Hush-money trial to resume after Hope Hicks’ testimony on Trump’s 2016 campaign
Good morning,
The criminal trial of Donald Trump over his hush money payment to adult film star Stormy Daniels enters its fourth week later today with proceedings due to start around 9am in New York.
Last week, several witnesses took the stand, including Trump’s former campaign communications director Hope Hicks. During her testimonies – which at times were tearful – Hicks revealed the front and center role Trump played in his 2016 presidential campaign’s media strategy.
In addition to revealing that she was “very concerned” about an email from a Washington Post reporter regarding the infamous Access Hollywood tape, Hicks testified that Trump told her that Michael Cohen had paid off Daniels to “protect him from a false allegation” out of the “kindness of his own heart”.
She went on to add that that she did not know Cohen “to be an especially charitable person or selfless person”.
Keith Davidson, a lawyer who negotiated payments on behalf of Daniels and former Playboy model Karen McDougal, also testified in court last week.
However, Davidson appeared to complicate the narrative that prosecutors wanted to tell, saying that he did not consider the payment “hush money” but rather a “consideration for a civil settlement”. Davidson’s testimony will probably play into the defense’s arguments since the district attorney is arguing that Trump falsified business records by falsely stating that his reimbursements to Cohen for the deal were “legal expenses”.
Stay tuned as we deliver you the latest updates.
Key events
Donald Trump has arrived at the lower Manhattan courthouse for the first day of the trial’s fourth week.
The proceedings are scheduled to get under way at 9.30am. We’ll bring you developments from the courtroom as they unfold.
Last week, Juan Merchan dismissed Donald Trump’s claims that he is unable to testify.
Speaking to reporters last week, Trump, who has been fined numerous times for violating gag orders, said, “I’m not allowed to testify. I’m under a gag order, I guess. I can’t testify.”
In court, the judge dismissed Trump’s claims, saying, “I want to stress, Mr Trump, that you have an absolute right to testify at trial … The order prohibiting extra-judicial statements does not prevent you from testifying in any way.”
Since the trial began, Trump has repeatedly gone after Merchan as well as Alvin Bragg, the Manhattan district attorney, accusing them online of orchestrating a “hoax” trial and “witch hunt” against him.
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Here is a look at some images from the Manhattan courthouse that came through the newswires last week:
Who are the key players in the Trump trial?
With the trial entering its fourth week, here is a reminder of the key players by the Guardian’s Sam Levine:
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Donald Trump, defendant: The Republican nominee for president is the defendant in the case. Prosecutors allege that he orchestrated a $130,000 payment to the adult film star Stormy Daniels when she threatened to go public with allegations of an affair on the eve of the 2016 election, and then conspired with others to cover up the payment.
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David Pecker, key witness: Pecker was a key Trump ally who served as the CEO of American Media Inc (AMI), the publisher of the National Enquirer. Pecker helped Trump by purchasing the rights to potentially damaging stories and then never publishing them, a practice known as “catch and kill”.
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Stormy Daniels, key witness: Daniels, an adult film star, says she met Trump in 2006 at a celebrity golf tournament. Daniels was 27 at the time and Trump was 60 and Daniels has always said the sex was consensual. Just before the 2016 election, Daniels said she was approached by Michael Cohen, Trump’s lawyer at the time, and offered $130,000 not to disclose the alleged affair.
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Michael Cohen, key witness: Cohen was once a lawyer for Trump and one of the former president’s most loyal lieutenants and enforcers. He facilitated the payment to Daniels, funnelling the $130,000 to her through a shell company called Essential Consultants LLC. Trump later arranged to pay him back in monthly payment installments of $35,000.
For other key figures, click here:
Keith Davidson’s testimony over the categorization of the deal made with Stormy Daniels was not the only complicating factor for prosecutors.
During Hope Hicks’ testimony, Trump’s former campaign communications director testified that the biggest concern for Trump over the hush money payments was the reaction of his wife, Melania.
“He was concerned about how it would be viewed by his wife,” said Hicks.
The Guardian’s Hugo Lowell reports:
“The Trump team suggested in opening statements that the main reason why the catch-and-kill scheme to buy Daniels’ story happened was because Trump found it embarrassing for him and for Melania – an alternative explanation to prosecutors’ case that it was to influence the election.”
For the full breakdown click here:
Hush-money trial to resume after Hope Hicks’ testimony on Trump’s 2016 campaign
Good morning,
The criminal trial of Donald Trump over his hush money payment to adult film star Stormy Daniels enters its fourth week later today with proceedings due to start around 9am in New York.
Last week, several witnesses took the stand, including Trump’s former campaign communications director Hope Hicks. During her testimonies – which at times were tearful – Hicks revealed the front and center role Trump played in his 2016 presidential campaign’s media strategy.
In addition to revealing that she was “very concerned” about an email from a Washington Post reporter regarding the infamous Access Hollywood tape, Hicks testified that Trump told her that Michael Cohen had paid off Daniels to “protect him from a false allegation” out of the “kindness of his own heart”.
She went on to add that that she did not know Cohen “to be an especially charitable person or selfless person”.
Keith Davidson, a lawyer who negotiated payments on behalf of Daniels and former Playboy model Karen McDougal, also testified in court last week.
However, Davidson appeared to complicate the narrative that prosecutors wanted to tell, saying that he did not consider the payment “hush money” but rather a “consideration for a civil settlement”. Davidson’s testimony will probably play into the defense’s arguments since the district attorney is arguing that Trump falsified business records by falsely stating that his reimbursements to Cohen for the deal were “legal expenses”.
Stay tuned as we deliver you the latest updates.
