Testimony in former President Donald Trump’s hush money trial will resume Monday morning after sometimes heated and sometimes emotional testimony from key witnesses last week.
It was not immediately clear who Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s office planned to call as the 10th witness on Monday. Prosecutors have kept that information secret and told New York Judge Juan Marchan they were concerned that Trump might post about the witness on social media.
Marchand last week accused Trump of violating a gag order that prohibits him from making “public statements about known or reasonably foreseeable witnesses regarding his potential participation in an investigation or criminal proceeding.” He was charged with criminal contempt. The violations also included posts about two potential witnesses, Trump’s former lawyer Michael Cohen and adult film star Stormy Daniels, both of whom are central figures in prosecutors’ cases. .
Mr. Marchand fined Mr. Trump $9,000, which he paid on Thursday, according to a person with direct knowledge of the situation.
Last week, Keith Davidson, an attorney representing former Trump aide Hope Hicks and Daniels and Karen McDougal, two women who allege they had sexual contact with the then-married Trump in 2006. brought dramatic testimony, but Trump denied their claims. The two received six-figure payouts to silence their claims during the 2016 presidential campaign.
Ms. McDougall, a former Playboy model, was paid $150,000 through National Enquirer publisher David Pecker, and Ms. Cohen paid Ms. Daniels $130,000. Mr. Trump ultimately repaid Mr. Cohen through payments that the DA’s office alleges were mislabeled as legal fees. He has pleaded not guilty to all 34 counts of falsifying business records.
Ms. Hicks, a longtime former aide to Mr. Trump, broke down in tears while answering questions about her first stint at Mr. Trump’s company in 2014. She testified that she was told that she did not know about Mr. Trump’s payments to Mr. Cohen because they had been kept secret. Himself. She expressed skepticism about her claims.
“I didn’t know Michael to be a particularly philanthropic or selfless person. He’s the type of person who demands credit,” she said. In her cross-examination, she also said he frequently tried to participate in campaign events and was bothering campaign staff. “He liked to call himself ‘Fixer’ or ‘Mr. Fixer.’ He said, ‘Fix it,’ and he was able to come and fix it because he broke it the first time,” she said. Told.
Mr. Davidson testified about Mr. Pecker’s dealings with Mr. Cohen, saying that Mr. Pecker complained to him in December 2016 that Mr. Trump had not yet repaid his hush money payment.
Davidson, who was mostly monotonous during most of his two days of testimony, had a heated exchange with Trump lawyer Emil Bove, who talked about other sordid tabloid clients he has worked with over the years. We crowded together. He is accused of leaking information about actor Lindsay Lohan’s work in a rehab facility, customers who sold sex tapes featuring wrestler Hulk Hogan and influencer Tila Tequila, and various allegations about actor Charlie Sheen. be done.
Mr. Davidson declined to respond to Mr. Bove, saying he did not remember the details. “I’ve had over 1,500 clients in my career,” he said.
Prosecutor Matthew Colangelo said in his opening statement that Mr. Trump, Mr. Cohen and Mr. Pecker conspired to influence the 2016 election and that Mr. Trump “lied over and over again on his business records in New York.” and covered up the criminal conspiracy.”
Trump’s lawyer, Todd Blanche, said in his opening statement that the non-disclosure agreement was legal and there was nothing criminal about Trump’s payments to Cohen. Regarding the collusion allegations, Blanche said, “Spoiler alert, there’s nothing wrong with trying to influence elections. It’s called democracy.”
