Echoing Their Client, Trump’s Lawyers Pursue an Absolutist Defense

Donald J. Trump is a thrice-married man accused of covering up a sex scandal with a porn star after the world heard him brag about grabbing women by their genitals. But when Mr. Trump’s lawyers introduced him to a jury at his Manhattan criminal trial this week, they dwelt on a different dimension: “He’s a husband. He’s a father. And he’s a person, just like you and just like me.” That half-hour opening statement encapsulated the former president’s influence over his lawyers and their strategy. It reflected specific input from...