8th May 2024
The May Day Show began with the continuing woes of ex-President Donald Trump as he defends the “hush money” allegations in a New York Court where there are 34 Criminal Counts being prosecuted against him for financial irregularities arising as a result of the payments to Adult Film Actor Stormy Daniels (Stephanie Clifford) to suppress a story which was about to break before the 2016 Presidential Election and the manner in which it was recorded in the financial records. Our contributor Seamus Gunn explained that it was Michael Cohen the ex-lawyer of Donald Trump who was alleged to have made the $ 130,000.00 payment to Ms. Daniles which was then repaid by a number of instalments of $ 35,000.00 each and recorded in the bookkeeping system as payments for legal expenses. He was of the view that this was the lesser of the criminal charges that were pending against Mr. Trump referring to the allegations of the attempt to overturn the Presidential Election won by Joe Biden in 2020 which are pending in Georgia and Washington and the concealment of Presidential Documents in his home in Mar-a-Lago, Florida. He said that the fraud, forgery and conspiratorial charges could attract sentences of up to 12 years or more. Greg Hughes quickly made the point that in the event that Donald Trump was successful in the forthcoming election on the 6th of November that it is highly likely that all of these matters would go away. Seamus Gunn said that this could lead to a first in that it was likely that the question would arise; could a President pardon himself? He noted that in practical terms he would not be tried during his presidential term, with the passing of time and points upon prejudice and the Statute of Limitations he thought that the charges could go into the ether.
Greg Hughes referenced both the Republican nominee and the current President Biden in being poor choices for the electorate. Gunn reminded the listeners of what seemed to be the plan back in 2020, that Vice President Kamala Harris would step up to the plate during the term of Joe Biden and that she could become the candidate for the 2024 election. A plan which has not materialised. Greg Hughes was of the view that the sentiment may have changed in the US, that there may no longer be an appetite for a coloured female president, a point which our contributor did not necessarily agree with. He voiced that while Biden may have had some tentative plan for succession, he thought that Trump had none and that he was a one-man band, eliminating any potential talent coming through to succeed him.
No doubt, a lot more to come on this front as we run into the summer.
The Q&A kicked off with a medical records question and quickly led to further wide and varied queries on Succession and Tax. These can be listened to below;