davidson sent a text to Howard asking, ‘What have we done?'”

The importance of that text message cannot be overstated, Eisen continues, because the New York hush money trial isn’t just about cash in exchange for silence or business fraud. It’s about the possibility that Trump and his associates acted to defraud voters.

“Without the intent to cover up another offense, falsifying documents is just a misdemeanor. The reason Trump has been charged with felony document falsification here is because it was allegedly done with intent to cover up a payment in excess of campaign contribution limits that was made in order to impact an election.”

Additionally, Eisen reveals, prosecutors don’t have to prove the hush money scheme with Daniels actually changed any votes or led to Trump’s victory in order for the ex-president to be found guilty. Having the intent to do so would be enough.

“I was watching the jury closely when Davidson spoke, and they were riveted. The prosecution is constantly finding ways to tell jurors that they are giving weeks of their life to weigh a matter that is not trivial, but critical for the honesty of our elections and our democracy. We will see if they agree when they ultimately deliver their verdict.”

Four simple words could be what doom Trump and lead to his incarceration before a single ballot is cast in the 2024 election. How ironic would that be?