Hush money case resumes with testimony from McConnell banker | Wilnesh News

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Donald Trump’s New York criminal trial is set to resume on Tuesday with more testimony from a banker who worked with the former president’s lawyers to sell porn star Stormy Daniels ) paid a hush fee of US$130,000.

The payment is at the center of Manhattan prosecutors’ case accusing Trump of falsifying business records as part of a scheme to influence the 2016 presidential election.

Former First Republic senior managing director Gary Farrow took the stand Friday in preparation for continued testimony on Tuesday.

The historic trial kicked off last week in the state Supreme Court, with the first witnesses including former Enquirer publisher David Pecker and Trump’s longtime personal secretary Lorna Graf.

Former American Media CEO Pecker testified in detail about his unofficial role as the “eyes and ears” of Trump’s 2016 campaign and his efforts to “capture and neutralize” questions about the reality star turned president Candidates’ efforts to deliver damaging messages.

Peck testified that American Media paid $30,000 for the rights to a former Trump Tower janitor’s story that Trump had a secret child, even though he came to believe the story was untrue.

Peck said the company also signed a $150,000 deal with former Playboy model Karen McDougall, who said she had an extramarital affair with Trump. Peck believed McDougal’s story, saying he was never reimbursed by Trump or his company for the money.

In both cases, Pecker testified that he purchased the stories to prevent them from coming to light, embarrassing Trump, or damaging his campaign.

But Pecker said he did not pay Daniels, who said she had sex with Trump when he was married several years ago, to remain silent.

Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg accused Trump’s then-personal attorney Michael Cohen of secretly paying for Daniels’ story by opening a bank account for an obscure shell company and funneling the funds using a home equity line of credit. Transfer to this account.

After winning the election, Trump secretly reimbursed Cohen in a series of monthly checks that were falsely labeled as legal services rendered in 2017, prosecutors said.

Trump, who lost to President Joe Biden in 2020 and is now campaigning to unseat him in November, is legally required to appear in court during the trial, which is expected to last six weeks.

Trump has frequently vented his anger over the hush-money trial and three other pending criminal cases, claiming they were aimed at damaging his campaign.

Trump’s outbursts, many directed not only at those involved in the case but also at their families, prompted Judge Juan Merchan to impose a gag order barring Trump from talking about jurors and potential witnesses.

Prosecutors have accused Trump of violating the gag order more than a dozen times.