By Marc Fisher (c) 2018, The Washington Post Dec 14, 2018 - 6:22 PM- WASHINGTON - As if the country didn’t have enough to be divided about, now the forces aligned for and against President Donald Trump are battling over whether his presidency is legitimate.   

The evidence emerging in recent days and months that multiple crimes were committed in an effort to help Trump win the presidency is fuelling arguments from Democrats and other Trump critics that the man in the Oval Office got the job through nefarious means. Even with no proof that those crimes swayed votes, the critics say, Trump has no moral hold on the office.   

First came the statement by federal prosecutors in New York that Trump attorney Michael Cohen “sought to influence the election from the shadows” by arranging to pay hush money to women who said they had extramarital affairs with Trump. Then, on Tuesday, executives at the National Enquirer’s parent company admitted paying hush money to prevent news of the candidate’s alleged infidelities “from influencing the election.”