Cold, Quiet, Cassshhh

Background: A recent trial involving hush money has been anything but quiet.

Former President Donald Trump was indicted on charges related to hush money payments made to adult film actress Stormy Daniels. The payments, facilitated by Trump's former lawyer Michael Cohen, were intended to prevent Daniels from disclosing an alleged affair with Trump before the 2016 election. Trump pleaded not guilty to the charges, which include falsifying business records to conceal the payments.

With the result, Trump becomes the first president charged with criminal activity.

We don’t suspect that this will be the last we hear about this trial, and it’s certainly not the first we’ve heard of high profile hush money.

The fact that we’ve got so many examples to rifle through means the “hush” part of hush money rarely holds up its end of the bargain. Although, we never would hear about it when it works…

Deja Vu: The concept of paying for silence is not a modern invention. In ancient Rome, the practice of "donativa" was often used by emperors to buy loyalty and silence from soldiers and the Praetorian Guard.

19th century money traded hands between industrial powers to hush money to prevent labor unrest and scandal.

You can take your pick of political hush money scandals in the 20th century, from the Teapot Dome scandal to Watergate.

And what’s the Ford Pinto disaster except a close cousin of the hush money case. When it came to keeping secrets, it seems Ford was less concerned with what went under the hood and more with what stayed under wraps.

Instead of using direct payments to individuals to keep silent, Ford employed a financial strategy to suppress the fallout of its dangerous Pinto design.

Fact: The “Pinto Memo” was a cost-benefit analysis that Ford prepared for NHTSA in 1973 as part of its objection to proposed regulations to prevent fuel leakage in rollover crashes.

Ford calculated that it would cost $137 million to install necessary parts, while the benefit in safety prevention would only be $49 million.

While the Memo is often cited as Ford putting a dollar figure on a human life, those figures were actually created by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Ford simply used them as part of their argument against proposed regulations.

Profile: Lee Iacocca 

As the executive responsible for the Ford Pinto's development, Iacocca played a significant role in the car's expedited production. The Ford Pinto, introduced in 1971, was designed to compete with small, economical cars from Japanese manufacturers. The car was developed quickly to meet market demand, with a production timeline of just 25 months, significantly shorter than the usual 43 months. This rapid development, championed by Iacocca, led to cost-cutting measures and compromises in safety.

Public Outcry and Legal Consequences: The scandal broke in the late 1970s when Mother Jones published an exposé detailing the Pinto's design flaws and Ford's internal memos. The public outcry was significant, leading to lawsuits and a landmark case in 1978, Grimshaw v. Ford Motor Co., where a jury awarded $125 million in damages to a burn victim (later reduced to $3.5 million).

Iacocca's Legacy: Although the Pinto scandal marred his tenure at Ford, Iacocca's overall legacy in the automotive industry remains significant. He is credited with the success of the Ford Mustang and later revitalizing Chrysler in the 1980s with innovative models and effective marketing campaigns, including the famous "K-cars" and the introduction of the minivan.

Word: Omertà

A code of silence and secrecy, often associated with the Mafia, that places loyalty to the family above all else.

List: …More Hush Money that Didn’t Stay Quiet

• Alexander Hamilton: Hamilton was involved in a scandal known as the Reynolds Affair. Maybe you’ve heard a song about it? The scandal was publicly revealed and dented Hamilton's reputation.

• John Edwards: Prosecutors argued that nearly $1 million paid to Rielle Hunter was an illegal use of campaign funds meant to cover up Edwards’ affair.

• Uber: In 2017, Uber was embroiled in a scandal involving a massive data breach that affected 57 million users and drivers. Instead of disclosing the breach, Uber chose to pay the hackers $100,000 to delete the stolen data and keep the breach quiet. This hush money payment was intended to protect Uber’s reputation and avoid the legal and regulatory fallout that would follow public disclosure.

• USFL vs. NFL: In a lawsuit against the NFL, the USFL accused the NFL of monopolistic practices. During the trial, it came to light that the NFL had offered money to certain USFL owners to drop the lawsuit and avoid negative publicity.

Recommended Listening: The money always talks.