Live updates: Witness testimony to continue in Trump’s hush money trial
Donald Trump’s criminal trial in Manhattan for allegedly falsifying records is wrapping up its second week of testimony Friday. Jurors so far have heard from two key witnesses — David Pecker and Keith Davidson — who discussed efforts to shut down a pair of potential sex scandals during Trump’s 2016 campaign.
On Davidson’s cross-examination Thursday, the witness’s ethics were challenged by Trump lawyer Emil Bove, who suggested that Davidson engaged in shakedowns of celebrities for a living. The defense has argued that Trump was the victim of extortion by Stormy Daniels, the adult-film actress at the center of the case who was also represented by Davidson.
Here’s what to know
- Trump faces 34 counts of falsifying business records related to his reimbursement of longtime lawyer Michael Cohen for a hush money payment before the 2016 election to Daniels, who alleged that she had a sexual encounter with Trump years earlier.
- The trial is not being televised. The Washington Post has reporters in the courtroom and media overflow room who are posting live updates.
8:28 AM: Thursday in court: Defense unveils strategy portraying Trump as victim
In court on Thursday, Donald Trump’s defense team suggested that rather than orchestrating a hush money scheme, the former president was really the target of a shakedown attempt by unscrupulous entertainment figures who saw his 2016 presidential campaign as an opportunity for a quick payday.
Things got heated as Los Angeles lawyer Keith Davidson denied accusations that he flirted with extortion when he negotiated settlements with celebrities to keep potentially damaging stories out of the public eye.
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By: Devlin Barrett
8:26 AM: Before Michael Cohen testifies, other witnesses paint a damning portrait
Live updates: Witness testimony to continue in Trump’s hush money trial
Since rising to prominence as a lawyer and kind of attack dog for Donald Trump, Michael Cohen has become something of a national punching bag, mocked on “Saturday Night Live,” prosecuted by federal authorities, and lambasted by both the left and right for his “shoot first, aim later” approach to the law and public relations.
Cohen has turned on his former boss, and will be a key prosecution witness in the New York hush money trial. He is not being described as a hero by other witnesses, however. In fact, it’s quite the opposite.
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By: Devlin Barrett
8:25 AM: Forgetting who is on Trump’s defense team? Meet the lawyers.
Donald Trump is represented at his New York hush money trial primarily by three attorneys: Todd Blanche, who has drawn the judge’s ire at times; Susan Necheles; and Emil Bove. The former president has a host of other lawyers involved in his three other criminal cases.
Read our definitive account of how Trump compiled his legal defense team and who is on it.
By: Perry Stein