Prosecutors in the former President Donald Trump’s criminal trial in New York called their fifth witness to the stand as proceedings continue Tuesday: Keith Davidson, a lawyer who represented Daniels and model Karen McDougal in their 2016 plea deals for their stories alleging that Trump had sex.
Cohen paid Daniels $130,000 via wire transfer. Prosecutors say Trump and Cohen “conspired” in a scheme to pay Trump back to Cohen for the payment, with the goal of hiding why Trump Cohen’s payment. Trump has pleaded not guilty to 34 criminal counts of business records in the case and has denied all allegations, including that he had had extramarital sex.
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Davidson took the stand after testimony from former Cohen banker Gary Farro who told jurors about Cohen’s “desperate” attempts to set up new bank accounts to use to launder the money. After that there were two other witnesses who confirmed other pieces of evidence.
Testimony of Keith Davidson
Under questioning from prosecutor Joshua Steinglass, with Trump looking on from the defense table, Davidson referred to a series of conversations with National Enquirer editor Dylan Howard in 2016. He said that “acquaintances and they were professional friends,” and that they would talk several times a week.
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Davidson said he represented McDougal beginning in June 2016 regarding “her personal interactions … with Donald Trump.” Prosecutors showed texts and emails made by Davidson pursuant to a subpoena.
Shortly after agreeing to represent McDougal, Davidson texted Howard that he had a “blockbuster” story about Trump. Howard replied that he would get “more for it than anybody. You know why…”
“I don’t know if I had a clear understanding at the time, but I knew that Dylan’s boss at the time, David Pecker, and Mr. Trump were longtime friends and had a business relationship,” Davidson said on the stand. “And AMI had clearly stated that they supported Mr. Trump’s application.”
He said he met Howard soon after and kept in touch over the following weeks. He said he was also talking to ABC about the McDougal story, and that he was “trying to play off two groups.
Prosecutors showed a text from Davidson in July 2016 that read: “Don’t forget about Cohen. Time is of the essence. The girl is cornered by the estrogen mafia.” He told the board that the text was “difficult,” and that the phrase was “not one I use or came up with.”
Jane Rosenberg
Other texts showed Davidson negotiating through Howard, seeking approval from AMI. He said he thought the center was better, because the MacDougall company didn’t have to tell its story.
Davidson said he understood that an agreement with AMI would also benefit Trump for the same reason: McDougal’s silence.
“Send in an ambassador for me. I think the Isle of Man,” he texted Howard, referring to the self-governing dependency of the British Crown.
When a prosecutor asked him to explain what he meant by that text, Davidson replied, “If Karen somehow dealt with AMI it would help Donald Trump’s candidacy.”
He said that he did not specifically know that AMI had reached an agreement with Trump, but that he understood that he was supportive of his application.
“I need this to happen,” Howard texted Davidson.
McDougal eventually received $150,000 in exchange for the rights to her story, which the Enquirer never published.
Trump’s contempt order
Judge Juan Merchan started the day by giving Trump some good news. He agreed to a request from Trump to adjourn the court on May 17 so he can attend his son’s high school graduation.
But then the judge issued a decision that prosecutors have been asking for for more than a week. Find a merchant Trump in contempt of court for violating a gag order limiting what he can say about those involved in the case.
Merchan said Trump violated the order nine times in the past few weeks in posts on his Truth Social platform and campaign website. He fined Trump $9,000 and ordered him to delete the posts. He noted in his written decision that New York law does not allow him to impose a fine of more than $1,000 per violation, and he said that amount may not have deterred violations at the time future with defendants who are able to pay the fine.
Merchan concluded the written decision with a warning to Trump: “The defendant is hereby warned that the Court will not tolerate willful violations of its legal orders and if necessary and appropriate under the circumstances, that she impose a prison sentence.
After the contempt ruling, Farro took the stand back.
He walked prosecutors through a grueling series of emails and phone calls on October 26, 2016 and October 27, 2016, when Cohen set up the new bank account and funded it with $131,000 from his own personal home line of credit.
Farro said the deal would be delayed if Cohen indicated the move involved either a political candidate or an adult movie star. He said any transaction involving a political candidate would receive “additional scrutiny” to ensure it was legal.
But he offered a different explanation for why the bank would have investigated the payment to Daniels. He said the bank was wary of helping the adult film industry.
“For something like that, we might have considered that a reputational risk,” Farro said.
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2024-04-30 18:22:39
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