The defense of former US President Donald Trump tried to discredit this Thursday during his criminal trial in New York the prosecution witness, the lawyer who negotiated the agreement to supposedly buy the silence of the former porn actress Stormy Daniels, insinuating that his practices were “extortive ”.
The 77-year-old tycoon, now a Republican presidential candidate on November 5, 2024, is accused of falsifying business documents to hide a $130,000 payment to Daniels just days before the 2016 election, which he won against Democrat Hillary Clinton. .
He always denied having a relationship with the former actress
Trump, who has always denied having had a relationship with the former actress, began the day with a new hearing for contempt.
Prosecutors urged Judge Juan Merchan to fine him again for violating, once again, an order of his that prohibits him from referring to witnesses, jurors and court personnel on social networks.
The judge, who has already imposed sanctions of $9,000 for contempt, made no decision.
The trial then continued with Keith Davidson, Daniels’ former lawyer, taking the witness stand. After the prosecution’s turn, Trump’s defense tried to corner him.
Buy information if it is harmful
The payment to Daniels, which according to the accusation the magnate concealed as legal expenses of his then lawyer Michael Cohen, who advanced the money from his pocket, is the center of this trial that places a former president on the bench for the first time in history. from the country.
On Friday, April 26, another witness for the Prosecutor’s Office, the former president of the publishing company of the National Enquirer tabloid newspaper David Pecker, told how these payments were made in a practice that the American press calls “catch and kill”, that is, buying information so that it is not published if it is harmful to the interested party.
The beneficiaries of this practice were supposedly Daniels and the model Karen McDougal, who would have received $150,000 dollars, so that they would not reveal alleged relationships they had with the magnate so that they would not interfere in his 2016 electoral campaign.
Davidson was Daniels and McDougal’s negotiator and Trump’s lawyer, Emil Bove, was quick to attack him.
Trump’s defense said he “extracted” money from celebrities
“When you were negotiating on behalf of McDougal and Daniels, was one of your concerns staying on the right side of the law regarding extortion?” Bove asked.
“I guess so,” Davidson responded. “I did everything I could to make sure my activities were legal.”
Bove asked Davidson about his involvement in other cases in which he “extracted” money from celebrities with something to hide, citing a deal involving “Platoon” star Charlie Sheen.
The Los Angeles lawyer objected to the use of the word “extract” in a testy exchange, although he acknowledged that he was investigated by federal and state authorities for alleged extortion when he represented clients who were in possession of a sex tape of former professional wrestler Hulk Hogan. , but he was not accused of anything.
Trump’s former lawyer “wanted her (Daniels) to deny the story to protect his client” and had threatened to “rain legal hell” on the former actress, Davidson said during Thursday’s proceedings.
Immersed in this process in the middle of his presidential campaign, Trump took advantage of the fact that he did not have a trial hearing on May 1 to hold a rally in Wisconsin, where he accused President Joe Biden of his legal problems and the ills that afflict the country.
For two weeks, Trump has attended hours of testimony, sometimes technical, visibly angry with the judge, who has required him to be present every day.
Victim, as he says, of a “witch hunt” due to the different legal fronts he has open – three for alleged maneuvers to ignore the 2020 elections and one for taking classified documents after leaving the White House, the Republican magnate assures that this trial It is “electoral interference.”
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