Former President Donald Trump returned to the courtroom in Manhattan on Thursday as his hush money trial resumed, and at one point during testimony, an attorney for adult film star Stormy Daniels appeared to tear gaping holes in District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s case.
Daniels’ attorney, Keith Davidson, took the witness stand again for cross-examination by Trump defense attorney Emil Bove. Davidson stated earlier in the day that the $130,000 payment to Daniels was a “consideration” payment, not “hush money.” 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, Fox News reported.
Manhattan Assistant District Attorney Joshua Steinglass scrutinized a statement prepared by Davidson for Daniels in 2018. The statement denied any personal relationship between Daniels and Trump, claiming that her interactions with the former president were limited to “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.
The case involving Trump and Daniels, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford, revolves around a $130,000 payment. Trump’s former lawyer, Michael Cohen, made the payment allegedly to prevent Daniels from disclosing an affair she claims occurred with Trump in 2006. The main legal questions involve whether this payment was improperly categorized as a legal expense and if it amounted to an unreported campaign contribution, potentially violating campaign finance laws during the 2016 election.
Cohen has been a crucial witness since 2018, making allegations regarding some of the most incriminating actions associated with Donald Trump. His testimonies have covered a range of topics, including the inflation of the Trump Organization’s real estate portfolio to secure bank loans, as well as alleged, though debunked, conspiracies with Russia.
But Cohen himself has a checkered legal past that are presenting problems for DA Bragg. Not only is the DA’s office struggling to prevent him from speaking out about the case, but they also have to deal with troubling testimony that portrays a less favorable picture of Cohen to the jury, according to Newsweek. “Michael Cohen is a complete mess as a witness for the prosecution in the current state fraud trial,” former federal prosecutor Michael McAuliffe told the outlet.
The prosecution is faced with the difficult task of building their case around Cohen, whose reputation is tarnished by imperfections. During the opening statements and jury selection, the prosecutors addressed this issue by informing the jurors about Cohen’s track record of dishonesty, not only with the media but also in court and before Congress, asking jurors to “keep an open mind” after Cohen has served time for a perjury conviction, among others.