Trump’s history-making hush-money trial begins ...(Mod Warning)

Yes, you have opinions also. I guess we'll see which ones the jury agrees with.
You do understand that the writers of these opinion pieces you cite have a monetary gain for their opinions, do you not? They are employed by an employer or are paid piecework for these articles, and they have a financial reason for forming their opinions one way or another. That alone does not support or reject their validity, but it may have an effect, which is why I take it with a grain of salt, so to speak.

 

tRaitor tRump IS on trial facing 34 counts of fraud. The trial IS going forward. A verdict WILL be reached. All your carping about it won't change that. IF tRaitor tRump is found guilty he could be sentenced to 4 years in prison, the sentence could be suspended, a fine could be imposed. BUT, a verdict WILL be reached.

I'm wondering that myself.

 

Of course he did as we'll all find out during the trial.

Did he cheat on Melania?’: Trump hush-money trial hears exchanges between National Enquirer and Karen McDougal’s ex-lawyer – live

1h ago13.10 EDT

'Donald Trump was photographed blowing out his cheeks as he returned to the courtroom following a short break in the trial on Tuesday.'


Donald Trump returns to the courtroom following a short break in his criminal trial at New York state supreme court on 30 April 2024. Photograph: Justin Lane/EPA


updates:
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news...hush-money-trial-michael-cohen-latest-updates

 

1 min ago
Court is in session


Judge Juan Merchan is back on the bench and court is in session.

Attorney Keith Davidson, a key witness who represented Stormy Daniels and Karen McDougal, is expected to return to the stand to continue his testimony in the hush money trial.

2 min ago
Trump is in the courtroom. Eric Trump and Ken Paxton are sitting in first row
Trump has entered the courtroom.

Eric Trump is here along with Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton who is sitting in the first row.

The former president didn't answer questions in the courtroom hallway.

Prosecutors have also entered the room.

24 min ago
Trump removes social media posts that judge ruled violated gag order
From CNN's Kate Sullivan

Former President Donald Trump has removed the social media posts that Judge Juan Merchan ruled violated the gag order he is under for his New York criminal hush money trial.

Trump was fined $9,000 earlier on Tuesday for violating the gag order by criticizing expected trial witnesses nine times in posts on social media and his campaign page.

Trump was ordered to remove the posts by 2:15 p.m. ET on Tuesday and pay the fine by close of business day on Friday, May 3.


'https://www.cnn.com/

 

Emil Dove
Todd Blanche

Not
"Emil Blanche"


2 min ago
Questioning now focuses on Davidson's August 2016 texts with National Enquirer editor about McDougal deal


Witness Keith Davidson is looking at another series of texts from August 2016 regarding the Karen McDougal deal.

Davidson texted former National Enquirer editor Dylan Howard: "I can't believe they are asking me to go back for another 25 but they are. (T)He deal is accepted at 150k. Can u do that?"

Howard responded: "He just called me. F**ck it. Not my money. I'll ask."

Prosecutor Joshua Steinglass is continuing to walk Howard through the text messages.

"We are figuring out the mechanics of the deal already," Howard texted Davison in August 2016. "Right now I mean," Howard said in a follow-up text.

"We had come to terms by this point at AMI on the deal points," Davidson testifies as he explains an August 5, 2016, text message discussing concerns with the agreement he had received from AMI's general counsel.



8 min ago
Trump is looking at the messages on screen they are showing Davidson
Trump is sitting back in his chair, looking up at the messages on the screen that prosecutors are showing to Davidson. He is intermittently commenting to his attorney, Emil Blanche.


https://www.cnn.com/

 

1m ago / 2:36 PM EDT
Prosecutors show nitty gritty of deal negotiations for McDougal story

The prosecution is walking Davidson through a series of text messages where he appeared to be hammering out a deal for McDougal to be paid to keep quiet about her story.

One text that former National Enquirer editor-in-chief Dylan Howard sent to Davidson said, appearing to refer to Karen McDougal, “She’ll get more out of a deal with AMI than ABC and I’m happy to sign some sort of agreement that alleviates..."

Another from Davidson to Howard said, “Let’s try and wrap up Karen’s deal. She is getting repeated calls from Rhonda Schwartz.” She was a producer at ABC News.

“We are figuring out the mechanics of the deal already," Howard texted Davidson.

Davidson also texted Howard about then-AMI's general counsel Cameron Stracher, “He wants me to call Cohen. U think that’s okay? I’ve been trying like hell to avoid that.”

https://www.cnn.com/

 

3 min ago
Steinglass shows jury text messages were sent same day as effective date for AMI's contract with McDougal


Steinglass is showing the jury that the text messages were sent the same day as the effective date of AMI's contract with McDougal.


5 min ago
Davidson testifies about his reluctance to call Cohen
AMI General Counsel Cameron Stracher suggested Davidson call Cohen.

Davidson texted Dylan Howard:

"he wants me to call Cohen. U think that’s ok? Ive been trying like hell to avoid that."

Davidson says that "even when we spoke," he and AMI's general counsel "still weren’t on the same page." He explains this was why Strachter told him to call Cohen.

Davidson testified "I thought it was odd" that he was told to call Cohen.

Davidson says he didn't want to talk to Cohen because of his last conversation with Cohen in 2011 around the blog post. He said it was "not pleasant or constructive. I didn’t particularly like dealing with him and that’s why I was trying like hell to avoid talking to him."

"Ok we are paying," Howard texted Davidson on August 8, 2016. "Glad it all sorted."

"F**ken Jesus," Howard texted.

Davidson testified, "I think it was just a frustrating deal for everybody involved." It was a lot of "heavy lifting."

"Yes, I believe so. I told Cohen this never would've happened without you," Davidson responded to Howard.

"He's hopeless. Oh well. Another one done!" Howard responded.







12 min ago
Davidson describes "growing frustration" around McDougal deal

Testifying about 2016 texts surrounding the discussion around the Karen McDougal deal, Keith Davidson described "growing frustration."

"On my side of the aisle there was growing frustration with process," Davidson testified.

"It was difficult to red-line something that didn’t even closely resemble" the deal points that had initially been reached, Davidson added.'

https://www.cnn.com/

 

Welp, he's been held in contempt. Any of the judges in his other criminal trials could now jail him pending trial for violating the terms of his release. They don't have the balls to do it, though.

 

Commit two identical crimes at different times you get charged twice

 

1 min ago
Davidson says there are 2 explanations for why AMI would buy McDougal's story without running it


Davidson says there were two explanations for why AMI would buy McDougal's story without planning to run it.

The first was they were trying to build up her brand and that story would not help it. The second was more of an "unspoken understanding," Davidson said.

"I think one explanation that was given was that they were trying to build Karen into a brand and didn’t want to diminish her reputation. And second was more of an unspoken understanding that there was a close affiliation between David Pecker and Donald Trump and that AMI would not run this story or any story related to Karen and Donald Trump because it would tend to hurt Donald Trump."

4 min ago
Davidson says he received 45% of the $150,000 deal
Keith Davidson says he received 45% of the $150,000 deal.

https://www.cnn.com/

 

5m ago14.44 EDT

Keith Davidson said that he called Michael Cohen when the deal finally closed with Karen McDougal in early August 2016.

Davidson said he told Cohen that the deal wouldn’t have been brokered without Howard’s help.

“You called Michael Cohen as a professional courtesy because the deal involving his client had closed?” prosecutor Joshua Steinglass asked.

Davidson said yes.

“What client was that?”

Davidson replied: “Donald Trump.”

“Did you recognize the extent to which the deal could benefit Mr Cohen’s client, Mr Trump?”

“Yes,” Davidson said.

“What was Michael Cohen’s reaction when you told him this?”

Davidson said: “He was pleased.”

Updated at 14.48 EDT

https://www.theguardian.com/us

 

less than 1 min ago
After AMI-McDougal deal was signed, Davidson said he would let ABC know she wanted to keep story quiet


Days after the contract was signed but before AMI wired McDougal the money, Davidson texted Howard – I’m going to let ABC know that Karen has decided to keep her story quiet.

“I’m going to let them know that the family has begged and pleaded with her not to come out and that she has promised her family she wouldn’t. I will have Karen ignore all of their calls. Any objection?

“I needed to sort of off-board ABC,” Davidson testified.


2 min ago
Davidson: "Stormy Daniels was a client of mine"
“Stormy Daniels was a client of mine,” Keith Davidson says.

Donald Trump has his lips pursed and briefly glanced over at Davidson as he begins answering questions about how he knows Stormy Daniels.

https://www.cnn.com/

 

Bragg has no jurisdiction and no grand jury indicted him for election fraud. What SPECIFIC law are you claiming????

 

6m ago / 2:48 PM EDT

Keith Davidson says married man identified in National Enquirer-McDougal deal was Trump


Prosecutor Joshua Steinglass asked Keith Davidson about the final deal signed by the National Enquirer parent company and Karen McDougal, which Davidson said was effective Aug. 5, 2016.

Davidson said one of the paragraphs said that it grants her life rights to the subject manager regarding an affair she had with a married man.

“Was there a particular married man you understood this to apply?” Steinglass asked.

"Yes," Davidson said. "Donald Trump."


https://www.cnn.com/

 

They have vested interest in giving accurate and sound legal opinion. Refute them. Did you not study civics and the Constitution? Discuss......

 

4 min ago
Trump is leaning back again as Davidson testifies


Trump is again leaning back in his chair as Keith Davidson testifies about Stormy Daniels. He looks like his eyes are closed or staring off.



6 min ago
Davidson says interest in Daniels' story "reached a crescendo" after "Access Hollywood" tape release
Keith Davidson is being asked about what impact the release of the "Access Hollywood" tape had on the interest in Stormy Daniels' story

Davidson says there was very little interest in the "marketplace" in Daniels' story about an alleged affair with Trump in the summer of 2016 through the fall. But the "Access Hollywood" tape sparked interest in Daniels' story, Davidson says. That's when interest in her story "reached a crescendo."

"So, far as I’m aware, it had tremendous influence," Davidson says.

11 min ago
Davidson speaks to jury while answering prosecutor's questions
Witness Keith Davidson is speaking to the jury while answering the prosecutor's questions about Michael Cohen and Stormy Daniels' former manager Gina Rodriguez.



10 min ago
Dylan Howard texted Davidson in 2016, saying Stormy Daniels' manager was pitching her story again
National Enquirer editor Dylan Howard texted Keith Davidson on June 30, 2016:

“FYI Gina trying to hawk Stormy again,” a reference to her manager Gina Rodriguez.

"Part of Gina’s role and responsibility, the services she provided, was to monetize stories in the press. She was like a story broker," Davidson said in explaining the text message.
"Gina was bringing this story back to market," Davidson explained.

Davidson responded to Howard at the time: "Lol - she's trying to sell a story to you?"

https://www.cnn.com/

 

16 min ago
Trump closes his eyes as Davidson continues to testify


Donald Trump is closing his eyes for sustained periods as Keith Davidson continues his testimony.

15 min ago
Trump attorney cracks a smile during Davidson testimony about Cohen screaming during call
Trump attorney Todd Blanche cracked a smile when Davidson was describing Cohen's screaming.


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10 min ago
Davidson says Cohen was a "jerk" and "hostile" during conversations related to Daniels blog post
Keith Davidson sent a "cease and desist" letter to the blog on Stormy Daniels' behalf. The 2011 post was about Daniels' relationship with Donald Trump.

Rodriguez, who represented Daniels in 2011 and referred her to Davidson then, called Davidson, saying: "Some jerk called me and was very very aggressive and threatened to sue me and I would like you, Keith, to call this jerk back."

"Who was that jerk?" Prosecutor Joshua Steinglass asked.
"Michael Cohen," Davidson said.
When he called Cohen, Davidson recalled being immediately "met with a hostile barrage of insults and insinuations and allegations and that went on for quite a while."

"I don’t think he was accusing us of anything. He was just screaming," Davidson said of Cohen.

Davidson said he was successful in "accomplishing my client's goal" of getting the blog post taken down after he sent the "cease and desist" letter.

The jury is getting a picture that Cohen is aggressive and difficult to deal with.

https://www.cnn.com/

 

1 min ago
Prosecutor shows email sent to Cohen with Stormy Daniels' agreement and "settlement sum" of $130,000


Prosecutor Joshua Steinglass is now showing an email from Keith Davidson to Michael Cohen with the Stormy Daniels' agreement attached.

The email states there's a "settlement sum" of $130,000.

According to Davidson, when he got involved, National Enquirer editor Dylan Howard told him the deal would go up to $150,000 to compensate the lawyer and either American Media Inc. or Cohen would pay for it.

Ultimately, it was settled at $130,000.

2 min ago
Dylan Howard was "washing his hands" of the deal by asking Davidson to reach out to Cohen
Enquirer editor Dylan Howard was "washing his hands of the deal," Davidson said of the Stormy Daniels' story.

Remember how publisher David Pecker testified last week that he wanted nothing to do with an adult film star even if it would help Trump. It would not play well with big tabloid distributors like Walmart, he said on the stand.

Davidson said it was unusual for Howard to refer him to someone outside AMI to arrange a deal. "This is the only time it ever happened," Davidson said.

Davidson said when he got involved "the deal had really already been cut at 120."

Davidson testified "Stormy and Gina weren’t going to take a discount so that 120 became 130," referring to amounts of $120,000 and $130,000.

Davidson says that the deal with AMI was essentially the same deal that was struck with Cohen, and after AMI washed its hands they handed it off to Cohen.

"In essence, Michael Cohen stepped into AMI’s shoes," Davidson said.


https://www.cnn.com/

 

Discuss what? It takes two sides to have a discussion and you refuse to look at any other statements that don't conform to what you already believe, so there is not much to "discuss".
Their vested interest is $. That doesn't make them wrong, but it does lead me to look for more information.
This is the language of the law at the basis of the charges:
A person is guilty of falsifying business records in the first degree when he commits the crime of falsifying business records in the second degree, and when his intent to defraud includes an intent to commit another crime or to aid or conceal the commission thereof.
The red highlighted part means, to me, that just the intent is enough, which means that it doesn't have to be based on a law or violation that the subject has been found guilty of. From my layman's understanding, Bragg is using that to elevate the charge to first degree.
He just has to show the jury that:
A. Business documents were fraudulent. And
B. That the documents were fraudulent to cover up a crime, namely election fraud, and he has to prove that that was the intent of the action.
It doesn't matter that Trump hasn't been charged or convicted by anyone else as just the intent is all that is needed. Bragg just has to convince the jury that this is how the whole thing happened. It may be rare, but it is hardly a slam dunk for the defense that you and all these opinionated rw writers are claiming.

 

3 min ago
Money wasn't sent by deadline outlined in agreement, Davidson says


The agreement that Keith Davidson emailed included a requested deadline of October 14, 2016, for Michael Cohen to provide the money — but Davidson says the money was not sent by that date.

"We good?" Davidson emailed to Cohen on October 12, 2016.

5 min ago
Davidson says Daniels' manager told him the deal would be the easiest "you’ve ever done in your entire life"
Davidson said Daniels' manager Gina Rodriguez approached him and asked him to close the deal.

"It's going to be the easiest deal you’ve ever done in your entire life," Davidson says, pauses, and then lets out a little laugh.
Rodriguez told him it had already been negotiated. "All you have to do is talk to that a**hole Cohen," Davidson recalled.

He chuckled on the stand as he said it – with a dramatic pause for the jury to catch the irony.





6 min ago
Trump was code-named "David Dennison" in the agreement with Stormy Daniels, Davidson says
Keith Davidson is explaining how they used fake names in the agreement between Donald Trump and Stormy Daniels.

"Peggy Peterson" was used Daniels because she was the plaintiff, and "David Dennison" was used for Trump because he was the defendant, Davidson said.

Asked if David Dennison is a real person, Davidson said, "Yes, he was on my high school hockey team."

Prosecutor Joshua Steinglass asked him, "How does he feel about you know? "

"He's very upset," Davidson said, drawing laughs from some of the jurors.

https://www.cnn.com/

 

Stormy who…?? Have you forgotten…? Your clay-footed idol claims that he doesn’t know this woman and that he certainly didn’t have an affair with her…! So why are you even suggesting that he entered into a NDA with her…?

You really need to update yourself on his current talking points and fall into line with his lies, if you want to continue defending this disgusting sack of poop…

 

This is when Trump started pushing for Cohen to keep delaying the 130,000 to Stormy past the 2016 election.
Trump said if the story got out then it wouldn't matter because the election was over,

5 min ago
Davidson says Cohen began making excuses for "failure to fund" Daniels' agreement


Davidson says that he believed Cohen began making excuses for "failure to fund" their agreement as he walked through emails he exchanged with Cohen in October 2016.

On October 14, 2016, Davidson sent Cohen wiring instructions for the second time after Cohen said he'd send the money that day.

On October 17, Davidson emailed Cohen at his Trump Org address again: "I have been charged by my client with forwarding the below message.

The messages included:

• We have a written settlement agreement which calls for settlement payment to be sent by the end of business this past Friday. October 14, 2016. No payment was received. "
• 
  
• We spoke on Friday, October 14th & you stated that funds would be wired today, October 17, 2016. No funds have been received as of the sending of this e-mail. My client informs me that she intends to cancel the settlement contract if no funds are received by 5PM PST today.”

https://www.cnn.com/

 

"I" am not prosecuting tRaitor tRump, dude. He IS being PROSECUTED! If it wasn't legal don't you think his buddies, the Supreme's, would have stepped in by now.

"Did you not study Civics and the Constitution?"

 

3 min ago
The court is taking a short break


The court is taking a short break and the jury has left the courtroom.

2 min ago
Davidson said he thought Cohen was "trying to kick the can down the road until after the election"
Davidson says he had conversations with Dylan Howard during this time, where he said he would express that Cohen "was not being truthful."

"I thought he was trying to kick the can down the road until after the election," Davidson testified about Cohen's excuses for not coming up with the funding.


3 min ago
Trump is leaning in and looking at the October 17 email displayed on a screen
Trump is leaning in and appeared to look at the October 17 email displayed on the monitor in front of him.

The email shows that Davidson wrote to Cohen to note that Stormy Daniels' settlement agreement had been canceled.

5 min ago
Meanwhile, full panel of appellate judges denies Trump's motion to stay hush money trial
From CNN’s Nicki Brown and Kara Scannell

While the hush money trial against former President Donald Trump is ongoing in a Manhattan courtroom, a full panel of appellate judges denied one of Trump's attempts to stay the trial on Tuesday.

On April 10, Trump asked a New York appeals court for emergency relief to stop the criminal trial from going ahead so he could appeal a lower court’s ruling on presidential immunity and have the judge recused from the case. His attorneys also challenged Judge Juan Merchan's previous ruling related to how dockets are made publicly.

At the time, a single appellate judge heard oral arguments and then swiftly denied the interim motion to delay the trial.

The full appellate panel, made up of five justices, issued their order to also deny the motion on Tuesday.


https://www.cnn.com/

 

2 min ago
Davidson let Cohen know he was off the case: "I didn't want to receive a million frustrating phone calls"
Keith Davidson says he wrote in an email to Michael Cohen on October 17: “Please be advised that my client deems her settlement agreement canceled and void ab initio," which means from the start.

"Please further be advised that I no longer represent her in this or any matter," Davidson added in the email.

Davidson says he let Cohen know he was off the case. "I didn’t want to receive a million frustrating phone calls from Michael," he says.

Davidson says this email was "the straw that broke the camel's back" and "this is where push came to shove."


6 min ago
Davidson expressed frustration over funding delay to Cohen, who said "I'll just do it myself"
Davidson testified that he came to believe that Cohen didn't have the authority to spend the money.

"I think you can tell by these emails I was sending him there was a great level of frustration by me and my client," Davidson said.
"I let him know that the level of dissatisfaction was quite high. He stated, '******n it. I’ll just do it myself,'" Davidson testified.

https://www.cnn.com/