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Donald Trump is back at the Manhattan Criminal Court for the resumption of his New York hush money trial after using Wednesday’s recess to hit the campaign trail in the battleground states of Wisconsin and Michigan at which he largely played the hits, delivering the familiar slew of insults, grievances, half-truths and apocalyptic forecasts.
Judge Juan Merchan is considering four more alleged violations of Mr Trump’s gag order today after fining him $9,000 for nine breaches on Tuesday and warning the defendant he could face “incarceratory punishment” if he persists in bad-mouthing key participants.
This week the court has already heard key testimony from Gary Farro, the banker for former Trump fixer Michael Cohen, explaining how the $130,000 payment to Stormy Daniels to cover up the alleged extramarital affair with Mr Trump was funded.
It has also heard from Keith Davidson, the ex-lawyer for Ms Daniels and Playboy model Karen McDougal who negotiated the sale of their stories to guarantee their silence, which became urgent in October 2016 after the Access Hollywood tape was released.
Mr Davidson is currently being cross-examined by the Trump defence team.
The Independent’s Alex Woodward is covering the trial at Manhattan Criminal Court.
Why is Trump really speaking at the Libertarian conference?
Donald Trump will be a headline speaker at the 2024 Libertarian National Convention, the nominating contest for one of the US’s highest-performing non-major political parties.
Oliver O’Connell2 May 2024 18:30
Full story: Stormy Daniels lawyer thought Michael Cohen ‘was going to kill himself’ when Trump didn’t give him role in White House
Alex Woodward reports from the courthouse:
The attorney who negotiated Stormy Daniels’ $130,000 payment from Michael Cohen thought Donald Trump’s then-attorney was going to “kill himself” when he learned he was left out of a job in Washington DC after the 2016 election.
“I thought he was going to kill himself,” Mr Davidson said.
Earlier, he recalled Cohen telling him “Jesus Christ can you believe I’m not going to Washington.”
Oliver O’Connell2 May 2024 18:16
This morning in court sketches
Oliver O’Connell2 May 2024 18:10
Court breaks for lunch
Court breaks for lunch with Judge Merchan asking how much longer the defence will need for cross-examination.
Bove responds that he needs less than an hour more.
Oliver O’Connell2 May 2024 18:04
Turning away from some of the more salacious celebrity gossip that involved Davidson, testimony turns again to documentation, including an email from Davidson to Karen McDougal regarding a retainer fee and related documents and texts, the details of which the lawyer cannot recall.
Oliver O’Connell2 May 2024 17:56
They move on to the topic of Gabriel Rea, who Bove says was in a dispute regarding boxer Manny Pacquiao.
Dispute is loosely used, says Davidson.
Rea felt he was owed a finders fee upwards of $100m, but Davidson offered much less.
Bove contends that he threatened Rea would not be able to find work in California if he did not accept that settlement.
Davidson shakes his head and says that it is false.
Alex Woodward reports from the courthouse:
Bove is doing everything he can to get Davidson to admit to extortion or something like it, giving jurors something to chew on about his credibility about how the Daniels arrangement manifested.
Oliver O’Connell2 May 2024 17:49
Bove asks if around that time the FBI ran a sting operation targeting a meeting between Davidson and Hulk Hogan’s representatives at a hotel, correct?
Yes, they recorded it, while sitting nearby.
Bove asks about a report about the incident by the Tampa Police Department, but the prosecution objects and it’s sustained.
It was an investigation related to extortion right? asks Bove.
Davidson was not charged. Bove asks if that experience gave you familiarity with extortion law.
Oliver O’Connell2 May 2024 17:47
Bove is essentially trying to undermine his credibility by strongly suggesting that he was extorting people on behalf of his clients in high-profile tabloid incidents in the mid-2000s/2010s.
They delve into the 2012 Hulk Hogan sex tape that Gawker reported on.
Bove asks Davidson if he recalls telling Hogan’s attorneys that he sees a lot of people caught on tape, not all are celebrities, for example, some of them are family men and don’t want to be outed as gay. Davidson doesn’t recall.
Bove tries to jog his memory that The National Enquirer ran stories about the Hulk Hogan tape in 2015, including stories on which editor Dylan Howard had a byline.
That’s because you referred information including of the Hogan tape to Howard right? Bove asks.
Bove says that’s just happenstance?
I don’t know, responds Davidson.
Oliver O’Connell2 May 2024 17:44
Bove is taking Davidson through a number of his previous clients and cases including those involving a woman who allegedly leaked information about Lindsay Lohan’s rehab facility treatment to TMZ; another case about a sex tape reportedly involving Tila Tequila; and clients who wanted to allegedly extract money from actor Charlie Sheen.
Davidson is calm and asserts privilege in a lot of these questions.
“Look, we’re both lawyers here, I’m not here to play lawyer games,” Bove says.
He keeps claiming that settlements were “extracted”.
“I am giving you truthful answers, sir,” Davidson says.
Alex Woodward2 May 2024 17:34
By 2016, you were pretty well-versed in getting right up to the line without committing extortion, right?
I don’t understand your question.
Bove brings up his representation of Hulk Hogan in 2012 over his sex tape and asks whether he made any threats to Michael Cohen related to the 2016 election.
“I made no threats to anyone.”
Alex Woodward2 May 2024 17:23
