#TrumpTrial 𧔠Thurs, May 2
charges are falsifying business records to hide #HushMoney payments in lead up to 2016 election to #influence electorate
just one Trump supporter at the courthouse draped in a Trump flag.
#StormyDaniels's lawyer, #KeithDavidson, to return to stand. He negotiated the hush-money payment at the center of the case, & is expected to lay out details of the deal.
#criminal #law #Trump #CatchAndKill #conspiracy #ElectionInterference #KarenMcDougal
Davidsonâs testimony on Tues ended w/how he had started to doubt #MichaelCohen would pay the $130k.
Before the day ended, Davidson said Cohen forwarded him an email from First Republic Bank vouching for his solvency.
In addition to #StormyDaniels, Davidson represented #KarenMcDougal, a Playboy model who had a year-long affair w/ #Trump. McDougal also received #HushMoney â$150k from the parent company of The #NationalEnquirer.
#criminal #law #CatchAndKill #conspiracy #ElectionInterference
Before the jury is called back in, Justice #Merchan plans to hold a hearing on whether #Trump has again violated the #GagOrder in the case.
Trump went to his social media platform this morning to again saying:
"We cannot let this radical left, corrupt & highly conflicted New York Democrat judge interfere w/the presidential election of 2024 â the most important election in the history of our country. The USA is truly a nation in decline! Remove the unconstitutional gag order."
#Trump also attacked Justice #Merchan at a rally in Wisconsin last night & said that the #jury in this trial was drawn from a county âManhattan â which is âa 95% or so Democrat area.â
Trump continued the same line of attack in the courthouse hallway. According to a pool report, he referred to Justice Merchan as conflicted & bragged about yesterday's rallies.
#criminal #law #CatchAndKill #conspiracy #ElectionInterference #MobTactics #GagOrder #TrumpTrial
Gag order hearing is underway
Moments into the prosecutors' argument, #Trump slapped the arm of his lead lawyer, Todd Blanche, and gestured with his hands. They spoke briefly and then Trump sat back and immediately shut his eyes.
#criminal #law #CatchAndKill #conspiracy #ElectionInterference #MobTactics #GagOrder #TrumpTrial
Regarding #Trumpâs comments about David #Pecker being nice, prosecutor Conroy argued it was a threat to other witnesses âbe nice or else face attacksâ not sure that will work. Conroy called Trumpâs statements as âair of menaceâ I agree, but if weâre supposed to infer for a #GagOrder that gets a little tricky.
#criminal #law #CatchAndKill #conspiracy #ElectionInterference #MobTactics #TrumpTrial
Conroy re #MichaelCohen,:
The judge, in ruling against #Trump after the first hearing, warned that #witnesses could not use the #GagOrder as a âsword,â attacking Trump while knowing that he would be fined for attacking them back. Conroy acknowledges that: âWe understand the court's concern about Michael Cohen.â But he wants the violation recognized, as he says Trump is trying to âdisruptâ the process & that his statements are âcorrosive to this proceedingâ
#Trump atty #Blanche argues the purpose of the #GagOrder is to âprotect the integrity of these proceedingsâ & that none of the 4 statements at issue were disruptive to the trial, & continues to say Trumpâs statements are responses to political attacks.
Blanche mentions a comment from President #Biden at the WH Correspondents' Dinner in which the president made an oblique reference to #StormyDaniels, saying that Trump had been experiencing âstormy weather.â
But the judge asks, isnât it possible to respond to #Biden without actually mentioning #StormyDaniels, a potential #witness?
[also Biden isnât under a #GagOrder, threatening any #witnesses or facing multiple #criminal charges]
#Trump appeared to get frustrated during this exchange & motioned w/his hands.
#law #CatchAndKill #conspiracy #ElectionInterference #MobTactics #TrumpTrial
#Blanche complains about media coverage in the argument, but #Trump seeks out the media, he gives multiple stmnts outside the courtroom & constantly discusses the trial. Heâs running on his #criminal charges.
Justice #Merchan says he doesnât understand Blancheâs argument comparing Trumpâs inability to speak out freely w/journalists' ability to report freely on him everyday. âTheyâre not defendants in this case," Merchan says forcefully. "Theyâre not subject to the #GagOrder.â
#Blanche is arguing that #Trump has to respond to reporters who ask him about #witnesses.
Justice #Merchan replies, âIt was your client who went down to that holding area & stood in front of the press & started to speak. It wasnât the press that went to him. He went to the press. He didnât need to go in that direction.â He adds, âNobody forced your clientâ to go talk to reporters in the courthouse hallway when he attacked #MichaelCohen.
After Justice #Merchan pointed out that no one is forcing #Trump to talk to the #press, #Blancheâs response, âI agree with that.â
Merchan continues to express concern about Trumpâs rights to free speech, particularly as a political candidate. He says that a whole press area has been set aside for Trump in the hallway so that âyour client, as candidate for the presidency, has the opportunity to speak about absolutely anything he wants.â
Justice #Merchan seems very mindful of #Trump painting himself as a #martyr, & is trying to emphasize Trumpâs #FreeSpeech rights as a candidate.
Merchan says heâs not that concerned w/the potential violation where Trump referred to David Pecker as âa nice guy.â
Blanche moved on to #MichaelCohen.
Who has really been relentless & isnât doing the prosecution any favors.
Blanche shows some of Cohenâs tweets.
#criminal #law #CatchAndKill #ElectionInterference #MobTactics #GagOrder #TrumpTrial
#Blanche discusses #MichaelCohenâs Tik-Tok videos, saying, âThis is not a man that needs protection from the gag order.â
This is a serious concern for prosecutors. Their #witness, who had said that he would be silent after having attacked #Trump, has not. + Justice #Merchan has already written that he is somewhat sympathetic to the defenseâs argument here.
#criminal #law #CatchAndKill #conspiracy #ElectionInterference #MobTactics #GagOrder #TrumpTrial
Justice #Merchan signals he continues to have little patience for #Trumpâs comments about the #jury, saying they were mostly #Democrats.
Pretty sure heâll be penalized for at least those comments.
The #GagOrder violations hearing is over.
Hopefully Merchan will give a ruling soon on it.
Short break.
#KeithDavidson, #StormyDaniels's lawyer, is back on the stand for more questioning from prosecutors.
#criminal #law #CatchAndKill #conspiracy #ElectionInterference #MobTactics #TrumpTrial
#KeithDavidson starts off by reminding the jury how bad things had gotten between him & #MichaelCohen. #DylanHoward, the editor of The #NationalEnquirer, had to step in because Davidson believed Cohen was ânot telling me the truthâ about the delay in receiving a #HushMoney payment for #StormyDanielsâs story.
Prosecution next shows Davidson text to Howard saying he has received the #HushMoney payment: âfunds received.â
#criminal #law #Trump #CatchAndKill #conspiracy #ElectionInterference
Side note, while Todd #Blanche was arguing against penalizing #Trump for violating the #GagOrder inside the courtroom, Trump was literally fundraising off it. In a message sent to supporters, Trump wrote that heâs âbeen FULLY GAGGEDâ & âstuck in court all day.â
The message included a link to a survey asking whether âyou support President Trump more or less after every single witch hunt, raid, indictment, & arrest.â
#KeithDavidson is asked to go over the specifics of the #HushMoney contract w/ #StormyDaniels & #MichaelCohen, which was signed âon behalf ofâ #Trump.
Davidson confirmed that Daniels' contract had a $1M liquidated damages provision, meaning that Daniels would be obligated to pay $1M if she breached the contract.
Davidson added that Cohen was the person who insisted the provision contain an amount so high.
#criminal #law #CatchAndKill #conspiracy #ElectionInterference
More on #MichaelCohen signing âon behalf ofâ #Trump:
#KeithDavidson said Cohen signed the documents instead of âDavid Dennisonâ, which was the alias they used for Trump.
Prosecutor #Steinglass showed the doc in court & the signatures from Cohen, #StormyDaniels, & Davidson, but there wasnât one from Trump.
#criminal #law #CatchAndKill #conspiracy #ElectionInterference #TrumpTrial
đđ
#KeithDavidson is asked about a text he sent #DylanHoward (#NationalEnquirer) on election night as the election was about to get called for #Trump.
âWhat have we done?â Davidson texted.
Howard responded: âOh my god.â
Davidson describes his text as âgallows humor,â but explains that âthere was an understandingâ that their âactivities may have in some way assisted the presidential campaign of Donald Trump.â
#criminal #law #CatchAndKill #conspiracy #ElectionInterference #TrumpTrial
As results came in on election night, #DylanHoward called #MichaelCohen, who invited him to celebrate at the Hilton in Times Square. He went w/one of his #NationalEnquirer reporters.
Davidson on Cohen:
"He said something to the effect of, Jesus Christ, can you f---ing believe I'm not going to Washington... I've saved that guy's a-- so many times you don't even know."
Defense will love that testimony.
#criminal #law #CatchAndKill #conspiracy #ElectionInterference #TrumpTrial
#KeithDavidson testimony re the #HushMoney deal:
Prosecutor #Steinglass: Did you send a denial to Stormy to sign?
Davidson: "I don't recall."
Prosecution presents a Jan 2018 statement from #StormyDaniels, in which she denied reports of a relationship w/ Trump, a denial she would later rescind. Later, she would say that while she did not have an affair w/ #Trump, she did have sex w/him.
#criminal #law #CatchAndKill #conspiracy #ElectionInterference #TrumpTrial
#Trump claimed on social media that this stmnt was âJUST FOUNDâ (it wasnât)
He was penalized $1k for that as a violation of the #GagOrder.
#KeithDavidson reads #StormyDaniels's denial aloud.
#Steinglass: âHow would you characterize the truthfulness of this statement?â
âDid you intend for this statement to be cleverly misleading?â
Davidson: âI donât understand the questionâ & added he would âneverâ use the term â#HushMoneyâ. He prefers the term âconsideration.â
Davidson testifies about many phone calls & texts from #MichaelCohen after WSJâs article came out.
Rothfeld its author says:
âThe statement of denial from #StormyDaniels just shown in court seemed like an obvious non-denial denial when I was reporting on this story at the time for The WSJ. 1st of all, it came from Michael Cohen. How would he have had access to her? Second, she said she didnât receive #HushMoney from âDonald Trumpââwe knew it was Cohen who had paid.â
mid-January 2018, #MichaelCohen texted #KeithDavidson that he had tentatively scheduled #StormyDaniels to appear on #Hannity (she never did)
#Steinglass asked why Cohen was pushing for her to appear on the program. Davidson answered that Cohen believed Daniels would further deny the sexual encounter w/ #Trump.
Cohen had a relationship w/ Sean Hannity, a Trump supporter. In 2018 before Cohenâs guilty plea, it was revealed that Hannity was a #legal client of Cohenâs.
#KeithDavidson was asked about texts w/ #MichaelCohen referencing the State of the Union address that #Trump was going to deliver - so this was happening as Trump was running the country.
Davidson testified about how handling both #StormyDaniels & #MichaelCohen made his life very complicated.
Prosecutor #Steinglass grilled Davidson on how Daniels's denials were not believable, important to counter arguments by defense.
#criminal #law #CatchAndKill #conspiracy #ElectionInterference #TrumpTrial
#Steinglass presented texts between #MichaelCohen & #KeithDavidson about a statement prepared before #StormyDaniels' #JimmyKimmel appearance in Jan 2018.
The statement said that she was denying an affair w/ #Trump. Asked how truthful that was, Davidson testified that it's technically true because no one had alleged a #relationship between the 2 of them. He said a relationship is an ongoing interaction.
[#situationship?]
#criminal #law #CatchAndKill #conspiracy #ElectionInterference #TrumpTrial
#MichaelCohen texted #Keith Davidson that #StormyDaniels "just denied the letter...claiming it's not her signature...she said she did it in front of you."
Davidson said, "She did. Impossible â she posted it on her own Twitter page."
"They showed her signature & she claimed it was not hers on Kimmel," Cohen said.
"Wtf," Davidson said.
#Trump #criminal #law #CatchAndKill #conspiracy #ElectionInterference #TrumpTrial
#KeithDavidson explained an interaction w/ #MichaelCohen re a statement to fmr #CNN anchor Chris Cuomo.
In Feb 2018, the #StormyDaniels story was getting attention in the news.
Davidson testified that Cohen asked him to provide a statement stating that Cohen was the source of the funds.
#Steinglass asks why he drafted it despite knowing that #Trump was or would be the ultimate source of the funds.
Davidson says that at the time of the transaction, Cohen had put up the money.
#Steinglass finished questioning #KeithDavidson in an abrupt conclusion. Before he finished, Steinglass asked Davidson if he had any stake in the outcome of the trial. Davidson said that he did not.
#Trump's lawyer Emil #Bove on #CrossExamination of Davidson, fmr #StormyDaniels & #KarenMcDougal lawyer.
Bove begins by establishing that Davidson has not met Trump.
#criminal #law #CatchAndKill #conspiracy #ElectionInterference #TrumpTrial
#Bove tried to create distance between the #HushMoney deals & #Trump.
Prosecution tried to atttibute the deals to Trump, the boss overseeing #MichaelCohen.
Defense is trying to tweak the whole story to frame everything as something orchestrated by #KeithDavidson, Cohen, #StormyDaniels & Danielsâ manager Gina Rodriguez.
#criminal #law #CatchAndKill #conspiracy #ElectionInterference #TrumpTrial
#Bove returns to the topic of how #MichaelCohen wanted a job in #Trump's WH & acted despondent, on a call w/ #KeithDavidson, when he did not receive it.
Davidson, asked about that call, says:
âI thought he was going to kill himself."
Bove then introduces the idea that Cohen had hoped for a high-ranking position, even as high as U.S. attorney general.
Objection (obviously)
Sidebar
#criminal #law #CatchAndKill #conspiracy #ElectionInterference #TrumpTrial
Defense wants to portray #MichaelCohen as having a vendetta against #Trump grounded in personal disappointment w/nothing to do any alleged illegal conduct by Trump.
#Bove recalls to #KeithDavidson he said Cohen could be âaggressive,â then said, âAnd you can be aggressive too, canât you?â
Davidson: âI supposeâ
Bove: âWhat does the word âextortionâ mean to you?â
Defense wants to make Davidson look like a scumbag who extorted the Trump campaign. Davidson is pissed.
#Bove is trying to paint #KeithDavidson as a serial extorter, asking for money in various situations & being mindful not to cross the line into actual extortion.
Bove is digging up unsavory episodes from Davidson's past to cast him as shady â for example, Bove says, a fmr of client of his leaked information that the Hollywood star Lindsay Lohan was in rehab.
#Trump #criminal #law #CatchAndKill #conspiracy #ElectionInterference #TrumpTrial
#Boveâs cross-examination so far hasn't even been about #Trump, but it is an effort by his legal team to discredit #KeithDavidson & persuade the jury that his previous testimony shouldn't be trusted.
2 more celebs have been named - Tila Tequila, a reality TV star, & Charlie Sheen.
Bove is accusing Davidson of essentially extorting Sheen.
#criminal #law #CatchAndKill #conspiracy #ElectionInterference #TrumpTrial
Nonilex
Amoshias
Eddie Knight