The Latest | Trump’s hush money trial enters 11th day as second week of testimony is set to wrap up
NEW YORK — Donald Trump returns to court in Manhattan on Friday as his hush money trial enters its eleventh day, capping a frenzied second week of testimony.
Defense attorney Keith Davidson wrapped up his testimony Thursday after spending nearly 6 1/2 hours on the stand over two days. He explained to the judges details of his negotiations with Michael Cohen and the National Enquirer on behalf of Stormy Daniels and Karen McDougal, not shying away from the realization on election night that his efforts may have contributed to Trump’s 2016 victory.
Forensic analyst Douglas Daul also took the stand and testified about what he found on Cohen’s cell phone. Daul said, among other things, that Cohen had stored nearly 40,000 contacts on the device.
Thursday’s proceedings included a contempt hearing on whether the former president had again violated his gag order.
Merchan heard from both sides about four more potential violations, including comments Trump made about the jury. Prosecutors said they were seeking only fines and no jail time for the possible violations. No decision was immediately made and it was unclear when Merchan would rule.
Prosecutors have said Trump and others carried out a scheme to illegally influence the 2016 election by buying and burying salacious stories that could harm his campaign.
Trump is accused of falsifying internal company records to cover up hush money payments — including $130,000 given by Cohen to Daniels, a porn actor — and instead recording them as legal fees.
Trump has pleaded not guilty to 34 felony counts of falsifying company records.
The case is the first-ever criminal trial of a former US president and the first of four prosecutions against Trump to reach a jury.
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Here’s the latest:
Despite not yet testifying in Donald Trump’s hush money case, Michael Cohen has been very present in the courtroom – in audio recordings of conversations he had and in witness statements.
On Thursday, jurors heard a recorded conversation between Cohen and Keith Davidson, Stormy Daniels’ former attorney, in which Cohen told Davidson about a conversation he had with someone believed to be Trump.
“I can’t even tell you how many times he said to me, ‘You know, I hate that we did it.’ And my comment to him was, ‘But everyone you talked to told you this was the right move,'” Cohen said in the recording.
The panel also heard a recording of Cohen informing Trump in September 2016 about the plan to buy former Playboy model Karen McDougal’s story. On that particular recording, Cohen mentioned that he had spoken with then-Chief Financial Officer of the Trump Organization, Allen Weisselberg, about “how to get the whole thing going with financing.”
Cohen, the prosecution’s key witness, was Trump’s lawyer and personal fixer at the time.
The legal proceedings in Donald Trump’s hush money case will end early Friday to accommodate an important appointment that one of the jurors has in the late afternoon.
Judge Juan M. Merchan announced the schedule change Thursday just before court adjourned. Court ends Friday at 3:45 p.m., about 45 minutes earlier than normal.
Donald Trump is expected to return to court Friday morning for the 11th day of his hush money trial as the second week of testimony draws to a close.
During Thursday’s proceedings, the former president faced another contempt hearing, this time on four more possible violations of his gag order.
Although Judge Juan M. Merchan did not immediately rule on prosecutors’ sanctions request, he told lawyers he was concerned about three of the possible violations — including comments Trump made about the political makeup of the jury. Merchan said he wasn’t concerned about a comment Trump made last week calling former Enquirer publisher David Pecker a “nice guy.”
Prosecutors said they were seeking only fines and no jail time because of the possible violations.
Under a gag order, Trump is barred from speaking publicly about witnesses, jurors and some others involved in the case. He was fined $9,000 on Tuesday for nine online messages.