'Pantomime': Ex-judge sounds alarm that Trump 'negotiating a bribe'

By Jennifer Bowers Bahney
Published April 29, 2025 5:08 PM ET

A retired judge and author is accusing CBS and President Donald Trump of "negotiating a bribe" under the guise of a federal lawsuit settlement, a former judge wrote in a new opinion piece in Newsweek.

"To be sure, a pantomime is being played out," wrote Thomas G. Moukawsher, a legal scholar and former Connecticut Superior Court judge. "The parties are pretending to be earnestly negotiating the settlement of a federal lawsuit. But they should not delude themselves. They are negotiating a bribe."

Moukawsher claimed the "bribe" is one of Trump's "new favorite grifts" whereby he files "bogus personal lawsuits against people he could hurt with presidential power," then demands a payoff.

https://www.rawstory.com/trump-sues-cbs-2671865319/