Major Twist Emerges From Trump Trial
Scheduled for Tuesday is the anticipated court appearance of former President Donald Trump, where his legal team is poised for the cross-examination of a pivotal witness in his hush money trial.
Expected to take the stand is adult film star Stormy Daniels, who is set to recount purported backstage negotiations with Michael Cohen culminating in a $130,000 payment and a nondisclosure agreement regarding an alleged affair with Trump years ago.
Clark Brewster, Daniels’ attorney, indicated to the AP that his client will "probably" testify on Tuesday. However, Trump expressed discontent, claiming he was only "recently informed" of this development and should have been afforded more time to prepare.
The saga between Trump and Daniels traces back to her 2006 claim of a contentious sexual encounter during a celebrity golf event at Lake Tahoe.
Trump denies the encounter transpired but opted to compensate her to keep the alleged details under wraps, foreseeing the potential media frenzy just days before the 2016 election. Nevertheless, on November 4, 2016, the Wall Street Journal ran a piece detailing allegations of Trump’s infidelity involving Daniels.
Prosecutors presented records from the Trump Organization on Monday, including checks personally signed by Trump to cover Daniels’ settlement. Attorneys representing Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg must still establish that Trump’s signature implies awareness of the purpose behind the payments and tacitly consents to categorizing them as legal expenses rather than campaign outlays.
Bragg has leveled 34 felony charges against Trump, contending that the funds were aimed at bolstering his electoral prospects but were camouflaged through falsified financial documentation.
Throughout the trial, prosecutors have consistently asserted that Trump, trailing behind rival Hillary Clinton, sought to silence Daniels to garner support from female voters. Testifying in court, former Trump spokesperson Hope Hicks disclosed Trump's foremost concern was the potential fallout on his wife, Melania, from the alleged affair.
Just days before the election, the Wall Street Journal published an article disclosing a payment made to former Playboy model Karen McDougal, which also encompassed Daniels. Hicks revealed Trump was "apprehensive about his wife’s reaction" to the report and requested that newspapers not be delivered to his residence on that specific day.
Ultimately, Daniels received compensation from Cohen, Trump’s ex-lawyer and fixer, after her then-attorney, Keith Davidson, indicated her willingness to disclose her account of meeting Trump on the record. Cohen, confiding in associates, expressed his relentless efforts to "fix" Trump-related complications, albeit internally lamenting the protracted reimbursement process.
Hicks also provided insights on Cohen, a convicted felon serving as a key prosecution witness, informing the jury, "He used to like to call himself Mr. Fix-It, but that was only because he first broke it."