Dep. Press Secretary Raj Shaw wouldn’t deny that the Trump campaign and Trump’s lawyer broke the law by paying off Stormy Daniels, and he added that Trump doesn’t believe that Daniels was physically threatened.
Video of Shaw avoiding questions of illegality:
The White House decides that it is a great idea to avoid questions about breaking the law while attacking Stormy Daniels. pic.twitter.com/NraDDyUvZf
— Sarah Reese Jones (@PoliticusSarah) March 26, 2018
Shaw said, “I can only speak for the White House. The White House didn’t engage in any wrong doing. The campaign or Mr. Cohen — Yeah. The campaign or Mr. Cohen can address anything with respect to their actions. With respect to that interview, I will say the president strongly, clearly, and has consistently denied these underlying claims the only person who’s been inconsistent is the one making the claims.”
Shaw later added that Trunp doesn’t believe that Daniels was threatened:
The White House dug the hole deeper by denying that Daniels was physically threatened. #StormyDaniels pic.twitter.com/MhBnVF8uDP
— Sarah Reese Jones (@PoliticusSarah) March 26, 2018
When asked about Stormy Daniels being physically threatened, the White House said, “The president doesn’t believe any of the claims that Mrs. Daniels made last night in the interview are accurate.”
The White House also refused to provide a basis for why Trump doesn’t believe Daniels or confirm that he watched the 60 Minutes interview.
The briefing was a disaster
The White House contradicted itself at every turn. They claimed that Trump didn’t watch the interview, but also said that Trump denied what Daniels said in the interview. Shaw said that the White House did nothing illegal, but he wouldn’t say that Trump, his campaign, and Michael Cohen did nothing illegal. It is impossible to imagine a briefing that could have gone worse.
The White House kept the Stormy Daniels story alive.
Trump is using the White House to attack and discredit an adult film star as he denies a criminal cover-up of the affair.
The White House would have been better off saying nothing at all, because what they only made the situation worse for Trump.
For more discussion about this story join our Rachel Maddow and MSNBC group.
Awards and Professional Memberships
Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association
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