Former President Donald Trump’s historic criminal trial is now in its third week of proceedings.
Trump is facing 34 criminal counts related to his alleged efforts to conceal $130,000 in hush money paid in 2016 to silence allegations of an extramarital affair with adult film actor Stormy Daniels. Daniels is expected to testify in the trial, as is Michael Cohen, Trump’s former personal attorney, who previously served jail time for his role in facilitating the payment.
Last week, the jury heard from former National Enquirer publisher David Pecker, who testified about conversations he had with Cohen regarding the Daniels payment. He also detailed his publication’s efforts to “catch and kill” unflattering stories about Trump, including allegations by former Playboy model Karen McDougal that she had an affair with Trump from 2006 to 2007.
Trump is represented by a team of defense attorneys led by Todd Blanche and Susan Necheles. Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, who brought the charges against Trump, selected Susan Hoffinger and Joshua Steinglass to lead the prosecution.
Judge Juan Merchan is presiding over the Manhattan trial.
Follow live updates from the trial:
Stormy Daniels' Lawyer's Texts Reveal Reaction To Trump Win In 2016
He texted Howard, “What have we done?”
“Oh my god,” Howard responded.
“This was sort of gallows humor on election night as the results were coming in,” Davidson said in court. “There was an understanding that our efforts — strike that — that our activities may have assisted the presidential campaign of Donald Trump.”
Part Of Hush Money Contract ‘Unenforceable,' Lawyer Says
“I believe the paragraph, the way this was drafted, was unenforceable,” Davidson said, explaining the damage amount was too excessive. Cohen had wanted the high number, he said.
Keith Davidson Is Back On The Stand
He is read part of an email between himself and Cohen from October 2016, when Davidson was trying to secure Daniels’ $130,000 payment. He said it “followed a conversation … between Dylan Howard, Michael Cohen and I” where Howard “came in as sort of the mediator” after Davidson “had lost trust in what [Cohen] was saying.”
On Oct. 27, 2016, Howard texted Davidson, “Money wired I am told.” Davidson replied, “Funds received.”
Trump Lawyer Spars With Judge (Again)
“He can’t just say ‘no comment’ repeatedly — he’s running for president,” Blanche said of his client. But Merchan told him that comments about one witness in the case could have a chilling effect on any other witness. The judge also pointed out that Trump seems to be going out of his way to comment on the case; he generally talks to a hallway press gaggle at the start of the day and at the end.
“It was your client who went down to that [press area] and started to speak. He didn’t need to go that direction. The door that he uses is to the right,” Merchan told Blanche.
Merchan tipped his hand regarding one of the alleged violations, though, telling Blanche that he was “not terribly concerned” about Trump’s remark on Pecker.
While Blanche attempted to defend another of the alleged violations, wherein Trump claimed the jurors were Democrats, Merchan interrupted him to say: “I’m not accepting your argument.”
Another Gag Order Hearing
Merchan warned Trump on Tuesday that further violations might lead to “incarceratory punishment.”
Prosecutors are asking for $1,000 fines per incident.
"His statements are corrosive to this proceeding, and to the fair administration of justice," prosecuting attorney Christopher Conroy said.
Pointing out that the statements in question were made before Merchan ruled against Trump, Conroy added that "we are not yet seeking jail."
Trump Is Seated
Trump Arrives At Court
He made comments to reporters on the way in as has become customary. He bragged about campaign rallies in Michigan and Wisconsin "The enthusiasm has never been better," he said. "It was nice to be able to campaign one day without being in this ridiculous show trial. Biden trial, I call it."
He commented on campus protests. He praised police and blamed "radical left lunatics."
Trump Rants About Judge Merchan At Michigan Rally: ‘He Gagged Me!’
“I don't think there's ever been a more conflicted judge – crooked and conflicted," Trump told the crowd. "And I'm unconstitutionally gagged. He gagged me, so I'm not even supposed to be talking to you -- because he gagged me!”
His ire came a day after Merchan held him in contempt of court for repeatedly violating the gag order, which prohibits him from making public remarks about jurors, lawyers, witnesses, court staff and their families. Merhcan fined him $9,000 and warned him he could face jail time with continued infractions.
Trump Briefly Acknowledges Trial During Wisconsin Campaign Rally
Speaking from a teleprompter in what appeared to be prepared remarks, Trump addressed the trial only briefly, calling Judge Merchan “crooked” and “totally conflicted.”
Trump also suggested the jury won’t be fair since “it’s a 95% or so Democrat area,” and repeated the claim that he’s done nothing wrong to merit any of the four criminal trials he’s facing.
The remarks come one day after the former president was fined $9,000 for repeatedly violating a gag order in the trial.
Trump’s trial isn’t in session on Wednesdays, allowing him time to travel and campaign as he sees fit. Instead of campaigning last Wednesday, Trump went golfing at his club in Bedminster, New Jersey.
Trump Out Of Court, Back On The Campaign Trail And Ranting
Trump will get the chance to thaw out as he holds his first proper rallies since the hush money trial began, and two crucial swing states are on the itinerary. He’ll first campaign in Waukesha, Wisconsin, and then head to Freeland, Michigan. Biden took both Midwest states from Trump in 2020, and they remain on a knife-edge ahead of November’s vote. He plans to attack Biden on the economy and crime, with the latter likely to be informed by Trump's own grievances with the justice system.
But before firing up the base, Trump fired off some invective on social media. Inevitably, he’s turned his gaze to the college campus protests dominating the news cycle, blasting “the Radical Left Lunatics” who are apparently holding pro-Palestine protests to “take the FOCUS away from our Southern Border.” It’s an opinion.
We're Done For The Day
Daniels Lawyer Says Cohen Was Like The 'Excitable' Dog From The Pixar Film 'Up'
The same day, Davidson described receiving a forwarded email from a third party stating that funds had been deposited into Cohen's account. To Davidson, the email meant "nothing," because Cohen was just “saying that he had the money, not that he sent the money to me.”
Asked to describe Cohen's demeanor around this time, Davidson replied: “He was highly excitable, sort of a pants-on-fire kind of guy. He had a lot of things going on, frequently [I'd] be on the phone with him and he’d take another call, be talking out of two ears. Sort of like that movie ‘Up’ with the dog — ’Squirrel! Squirrel!’”
Lawyers Sidebar Over Questions On Trump’s Frugality
“It was my understanding that Mr. Trump was the beneficiary of this contract,” Davidson said, adding that the beneficiary is usually the one who pays. Merchan struck the latter part of the answer from the record.
Davidson read a text from Howard from around this time: “I reckon that Trump impersonator I hired has more cash.” Davidson, who replied "lol" at the time, said in court that he took Howard's comment to mean that Trump “wasn’t as wealthy” as he led people to believe he was.
Yet Another Desperate Trump Attempt To Halt The Trial Is Denied
Stormy Daniels’ Deal Very Nearly Fell Apart: ‘All Because Trump Is Tight’
“Cohen was leaning on Dylan to placate Gina [Rodriguez, Daniels’ manager],” Davidson said. He went on to explain how he believed Daniels and her manager had a backup plan to generate “tremendous media attention” around the story if Cohen or somebody did not make good on their original deal.
“All because Trump is tight,” read one of Howard’s texts to Davidson remarking on the situation.
Keith Davidson Tried Severing Ties To Stormy Daniels Deal
“I said to Cohen and to my client, I’m out. Go in peace,” Davidson said. He added of Cohen: “I thought he was trying to kick the can down the road until after the election.
Week 3 Of The Trump Trial Continues Today. Here’s What’s Happened On Day 9.
- Judge Merchan found Trump in contempt of court and fined him $9,000 for nine posts that attacked people involved in the trial. He had to delete the content in question and faces jail time should he ignore the order again.
- Michael Cohen’s former banker, Gary Farro, wrapped up his testimony. Farro described how Cohen took out a second mortgage, created an LLC and opened a bank account for the purposes of wiring Stormy Daniels $130,000 — all under the auspices of a real estate transaction.
- Keith Davidson, a lawyer who represented both Stormy Daniels and Karen McDougal in the past, began testifying about how he facilitated AMI’s deals with both women.
- Two other witnesses, a C-SPAN archivist and a deposition company representative, sat for very brief testimony. Legal analysts believe the prosecution was compelled to bring them in because Trump refused to agree the documents they provided for the trial were authentic.
- Today will start at 9:30 a.m. with a hearing on more alleged violations of Trump's gag order. The jury has been instructed to arrive at 10 a.m.
- Davidson is set to return to the stand today.
Lawyer Tells Jurors Agreement Used Pseudonyms For Donald Trump, Stormy Daniels
Why Dennison? Because he was the defendant, said Davidson. They chose “Peterson,” he said, because Daniels was the plaintiff.
Davidson told Steinglass that Dennison was also a real person who was on his high school hockey team.
"How does he feel about you now?" asked Steinglass.
"He's very upset," said Davidson.
Payment To Stormy Daniels’ Lawyer Was Late
Davidson said he came to believe Cohen did not have the authority to spend the money. He expressed how frustrated his client was, and then recalled Cohen saying, "Goddamn it, I'll just do it myself."
No One Wanted To Talk To 'Asshole' Michael Cohen During Stormy Daniels Deal
“Dylan [Howard] was washing his hands of the deal and sort of handing the deal over to Gina to close,” Keith Davidson testified. But Daniels’ manager didn’t want to do it, because it meant she had to talk to Cohen.
“No one wanted to talk to Cohen,” Davidson said. He recalled Daniels’ manager telling him it would be easy, the terms were set and all he essentially needed to do was handle the transaction and "talk to that asshole Cohen.” The $130,000 total agreed upon included $10,000 for Davidson
Lawyer Says The Access Hollywood Tape Changed Everything For Stormy Daniels
“Trump is fucked,” Davidson said, abbreviating the text as he read it aloud in court.
Howard replied: “Wave the white flag. It’s over, people!”
Both men, however, soon became involved in a deal to smother Daniels' story as they did with McDougal.
A 2011 Blog Post Resurfaces About Donald Trump And Stormy Daniels
Upon calling Cohen back, Davidson said, “I was just met with a hustled barrage of insults and insinuations that went on for a while … I don’t think he was accusing us of anything. He was just screaming.”
Davidson said that, eventually, he expressed to Cohen that his client, Daniels, also wanted the blog post taken down. He sent a cease-and-desist letter, and the post was removed.
Karen McDougal's Attorney Links The 'Catch-And-Kill' Scheme To Trump's Campaign
“One explanation I was given was that they were trying to build Karen into a brand and didn’t want to diminish her reputation. And the second was more of an unspoken understanding that there was a close affiliation between David Pecker and Donald Trump and AMI would not run this story … because it would tend to hurt Donald Trump," Davidson said. Asked whether he meant Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign, Davidson said yes.
The contract between McDougal and AMI was dated Aug. 5, 2016.
Details Emerge In Testimony About The Karen McDougal Deal
Davidson said that an attorney for AMI asked him to reach out to Cohen, but that he did not want to do so because of a past experience talking to Trump’s attorney, which he described as “not pleasant or constructive.” Davidson did end up calling Cohen, because he understood the deal would benefit Cohen's client, Trump. (Trump, however, wasn't named on the paperwork.) AMI paid Davidson the sum for McDougal's story.
“Glad it all sorted,” Davidson texted Howard afterward.
“Fuckin’ Jesus,” Howard replied.
Donald Trump Is Back, And So Is Eric Trump
Trump’s Social Media Scrubbed Of Posts
Trump will also have to pay a $9,000 fine ($1,000 per violation) and faces potential jail time should he find himself in contempt of court again.
Karen McDougal’s Attorney Joked About Helping Trump In Exchange For Ambassadorship: ‘I’m Thinking The Isle Of Man’
Responding to Howard’s assertion that “we are going to lay it on thick for her,” Davidson responded: “Good. Throw in an ambassadorship for me. I’m thinking the Isle off Man.”
In court, he explained: “It was sort of in jest. That was just a joke.” He said the understanding was that, “somehow, if Karen did this deal with AMI, it would help Trump’s candidacy,” leading to a potential perk for him.
At this point in the negotiations, it was clear that McDougal's story would be purchased but not be made public.
We're now breaking for lunch.
Trump Campaign Wastes No Time Using Gag Order As A Fundraising Tool
“A Democrat judge JUST HELD ME IN CONTEMPT OF COURT!” the email soliciting donations reads. “I was fined $9,000 for 9 gag order violations. THEY WANT TO SILENCE ME! They think they can BLEED ME DRY and SHUT ME UP, but I’ll NEVER stop fighting for YOU.”
The email then casts the gag order as a form of “election interference” before directing people to donate to the Trump National Committee.
More Texts Read For Jurors
Later, Davidson texted Howard: “It’s a story that should be told.”
“I agree,” Howard replied.
The following month, in July, Howard texted asking to speak about Trump, saying that he thought he had “an entree” to pitch the story again. In another message, Davidson wrote to Howard: “Don’t forget about Cohen. Time is of the essence. The girl is being cornered by the estrogen mafia." In court, the attorney called it a “regrettable” phrase.
“That was a term I think [came from] one of Karen’s associates at that first meeting, there were several women who were leaning on Karen to sign a deal with ABC,” he explained. McDougal was rumored to be mulling an appearance on “Dancing with the Stars" because she was trying to reinvigorate her career. When Howard told him to "get me a price on McDougal," Davidson initially came back with a whopping price tag of $1 million.
Davidson claimed that McDougal did not want to tell her story about Trump. Yet the deals he was trying to negotiate for her — a story in tabloid media or an appearance on a reality show — would require her to do so, he said.
McDougal Lawyer Texts National Enquirer Editor-In-Chief: ‘I Have A Blockbuster Trump Story’
“I have a blockbuster Trump story,” one text read. “Talk first thing. I will get you more than anyone for it, you know why.”
“Did he cheat on Melania?” Howard texted back. “Do you know if the affair was during his marriage to Melania?”
“I really cannot say yet. Sorry,” Davidson replied.
“OK. Keep me informed,” Howard texted. He then flew out to meet McDougal and Davidson in person to discuss the allegations; a friend of the model's was also present."
Ms. McDougal alleged that she had had a romantic affair with Donald Trump some years prior," Davidson testified in court, affirming the relationship was allegedly sexual.
Davidson's Connections To Key Figures In The Case
He first came to know Cohen in 2011, after a blog post linked Trump to a client of his, whom he described as “Stephanie Clifford, AKA Stormy Daniels.” He said McDougal was a former client whom he met around 25 years ago when she dated a friend of his. They were reacquainted in June 2016, according to an email between Davidson and McDougal that was shown to the jury. The email also contained a retainer agreement regarding the story of McDougal’s alleged affair with Trump.
Davidson testified earlier that he would sell stories to tabloids, but only “rarely.”
Next up: Attorney Keith Davidson.
From 2016 to 2017, he testified that his firm was “heavily involved with media cases,” which meant lots of nondisclosure agreements.
Going Through Deposition Tapes
Asked in the video deposition what Truth Social is, Trump replied, “It’s a platform that has been opened by me as an alternative to Twitter.”
In another clip, he is asked to confirm that he is married to Melania Trump since 2005. In another, he is asked whether he is familiar with the “Access Hollywood” tape.
Thompson is then dismissed, with no cross-examination.
Next up: attorney Keith Davidson.
Next Up: A Deposition Company Representative
He’s explaining what a deposition is, and how it’s recorded.
Thompson affirmed that his company handled the deposition for one of writer E. Jean Carroll’s defamation cases against Trump. He appears to be here simply to swear that Trump’s October 2022 deposition video and transcript are accurate.
Wait, What’s A CSPAN Archivist Doing On The Stand?
“That also means that despite Trump and his team’s constant complaints about the trial’s length, they bear the blame for insisting on testimony like this,” says Rubin. “Even the most aggressive lawyers I know would roll their eyes & agree that whatever CSPAN video is at issue is real.”
Trump Rally Clips Played For Jurors
“Whoever she is, wherever she comes from … the stories are total fiction. They’re 100% made up. They never happened. They never would happen,” Trump was heard saying. He called the stories “lies," “totally invented fiction,” and said, "It's a total setup.” Another video clip was shown from a Trump campaign event in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, in which Trump said, “All of these lies will be sued when the election is over.” In a final clip, as president-elect, Trump called Cohen a “very good lawyer.”
Browning is done, with no cross-examination.
Next Witness: Longtime CSPAN Exec Robert Browning
Prosecutors Ask To Include Trump Attacks On Cohen, Daniels
Lawyers Haggle Over Explicit Texts While Jury Takes Morning Recess
One text, sent by Stormy Daniels and Karen McDougal’s lawyer to American Media’s chief content officer on July, 1, 2017, reads, “He owes AMI everything & he fucked u. Idiot.” Presumably “he” is Trump, though it’s unclear.
Another text, sent by Stormy Daniels’ publicist Gina Rodriguez to former National Enquirer editor-in-chief Dylan Howard on Oct. 19, 2016, reads, “There is some shady shit going on.”
Trump Held No Campaign Rallies Over Long Weekend
Court is also out on Wednesdays for this trial. Last week, Trump spent Wednesday playing golf at his club in Bedminster, New Jersey.
Bank Shuttered Cohen Accounts After Stormy Daniels Payment Went Public
"We choose not to be attached to what we consider to be negative press,” he said. “Once a client is not completely honest with us, we choose not to do business with them going forward,” Farro added.
Farro's testimony has now concluded. Jurors have been dismissed for their morning break.
Eric Trump Is Following Along
Farro: Cohen Was ‘A Challenging Client’
“Ninety percent of the time, it was an urgent matter,” Farro said of his conversations with Cohen. They were infrequent calls, he said, only three or four times per year. He affirmed that his managers chose him to work with Cohen because they thought Farro could handle him. Once information on the hush money transfer became public, he said he was pulled away from Cohen as a client.
Farro Affirms He Didn't Know Funds Were Related To Campaign Or Stormy Daniels
Prosecutors walked him through records showing how Cohen took out a home equity loan and used the funds to transfer a hush money payment to Keith Davidson, an attorney for Stormy Daniels. The implication was that Cohen made the wire look like a real estate transaction.
We're now done with direct examination, and are on to cross examination.
Farro Describes Bank Transfer
Judge Warns Trump He Could Be Jailed For Violating Gag Order
Trump must remove the offending social media posts by 2:15 p.m. today, according to CNN.
According to the order, "THEREFORE, Defendant is hereby warned that the Court will not tolerate continued willful violations of its lawful orders and that if necessary and appropriate under the circumstances, it will impose an incarceratory punishment."
You can read the ruling here.
Another hearing on four more alleged violations will be held Thursday morning.
Judge Permits Trump To Attend Barron's High School Graduation
Another date that Trump requested, June 3, depends on whether the jury is in deliberations by then. If they are, he won't be able to take the day off.
Gary Farro Resumes Witness Testimony
Trump Complains About 'Icebox' Courtroom
"I'm going to go into the icebox now and sit for about eight hours or nine hours," he said. "I’d much rather be in Georgia, I’d much rather be in Florida. I’d much rather be in states that are in play."
Judge Fines Trump For Contempt Of Court
Eric Trump Appears Alongside Dad
This is the first time a member of Trump's family has shown up at the trial.
Trump Arrives At Court
His son, Eric Trump, was spotted joining the motorcade, the network reported.
Trump Details Authoritarian Second Term
Among the sweeping changes Trump would aim to make would be mass detention camps for migrants along the border, a federal government filled with his acolytes and permission for red states to monitor women’s pregnancies. Read the full profile here.