In their criminal hush money case in New York, prosecutors intend to use comments from books such as "Trump: The Art of the Deal" and other statements made by the former president against him when he goes on trial next month, according to court documents.
According to a recent defense filing, the Manhattan district attorney's office gave the former president's defense team a list of previous statements, including forty-six quotes from books published between 1987 and 2015, which they intend to use as evidence during the trial.
The statements were taken from books written by Trump, such as "Think Like a Billionaire," "How to Get Rich," "Think Big and Kick Ass," and "Great Again." His memoir, "Trump: The Art of The Deal," peaked at number one on the New York Times best seller list.
The attempt has been met with resistance from Trump's legal team, who claim that it could sway the jury's decision and has no bearing on the case's alleged behavior.
Defense attorney Todd Blanche contended in a document made public this week that "Whatever President Trump's style of business operations was in 1987, 2004 and 2007... is by no means probative for how he would have operated those businesses when he was President of the United States of America."
In April of last year, Trump entered a not guilty plea to a 34-count indictment that accused him of fabricating company documents in relation to a payment of hush money made to adult film actress Stormy Daniels only days prior to the 2016 presidential election. The trial for the former president, who has denied any wrongdoing, is set for March 25.
The defense claims that some of the comments from Trump that the prosecutors plan to emphasize center on his business philosophy, such as his thrift and "hands-on" style, while other quotes center on Trump's relationships with women, which is anticipated to be a major theme of the trial.
In 2007's "Think Big and Kick Ass," Trump wrote, "I have been able to date (screw) them all because I have something that many men do not have," as underlined by prosecutors. "I don't know what it is but women have always liked it."
Some of those remarks, such as when Trump wrote, "I always think of myself as the best-looking guy and it is no secret that I love beautiful women," defense lawyers claim could offend juries.
"Whether intentionally or inadvertently, every woman on The Apprentice made eye contact with me. That is anticipated. According to prosecutors' list of Trump's prior utterances, he stated in 2004's "How to Get Rich" that "a sexual dynamic is always present between people, unless you are asexual."
Prosecutors pointed out that Trump's prior remarks and acts pose "a significant risk of juror harassment and intimidation" in a recent request they filed to keep the identities of the jurors in the trial private, quoting directly from "How to Get Rich."
Prosecutors cited Trump's 2004 book, which said, "When somebody hurts you, just go after them as viciously and as violently as you can." "For many years I've said that if someone screws you, screw them back."
Prosecutors expressly asked that only the counsel of record for each party have access to the residence addresses of the jurors, claiming that Trump's previous attacks on them "caused them to fear for their own safety and the safety of their families."
"Defendant's rhetoric about attacking his perceived opponents is, according to him, part of his longstanding worldview," prosecutors stated.
Videos of Trump's deposition in a different lawsuit, in which he stated he was worth over $10 billion and had over $400 million in cash, were shown by Carroll's attorneys during the trial to support their damages claim.
The assertions made by Trump's attorneys in his criminal hush money case are "largely irrelevant, stale, and cumulative." They have asked that prosecutors provide justification for each comment or present a case in favor of the statements prior to the start of the trial, should they try to submit the utterances as evidence.
"Many of the statements that the People seek to admit have no apparent relevance to the issues in this case and will only lead to juror confusion," they claimed.
It has also been brought out by defense lawyers that four of the books that the prosecution had mentioned were ghostwritten, which begs the question of whether Trump is directly responsible for any of the quotes.
