New details have recently come up regarding the infamous Spygate scandal that affected the New England Patriots 15 years ago. The new details allege that at the time, now-former President Donald Trump offered money to a Senator in exchange for dropping the investigation.
ESPN’s Don Van Natta and Seth Wickersham revealed the new details surrounding the Spygate cheating scandal. In 2008, Trump met with Pennsylvania Senator Arlen Specter and offered the then-GOP lawmaker “money in Palm Beach” if he dropped his investigation. Trump was reportedly acting on behalf of Robert Kraft, who owns the NFL team.
Longtime communications aide for Specter Charles Robbins told ESPN that the Senator first mentioned the Spygate money meeting back in 2010. This was included in a recorded conversation for his final memoir and also appeared in the book “Life Among the Cannibals.” While Specter never disclosed the name of the mutual friend, Robbins said he was sure it was Trump.
“On the signal stealing, a mutual friend had told me that ‘If I laid off the Patriots, there’d be a lot of money in Palm Beach.’ And I replied ‘I couldn’t care less.’”
It should be noted that Trump and Specter are friends, and the former president would donate to Specter’s campaign over the years since the 1980s. While both Trump and Kraft denied the allegations, Specter’s son Shanin Specter, revealed to ESPN that he got the story directly from his father.
“My father told me that Trump was acting as a messenger for Kraft,” said Mr. Specter. “But I’m equally sure the reference to money in Palm Beach was campaign contributions, not cash. The offer was Kraft assistance with campaign contributions… My father said it was Kraft’s offer, not someone else’s.”
Previously, the New York District Attorney has already assembled a special grand jury as part of the developing probe on the former president and the Trump Organization. The special grand jury would be meeting three days a week over the course of six months, according to the Washington Post. This move suggests that the Manhattan DA’s office is looking to seek charges as a result of its long-running probe on the former president, including the lengthy battle to obtain his tax records.