A few days before his Manhattan trial got underway, former president Donald Trump posted an image on social media that he suggested proved his innocence.

“LOOK WHAT WAS JUST FOUND!” he shouted about the photo. “WILL THE FAKE NEWS REPORT IT?”

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The picture showed a piece of paper with a statement from adult-film actress Stormy Daniels. Dated Jan. 30, 2018, it denied rumblings about Trump having paid to keep her quiet about an alleged sexual encounter.

“The fact of the matter is that each party to this alleged affair denied its existence in 2006, [2011], 2016, 2017 and now again in 2018,” the statement read. “I am not denying this affair because I was paid 'hush money’ as has been reported in overseas owned tabloids. I am denying this affair because it never happened.”

Before the Wall Street Journal broke the story earlier that month, Daniels, through her attorney, provided the paper with a similar statement denying a “sexual and/or romantic affair” with the future president.

This would be an important development, given that Trump’s New York indictment alleges that he falsified business records to cover up an alleged...

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