Crucial witnesses took the stand in the second week of testimony in Donald Trump’s hush money trial, together with a California lawyer who negotiated offers on the heart of the case and a longtime adviser to the previous president.Jurors heard a probably pivotal piece of proof — a 2016 recording of Trump discussing a plan to purchase a Playboy mannequin’s silence — in addition to testimony concerning the wrestler Hulk Hogan and hurricanes, literal and figurative.Outside the jury’s presence, Trump was fined for operating afoul of a choose’s gag order. Additional sanctions might await the presumptive Republican nominee for president.A have a look at some of the highlights from the previous week: Hope Hicks, a onetime Trump confidant who for years was central in his orbit, described in element a seminal second of the 2016 marketing campaign: The Washington Post’s disclosure of a 2005 “Access Hollywood” recording in which Trump boasted about grabbing ladies’s genitals with out their permission.Hicks acknowledged being “involved, very involved” when a reporter reached out to her for remark earlier than breaking the story.”I had sense to imagine this was going to be an enormous story and that it was going to dominate the information cycle for the following a number of days,” Hicks testified. “This was a dangerous improvement.”The recording, made public simply days earlier than a debate with Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton, is related to the case as a result of prosecutors imagine it helps clarify the frenetic efforts by Trump and allies in the marketing campaign’s remaining weeks to attempt to suppress any further dangerous tales which may come up.In truth, in the aftermath of the tape’s launch, Hicks stated she requested Michael Cohen, Trump’s then-lawyer and private fixer, to search out a rumor of one other probably damaging recording. “There was no such tape regardless,” Hicks stated, “however he kind of chased that down for me.”Regardless, the rapid affect of the “Access Hollywood” story was so intense, Hicks recalled, that it took consideration away from an precise storm. Hurricane Matthew was dominating the information cycle when Hicks was contacted concerning the forthcoming story. That did not final lengthy.”The ‘Access Hollywood’ tape pushed the hurricane off the information?” prosecutor Matthew Colangelo requested.”Yes,” Hicks replied. Trump could also be a felony defendant, however a component of his protection got here into view this previous week when one of his legal professionals prompt Trump may even have been a sufferer.Attorney Emil Bove implied throughout a notably tense cross-examination that his consumer had been successfully focused for extortion by Keith Davidson, an important witness and the lawyer who negotiated hush money offers for 2 ladies, porn actor Stormy Daniels and Playboy mannequin Karen McDougal, claiming to have had sexual encounters with Trump. Trump denies it.Bove name-dropped a gaggle of celebrities he prompt had been coerced through the years into paying Davidson’s purchasers eye-popping sums to suppress dangerous movies or tales. Among them was actor Charlie Sheen, whom Bove stated Davidson had “extracted sums of money from;” Davidson took problem with the phrase “extract” however stated he had been concerned in “legitimate settlements” with Sheen.Davidson additionally acknowledge that he had confronted an FBI investigation, however was by no means charged, for allegedly trying to extort Hogan to go off the discharge of the skilled wrestling star’s intercourse tape.By 2016, Bove prompt, Davidson was well-versed in the idea of squeezing celebrities corresponding to Trump.”And you probably did all the pieces that you could possibly to get as near that line as attainable in these negotiations with out crossing it, proper?” Bove requested.”I did all the pieces I might to ensure my actions had been lawful,” Davidson replied. The prosecution’s key witness, Cohen, has but to testify — and Trump may by no means in any respect — however their voices had been performed in the courtroom in maybe essentially the most vivid piece of proof thus far.Prosecutors performed aloud a September 2016 recording that Cohen made of himself briefing the then-presidential candidate on a plan to purchase McDougal’s silence with a $150,000 cost. McDougal was ready to return ahead together with her account of an extramarital affair with Trump, a disclosure Trump and his allies had been decided to forestall in the ultimate days of the election.”What can we obtained to pay for this? One-fifty?” Trump might be heard saying at one level.They talk about whether or not the cost ought to be achieved with money or test. Then the recording cuts out.Though the existence of the recording surfaced in the summer time of 2018 and has lengthy been recognized to the general public, its disclosure to the jury was a dramatic second meant to ascertain that the hush money cost was achieved with Trump’s data. He appeared visibly irritated because the recording was performed. Jurors appeared riveted. The recording was hardly the one time Cohen surfaced in courtroom over the previous week. When he did, it was usually in a detrimental gentle.Davidson stated his introduction to Cohen got here in 2011 when Davidson was informed that he wanted to return an offended name from Cohen over a weblog publish associated to Daniels and Trump. Davidson stated Cohen was described to him by Daniels’ expertise supervisor as “some jerk” who’ve been “very, very aggressive and threatened to sue me.” When Davidson referred to as Cohen and launched himself, “I used to be simply met with, like, a hustle barrage of insults and insinuations and allegations. That went on for fairly some time.”Davidson additionally recounted a memorable telephone dialog with Cohen one month after the 2016 election in which the Trump lawyer sounded “depressed and despondent” and complained about being handed over for a job in the brand new Trump administration.”He stated one thing to the impact of: ‘Jesus Christ. Can you (expletive) imagine I’m not going to Washington,'” Davidson described Cohen as saying. “‘After all the pieces I’ve achieved for that (expletive) man. I can not imagine I’m not going to Washington. I’ve saved that man’s (expletive) so many occasions, you do not even know.'”The uncharitable characterizations might assist Trump’s staff in its efforts to undermine Cohen’s credibility. But they might additionally assist prosecutors distance themselves from Cohen, subtly indicating to jurors that he’s not a teammate however quite somebody who merely has data. A aspect problem all through the trial is what to do about Trump’s outside-of-court feedback. He repeatedly has maligned witnesses and prompt bias on the jury — all regardless of a choose’s gag order meant to bar him from verbal tirades in opposition to key gamers in the case.Trump was assessed a $9,000 advantageous — $1,000 for every of 9 separate gag order violations that the choose recognized. Prosecutors later requested an extra $4,000 penalty for what they stated had been further breaches of the order.Yet it stays unclear what, if something, Judge Juan M. Merchan can do in the occasion of continued violations. Merchan floated the likelihood of jail, an unprecedented final result for a former American president. That additionally would danger inflaming Trump’s base as he pursues the presidency and would additional upend the 2024 White House race.Trump’s attorneys insist he wants some leeway to have the ability to reply to relentless criticism, together with from witnesses, and that his candidacy means he is the topic of nonstop information media protection.Merchan appeared unpersuaded, however jail, for now not less than, appears to be nobody’s desired final result.”Because every of these statements was made earlier than the Court held the Defendant in contempt for violating this order 9 earlier occasions, and since we desire to reduce disruptions to this continuing, we’re not but searching for jail,” prosecutor Chris Conroy stated.”But,” he added, “the Court’s choice this previous Tuesday will inform the strategy we take to any future violations.”
Crucial witnesses took the stand in the second week of testimony in Donald Trump’s hush money trial, together with a California lawyer who negotiated offers on the heart of the case and a longtime adviser to the previous president.
Jurors heard a probably pivotal piece of proof — a 2016 recording of Trump discussing a plan to purchase a Playboy mannequin’s silence — in addition to testimony concerning the wrestler Hulk Hogan and hurricanes, literal and figurative.
Outside the jury’s presence, Trump was fined for operating afoul of a choose’s gag order. Additional sanctions might await the presumptive Republican nominee for president.
A have a look at some of the highlights from the previous week:
Hope Hicks, a onetime Trump confidant who for years was central in his orbit, described in element a seminal second of the 2016 marketing campaign: The Washington Post’s disclosure of a 2005 “Access Hollywood” recording in which Trump boasted about grabbing ladies’s genitals with out their permission.
Hicks acknowledged being “involved, very involved” when a reporter reached out to her for remark earlier than breaking the story.
“I had sense to imagine this was going to be an enormous story and that it was going to dominate the information cycle for the following a number of days,” Hicks testified. “This was a dangerous improvement.”
The recording, made public simply days earlier than a debate with Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton, is related to the case as a result of prosecutors imagine it helps clarify the frenetic efforts by Trump and allies in the marketing campaign’s remaining weeks to attempt to suppress any further dangerous tales which may come up.
In truth, in the aftermath of the tape’s launch, Hicks stated she requested Michael Cohen, Trump’s then-lawyer and private fixer, to search out a rumor of one other probably damaging recording. “There was no such tape regardless,” Hicks stated, “however he kind of chased that down for me.”
Regardless, the rapid affect of the “Access Hollywood” story was so intense, Hicks recalled, that it took consideration away from an precise storm. Hurricane Matthew was dominating the information cycle when Hicks was contacted concerning the forthcoming story. That did not final lengthy.
“The ‘Access Hollywood’ tape pushed the hurricane off the information?” prosecutor Matthew Colangelo requested.
“Yes,” Hicks replied.
Trump could also be a felony defendant, however a component of his protection got here into view this previous week when one of his legal professionals prompt Trump may even have been a sufferer.
Attorney Emil Bove implied throughout a notably tense cross-examination that his consumer had been successfully focused for extortion by Keith Davidson, an important witness and the lawyer who negotiated hush money offers for 2 ladies, porn actor Stormy Daniels and Playboy mannequin Karen McDougal, claiming to have had sexual encounters with Trump. Trump denies it.
Bove name-dropped a gaggle of celebrities he prompt had been coerced through the years into paying Davidson’s purchasers eye-popping sums to suppress dangerous movies or tales. Among them was actor Charlie Sheen, whom Bove stated Davidson had “extracted sums of money from;” Davidson took problem with the phrase “extract” however stated he had been concerned in “legitimate settlements” with Sheen.
Davidson additionally acknowledge that he had confronted an FBI investigation, however was by no means charged, for allegedly trying to extort Hogan to go off the discharge of the skilled wrestling star’s intercourse tape.
By 2016, Bove prompt, Davidson was well-versed in the idea of squeezing celebrities corresponding to Trump.
“And you probably did all the pieces that you could possibly to get as near that line as attainable in these negotiations with out crossing it, proper?” Bove requested.
“I did all the pieces I might to ensure my actions had been lawful,” Davidson replied.
The prosecution’s key witness, Cohen, has but to testify — and Trump may by no means in any respect — however their voices had been performed in the courtroom in maybe essentially the most vivid piece of proof thus far.
Prosecutors performed aloud a September 2016 recording that Cohen made of himself briefing the then-presidential candidate on a plan to purchase McDougal’s silence with a $150,000 cost. McDougal was ready to return ahead together with her account of an extramarital affair with Trump, a disclosure Trump and his allies had been decided to forestall in the ultimate days of the election.
“What can we obtained to pay for this? One-fifty?” Trump might be heard saying at one level.
They talk about whether or not the cost ought to be achieved with money or test. Then the recording cuts out.
Though the existence of the recording surfaced in the summer time of 2018 and has lengthy been recognized to the general public, its disclosure to the jury was a dramatic second meant to ascertain that the hush money cost was achieved with Trump’s data.
He appeared visibly irritated because the recording was performed. Jurors appeared riveted.
The recording was hardly the one time Cohen surfaced in courtroom over the previous week. When he did, it was usually in a detrimental gentle.
Davidson stated his introduction to Cohen got here in 2011 when Davidson was informed that he wanted to return an offended name from Cohen over a weblog publish associated to Daniels and Trump. Davidson stated Cohen was described to him by Daniels’ expertise supervisor as “some jerk” who’ve been “very, very aggressive and threatened to sue me.”
When Davidson referred to as Cohen and launched himself, “I used to be simply met with, like, a hustle barrage of insults and insinuations and allegations. That went on for fairly some time.”
Davidson additionally recounted a memorable telephone dialog with Cohen one month after the 2016 election in which the Trump lawyer sounded “depressed and despondent” and complained about being handed over for a job in the brand new Trump administration.
“He stated one thing to the impact of: ‘Jesus Christ. Can you (expletive) imagine I’m not going to Washington,'” Davidson described Cohen as saying. “‘After all the pieces I’ve achieved for that (expletive) man. I can not imagine I’m not going to Washington. I’ve saved that man’s (expletive) so many occasions, you do not even know.'”
The uncharitable characterizations might assist Trump’s staff in its efforts to undermine Cohen’s credibility. But they might additionally assist prosecutors distance themselves from Cohen, subtly indicating to jurors that he’s not a teammate however quite somebody who merely has data.
A aspect problem all through the trial is what to do about Trump’s outside-of-court feedback. He repeatedly has maligned witnesses and prompt bias on the jury — all regardless of a choose’s gag order meant to bar him from verbal tirades in opposition to key gamers in the case.
Trump was assessed a $9,000 advantageous — $1,000 for every of 9 separate gag order violations that the choose recognized. Prosecutors later requested an extra $4,000 penalty for what they stated had been further breaches of the order.
Yet it stays unclear what, if something, Judge Juan M. Merchan can do in the occasion of continued violations. Merchan floated the likelihood of jail, an unprecedented final result for a former American president. That additionally would danger inflaming Trump’s base as he pursues the presidency and would additional upend the 2024 White House race.
Trump’s attorneys insist he wants some leeway to have the ability to reply to relentless criticism, together with from witnesses, and that his candidacy means he is the topic of nonstop information media protection.
Merchan appeared unpersuaded, however jail, for now not less than, appears to be nobody’s desired final result.
“Because every of these statements was made earlier than the Court held the Defendant in contempt for violating this order 9 earlier occasions, and since we desire to reduce disruptions to this continuing, we’re not but searching for jail,” prosecutor Chris Conroy stated.
“But,” he added, “the Court’s choice this previous Tuesday will inform the strategy we take to any future violations.”
