Donald Trump was accused of trying to influence a 2008 investigation into the New England Patriots’ ‘Spygate’ scandal, according to an ESPN report by Don Van Natta Jr. and Seth Wickersham.
According to the report, two people close to Republican senator Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania, who died in 2012, said Trump offered campaign cash to stop investigating the Patriots’ accusation of videotaping opponents’ defensive coaching signals.
The NFL ultimately concluded that the Patriots were guilty of taping New York Jets’ defensive signals from a prohibited location during a Sept. 9, 2007 game. The league fined Patriots head coach Bill Belichick $500,000, the Patriots $200,000, and took away a 2008 first-round draft pick. Continue reading.