{"id":543314,"date":"2021-05-27T16:21:07","date_gmt":"2021-05-27T20:21:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=543314"},"modified":"2021-05-27T16:21:11","modified_gmt":"2021-05-27T20:21:11","slug":"report-donald-trump-offered-bribe-to-senator-in-attempt-to-end-spygate-investigation-trump-fires-back","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/report-donald-trump-offered-bribe-to-senator-in-attempt-to-end-spygate-investigation-trump-fires-back\/","title":{"rendered":"REPORT: Donald Trump Offered Bribe To Senator In Attempt To End \u2018Spygate\u2019 Investigation, Trump Fires Back"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">32<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Freport-donald-trump-offered-bribe-to-senator-in-attempt-to-end-spygate-investigation-trump-fires-back%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=543314&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><div><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/GettyImages-670328276.jpg?w=1200&amp;h=800&amp;ixlib=react-9.0.3\" class=\"ff-og-image-inserted\" \/><\/div>\n<p><span>The \u201cSpygate Scandal\u201d in 2007 rocked the NFL to its core, garnering endless media coverage, numerous investigations, and according to a new report from ESPN, an attempted bribe from former President Donald Trump.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>For those unfamiliar with the scandal, <\/span><span>the New England Patriots division rival \u2014 the New York Jets \u2014 accused the Pats of illegally filming their defensive coordinators\u2019 signals during a regular season game in 2007. The Patriots later admitted that they had in fact filmed the signals, but claimed it was because of a \u201cmisinterpretation of the rules.\u201d As a result, the NFL handed down the largest fine in league history to Patriots\u2019 head coach Bill Belichick and docked the team of their first round draft pick the following season.&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>At the time, Spygate was so scandalous that it went beyond sports and into the world of politics. In 2008, a then-Senator Arlen Specter (R-PA) launched an investigation into Spygate. Specter \u2014 a Philadelphia Eagles fan and loud critic of the NFL \u2014 was ferociously investigating just how many times the Patriots had illegally taped opposing coaches\u2019 signals, and why the NFL had destroyed physical evidence.&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cThe NFL has a very preferred status in our country with their antitrust exemption,\u201d he told The New York Times in early February 2008. \u201cThe American people are entitled to be sure about the integrity of the game.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>According to an investigative piece published by <a href=\"https:\/\/www.espn.com\/nfl\/story\/_\/id\/31484993\/son-ghostwriter-late-senator-say-trump-intervened-stop-probe-patriots-spygate-scandal\">ESPN<\/a>, after his investigation had been \u201cstonewalled,\u201d Specter called for an independent investigator to look into the scandal which could lead to league officials and coaches having to testify under oath. The potential of having to testify terrified the league, and the NFL put out public statements saying that the league had performed its due diligence. Still, Specter wouldn\u2019t back off.&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>In early 2008, he had dinner with a Palm Beach, Florida, businessman who had many ties to high level football executives and politicians. In a phone call following the dinner, the businessman reportedly told Specter \u201cIf you lay off the Patriots, there\u2019d be a lot of money in Palm Beach.\u201d&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>According to ESPN, that man was none other than Donald J. Trump.&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Trump and Specter had an ongoing friendship at the time, with Trump inviting Specter and his wife to a private dinner at Mar-a-Lago on January 20, 2008. Specter had even sent a handwritten thank you card to Trump and his family following the dinner.&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cDear Donald &amp; Melania, Joan and I very much enjoyed our dinner with you. The food was excellent and the company was better. Donald, you ought to give some serious thought to becoming a Cabinet secretary. Meanwhile, we look forward to March 18th. My Best, Arlen.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>According to the Federal Election Commission records, Trump wrote his first check to Specter\u2019s campaign on August 19, 1983 and contributed a total of $11,300 to Specter\u2019s campaigns over the following three decades. Specter and Trump were also connected through a mutual friend \u2014 Roger Stone \u2014 who served on Specter\u2019s 1996 presidential campaign, and was later hired by Trump to help with his own political endeavors.&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Specter passed away of complications from non-Hodgkin\u2019s lymphoma in 2012, but his son \u2014 Shanin \u2014 spoke with ESPN and gave additional insight into his father\u2019s search for answers.&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Shanin told ESPN that it was indeed Trump who made the statement regarding \u201cmoney in Palm Beach,\u201d and that Trump was acting on behalf of Patriots owner Robert Kraft.&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cMy father told me that Trump was acting as a messenger for Kraft,\u201d Shanin Specter told ESPN. \u201cBut I\u2019m equally sure the reference to money in Palm Beach was campaign contributions, not cash. The offer was Kraft assistance with campaign contributions. \u2026 My father said it was Kraft\u2019s offer, not someone else\u2019s.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cHe was pissed,\u201d Shanin told ESPN. \u201cHe told me about the call in the wake of the conversation and his anger about it\u2026 My father was upset when [such overtures] would happen because he felt as if it were tantamount to a bribe solicitation, though the case law on this subject says it isn\u2019t\u2026 He would tell me these things when they occurred. We were very close.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Both Kraft and Trump denied their involvement in responses to ESPN\u2019s inquiry.&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cThis is completely false,\u201d said Jason Miller, a senior adviser to Trump. \u201cWe have no idea what you\u2019re talking about.\u201d A Patriots spokesman said Kraft \u201cnever asked Donald Trump to talk to Arlen Specter on his behalf.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cMr. Kraft is not aware of any involvement of Trump on this topic and he did not have any other engagement with Specter or his staff,\u201d the spokesman said via email.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Trump and Kraft have a relationship dating back nearly 30 years, with Kraft attending Trump\u2019s marriage to Melania in 2005, and Trump attending the funeral of Kraft\u2019s wife, Myra, in 2011. Kraft has not been shy about his relationship with Trump. \u201cLoyalty and friendship trumps politics for me,\u201d Kraft said. \u201cI always remember the people who were good to me in that vulnerable time, and he\u2019s in that category.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Even with new information regarding Spygate, Trump\u2019s involvement will never be fully known, as Specter told confidants that the mysteries of Spygate would \u201cremain stubborn secrets.\u201d&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Regardless, Shanin Specter told ESPN that he\u2019s proud of his late father for pursuing the truth behind Spygate.&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cHe was alone, but so what? He was used to that,\u201d he said. \u201cHe was a football fan who felt he\u2019d been cheated and a senator who felt the NFL needed to police themselves in order to maintain their congressional-awarded antitrust exemption. He was right on both counts. Now we know Belichick was, and is, a serial cheater and, in this instance, his boss closed ranks behind him.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><i>Joe Morgan is the Sports Reporter for The Daily Wire. Most recently, Morgan covered the Clippers, Lakers and the NBA for Sporting News. Send your sports questions to <a href=\"mailto:Sports@dailywire.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">sports@dailywire.com<\/a>.<\/i><\/p>\n<p><em>The Daily Wire is one of America\u2019s fastest-growing conservative media companies and counter-cultural outlets for news, opinion, and entertainment. Get inside access to The Daily Wire by becoming a <a class=\"in-cell-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dailywire.com\/subscribe\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">member<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The \u201cSpygate Scandal\u201d in 2007 rocked the NFL to its core, garnering endless media coverage, numerous investigations, and according to a new report from ESPN, an attempted bribe from former &#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2313313,"comment_status":"close","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/GettyImages-670328276.jpg?w=1200&h=800&ixlib=react-9.0.3","fifu_image_alt":"REPORT: Donald Trump Offered Bribe To Senator In Attempt To End \u2018Spygate\u2019 Investigation, Trump Fires Back","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-543314","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/GettyImages-670328276.jpg?w=1200&h=800&ixlib=react-9.0.3","fifu_image_alt":"REPORT: Donald Trump Offered Bribe To Senator In Attempt To End \u2018Spygate\u2019 Investigation, Trump Fires Back","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/543314","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=543314"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/543314\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2313313"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=543314"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=543314"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=543314"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}