On Friday, May 3, 2024, former US President Trump sat in the courtroom of the Manhattan Criminal Court in New York, United States.
Gina Moon | Reuters
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Prosecutors are set to resume questioning witnesses Friday in Donald Trump’s criminal hush-money trial in New York after jurors heard from former attorneys for two women who were hired not to disclose their alleged affairs with the former president. Romance.
The lawyer, Keith Davidson, represented porn star Stormy Daniels and former Playboy model Karen McDougal before the 2016 presidential election. ) negotiated a six-figure hush fee.
Trump was indicted on 34 counts of falsifying business records related to a $130,000 payment to Daniels, who claimed she had a sexual relationship with Trump in 2006. Alvin Bragg accused Trump of illegally trying to influence the 2016 election by buying and suppressing damaging information about him.
Judge Juan Merchant also held a hearing Thursday on whether Trump once again violated a gag order that bars him from talking about jurors, witnesses and others involved in the trial.
Mocha was held in contempt of Trump on Tuesday for violating Trump’s speech restrictions nine times. The judge fined Trump up to $9,000 and warned him that future violations could land him in jail. Prosecutors pointed to four other alleged violations of the gag order by Trump during Thursday’s hearing, though they said they did not plan to send him to jail.
Merchan has yet to rule on other alleged violations.
During two days of testimony, Davidson discussed his work with the Enquirer and Trump’s then-lawyer Michael Cohen in crafting the hush-money deal, revealing in the process how tabloids seek out sensational stories.
David Pecker, the former CEO of the National Enquirer publisher, described his job as “checkbook journalism” in previous court testimony and said he made deals to try to help Trump President’s chances of being elected.
On the night Trump won the election, Davidson texted the National Enquirer’s then-editor: “What have we done?”
He testified Thursday that the passage was “some kind of gallows humor.” But he added that both he and top editor Dylan Howard understood at the time that “our campaign may have helped Donald Trump’s presidential campaign in some way.”
During cross-examination, Trump’s lawyers stressed that Davidson had never met or spoken with Trump and that all his knowledge of the then-presidential candidate was second-hand.
After Davidson left the witness stand, prosecutors called Douglas Daus, a forensic analyst in Bragg’s office who detailed his findings from Cohen’s phone.
Jurors heard a recording of Trump asking Cohen: “So what are we going to pay for this – 150?” and instructing his lawyers to “pay it in cash.” Peck’s company at the time, American Media, paid McDougal $150,000 for the rights to her affair claims as part of a so-called “catch” scheme to bury the story.
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