Former President Donald Trump was back in New York City Thursday for his criminal trial, and it's been a pretty good day for him. During Thursday's proceedings, Keith Davidson, the lawyer representing adult film actress Stormy Daniels, gave revealing testimony that completely undermines Bragg's charges against Trump.
For starters, Davidson argued that the $130,000 payment to Daniels should not be construed as "hush money" but rather as a legitimate "consideration" payment.
Manhattan Assistant District Attorney Johsua Steinglass pressed Davidson on the witness stand about Daniels’ statement in January 2018, which Davidson prepared for his client, that denied any relationship with Trump and said that her only interaction with Trump was “a few public appearances and nothing more.”
“Rumors that I have received hush money from Donald Trump are completely false,” the statement says.“I don’t believe that Stormy ever alleged that any interaction with Trump was ‘romantic,‘” Davidson testified Thursday. But it is his understanding that Daniels had a sexual encounter with Trump.
He also said the payment “wasn’t a payoff.”“It wasn’t a payoff. And it wasn’t hush money. It was consideration,” Davidson said. Davidson added that he would never use “hush money” to describe the money exchange.
He would only refer to it as “consideration.” “Consideration” is a contractual legal term for what someone gives in return for the promise to abide by a contract; in this case, money. The payment was labeled "legal fees" in Trump's accounting, which prosecutors allege amounted to fraud.
Steinglass asked about the truthfulness of the Daniels’ statement. Davidson replied, “I think it’s technically true.”
If that wasn't bad enough, Davidson also testified that Trump's former lawyer, Michael Cohen, was "despondent" when he didn't get a White House job after Trump won the presidency in 2016.
Davidson said that Cohen called him frequently...
"Can you f---ing believe I’m not going to Washington after everything I’ve done for that guy. I can’t believe I’m not going to Washington…I’ve save[d] his a**…"Cohen told Davidson. According to Davidson, Cohen wanted to be Attorney General or White House chief of staff.
Davidson testified that he thought Cohen was so distressed that he wasn't going to work in the Trump administration that he might kill himself.
Cohen is believed to have coordinated the $130,000 payment to Daniels to quiet her claims of an alleged extramarital affair she had with Trump in 2006. The 2024 GOP presidential nominee has denied having an affair with Daniels.
Cohen is expected to be a star witness for Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg later in the trial proceedings.
Meanwhile, Judge Juan Merchan, who is overseeing the case, may have made a critical error that could reverse the Trump verdict upon appeal by allowing prosecutors to make certain arguments.
“I got to tell you, I think this judge may have already committed a reversible error,” GWU University law professor Jonathan Turley told Fox News. “He could try to amend it, he could try to change it in his instructions, but that jury has now been told repeatedly that there are federal election crimes here, strongly suggesting that the payment to Stormy Daniels did violate federal election laws. That’s just not true.”
Related: Alvin Bragg May Not Prosecute Pro-Palestinian Rioters Who Occupied Columbia University
Fox News legal analyst Gregg Jarrett also cited a court's overturning of Harvey Weinstein's conviction last week as precedent for Trump’s potential conviction being overturned.
“Nothing in the courtroom last week dealt with the actual charges. None of the witnesses actually testified about any relevant crime recognized by law,” Jarrett explained to “Fox and Friends” co-host Steve Doocy. “Instead, it was sort of this weird kabuki theater or theater of the absurd, Steve. I mean, David Pecker, who ran the National Enquirer, was on the witness stand most of the week and told us what we already knew. The tabloid was sleazy, promoting and killing stories.”
“It was the introduction of similar bad acts, which is exactly what led to the reversal of Harvey Weinstein’s sex crime cases, and yet this judge is allowing that sort of evidence,” Jarrett continued. “The goofiest part of this prosecution is that Bragg claims Trump falsified private business records to influence an election.”
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