NY - Ex-President Donald Trump, charged with 34 criminal counts of falsifying business records, Apr 2023, Trial 25 Mar 2024 #2

[JennieM]

23m ago20.25 BST

Davidson testifies that Trump was code-named 'David Dennison' in Stormy Daniels deal paperwork​

Victoria Bekiempis

Keith Davidson is describing the steps that he and Michael Cohen took to hide the names of Stormy Daniels and Donald Trump names on paperwork surrounding the $130,000 payout to keep her quiet.

There was an agreement between him and Cohen where both sides would be referred to pseudonymously in the settlement document.

Prosecutor Joshua Steinglass asked: “What was Stormy Daniels’s pseudonym?” Davidson said it was “Peggy Peterson.” And Donald Trump’s? “I think it was David Dennison.”

The rationale, he said, was that Daniels was the plaintiff, hence the Ps, and Trump was the defendant, hence the Ds.

“Is David Dennison a real person?”Steinglass asked.
“He was on my high-school hockey team,” Davidson admitted, prompting chuckles in court. “He’s very upset.”


31m ago20.18 BST

Davidson says he believed he was dealing with Trump during Stormy Daniels deal​

Victoria Bekiempis

Keith Davidson is explaining how he got involved with the Stormy Danielsdeal.

Former National Enquirer editor Dylan Howard and AMI wanted to wash their hands of the Daniels story.

Davidson recalled:

Gina [Rodriguez, Daniels’ talent manager] approached me and said ‘we had this deal, it’s going to be the easiest deal you’ve ever done in your life … all you need to do is paper it and talk to that , [Michael] Cohen.

This prompted laughter in the courtroom.

Steinglass asked: Did Davidson know that he was dealing with Donald Trump when he was dealing with Cohen? Davidson answered:

Yes, I never thought otherwise.

Michael Cohen said ‘I’ll just do it myself’ after delay of Stormy Daniels payment, her ex-lawyer tells court – live

Keith Davidson tells hush-money trial deal to keep Daniels quiet agreed in early October 2017 but payment delayed several times

www.theguardian.com

 

[JennieM]

2h ago19.05 BST

Interim summary​

Donald Trump’s New York criminal trial is due to resume after a lunch break at 2.15pm ET, when Keith Davidson, former attorney for both Stormy Daniels and Karen McDougal, is expected to return to the stand.

Here’s a recap of what has happened so far today:

• Davidson testified that he met Karen McDougal 25 years ago and began representing the former Playboy model in 2016 “to provide advice and counsel … regarding a personal interaction that she had” with Donald Trump. Davidson and McDougal were also in conversations with ABC News about telling her story, he testified.
• Davidson reached out to Dylan Howard, the editor in chief of the National Enquirer, promising a “blockbuster Trump story”. Howard replied by text message: “I will get you more than ANYONE for it. You know why.”
• During negotiations with Howard, Davidson joked that as part of the agreement, “throw in an ambassadorship for me. I’m thinking the Isle of Man.” Asked to explain the joke, Davidson said it was about Trump’s presidential run.

Lawyer Keith Davidson shows the correspondence of former National Enquirer editor Dylan Howard during Trump’s criminal trial in Manhattan state court in New York City. Illustration: Jane Rosenberg/Reuters

• The judge, Juan Merchan, ruled that Trump had violated a gag order designed to protect trial participants from his abuse, fining him $9,000 – the maximum financial penalty allowed under New York state law.
• Merchan also ordered Trump to remove the offending posts on Truth Social and his campaign website and warned that further violations could result in jail time. Those posts have now been taken down.
• Multiple other witnesses also took to the stand on Tuesday, including Michael Cohen’s former banker Gary Farro, who last week described financial maneuvering related to the ex-president’s alleged catch-and-kill scheme; Robert Browning, executive director of the C-SPAN archives; and Phillip Thompson, who works for a court reporting company.

Michael Cohen said ‘I’ll just do it myself’ after delay of Stormy Daniels payment, her ex-lawyer tells court – live

Keith Davidson tells hush-money trial deal to keep Daniels quiet agreed in early October 2017 but payment delayed several times

www.theguardian.com

 

[JennieM]

The posts that Merchan ordered Trump to take down are now gone​

Isabelle Schmeler and Kyla Guilfoil
As of 1:24 p.m. ET, all of the Truth Social and campaign website posts that Judge Merchan ordered Trump to remove by 2:15 p.m. ET today have been taken down.
Merchan ruled this morning that the posts had violated Trump's gag order and fined the former president $9,000 — $1,000 for each offending post. The judge also threatened Trump with possible jail time if he continues to violate the order.

2h ago19.03 BST

Social media posts that judge ordered Trump to remove taken down​

Donald Trump has removed the social media posts that judge Juan Merchan ruled violated the gag order.

All of the Truth Social and campaign website posts that the judge ordered Trump to remove have now been taken down.


Updated at 19.07 BST
2h ago18.37 BST

Donald Trump’s campaign moved swiftly to fundraise off this morning’s ruling that he violated the court’s gag order.

“Democrat judge just ruled against me,” reads the subject line of an email from the Trump campaign following Judge Juan Merchan’s ruling. The email continues:

A Democrat judge JUST HELD ME IN CONTEMPT OF COURT!

“THEY WANT TO SILENCE ME!” the email says, asking supporters to “STAND WITH TRUMP” by contributing money.

Michael Cohen said ‘I’ll just do it myself’ after delay of Stormy Daniels payment, her ex-lawyer tells court – live

Keith Davidson tells hush-money trial deal to keep Daniels quiet agreed in early October 2017 but payment delayed several times

www.theguardian.com

 

[JennieM]

3h ago18.10 BST
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

Michael Cohen said ‘I’ll just do it myself’ after delay of Stormy Daniels payment, her ex-lawyer tells court – live

Keith Davidson tells hush-money trial deal to keep Daniels quiet agreed in early October 2017 but payment delayed several times

www.theguardian.com

 

[sds71]

Court recesses for the day. The jury returns at 10 a.m. ET on Thursday morning.Remember: another contempt hearing for Trump's alleged violations of the gag order will take place at 9:30 a.m. ET Thursday morning.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1785407735984517591

 

[sds71]

@KlasfeldReports

NEWS:In his written order holding Trump in contempt, a Manhattan judge warns the former president that "an incarceratory punishment" could follow for further violations. Also: Trump must take down the nine posts by 2:15 p.m.
Ruling https://nycourts.gov/LegacyPDFS/press/PDFs/D.O.motion4contempt-FINAL.pdf

https://twitter.com/x/status/1785363977817510198

 

[crussell821]

@KlasfeldReports

NEWS:In his written order holding Trump in contempt, a Manhattan judge warns the former president that "an incarceratory punishment" could follow for further violations. Also: Trump must take down the nine posts by 2:15 p.m.
Ruling https://nycourts.gov/LegacyPDFS/press/PDFs/D.O.motion4contempt-FINAL.pdf

https://twitter.com/x/status/1785363977817510198

The irony in seeing ‘looks like you’ve made a misstep’ after you’ve made the choice to visit Truth Social…

 

[JennieM]

22m ago21.36 BST

Victoria Bekiempis

The court is adjourned for the day. Court will be back in session on Thursday, starting with a gag order hearing at 9.30am ET.

Donald Trump is leaving the courtroom. He glanced at the audience, which is almost entirely comprised of reporters, as he walked down the aisle, into the hall.

Michael Cohen said ‘I’ll just do it myself’ after delay of Stormy Daniels payment, her ex-lawyer tells court – live

Keith Davidson tells hush-money trial deal to keep Daniels quiet agreed in early October 2017 but payment delayed several times

www.theguardian.com

 

[JennieM]

38m ago21.21 BST

Davidson testifies Dylan Howard appeared to say Trump 'wasn't as wealthy as he stated'​

Victoria Bekiempis

Prosecutor Joshua Steinglass then asked Keith Davidson about a text exchange between him and former National Enquirer Dylan Howard about Trump’s purported penny-pinching.

As they continued to chat about the dramatic fallout expected from the then-candidate’s failure to pay Daniels – or give Cohen cash to pay her – Howard said “all because Trump is tight.” Davidson responded “yup”.

“I reckon that the Trump impersonator I hired has more cash,” Howard also wrote. Steinglass asked Davidson what he thought Howard meant by that.

He paused for a moment or two and said Howard appear to suggest “that Trump wasn’t as wealthy as he stated”.

“What’s the relevance of that observation?” Steinglass said.

I think that was a follow up to Dylan’s text where he said Trump was ‘tight’.

44m ago21.15 BST

Victoria Bekiempis

Earlier, Keith Davidson had been asked if he thought Michael Cohen were doing all of this for Donald Trump.

Every single time I talked to Michael Cohen, he leaned on his close affiliation with Donald Trump. I don’t know if it was ever explicitly stated, ‘I am negotiating this matter on behalf of Donald Trump,’ but it was part of his identity – and he’d let you know at every possible opportunity that he could that he was working for Donald Trump.

Trump’s cheapness is also coming into play during today’s court proceedings.

“To what did you attribute the lack of funding of this deal at this point?” prosecutor Joshua Steinglass asked of the delay in paying off Daniels. “Uh, frugality,” Davidson said.


1h ago21.02 BST

Victoria Bekiempis

Keith Davidson has been talking about the situation between him, Michael Cohen, and Stormy Daniels as October progressed without her receiving payment.

Davidson sent Cohen an email saying that he no longer represented Daniels. He told jurors before the break:

I divested myself and two, I didn’t want to receive a million frustrating phone calls from Michael.

Daniels and [her talent manager, Gina] Rodriguez, Davidson said, “wanted frequent updates and they received frequent updates and the only updates I could give them were the repeated excuses I was hearing.”

I said hey, [the] deal’s over, I said to both Cohen and my client – I’m out, go in peace.

1h ago20.43 BST

Davidson testifies he thought Cohen was 'trying to kick the can down the road until after the election'​

Hugo Lowell
Keith Davidson was asked why he thought Michael Cohen was coming up with excuses for not paying for the Stormy Daniels story.

Davidson said:

I thought he was trying to kick the can down the road until after the election.

Michael Cohen said ‘I’ll just do it myself’ after delay of Stormy Daniels payment, her ex-lawyer tells court – live

Keith Davidson tells hush-money trial deal to keep Daniels quiet agreed in early October 2017 but payment delayed several times

www.theguardian.com

 

[Stunned]

You know he's double pissed now because he had no intention of attending. And now those grads will have the focus taken off them and onto him which is unfortunate.

Those poor grads. He had no intention of going, now he will turn it into a rally!

 

[JennieM]

15m ago17.09 EDT

Donald Trump, speaking to the media after leaving court this afternoon, railed against the criminal trial, describing it as “nonsense” and a “real disgrace”.

Speaking about the gag order, for which he was fined $9,000 for violating by the judge, Trump said it was “totally unconstitutional”, adding:

I’m the Republican candidate for president of the United States … And I’m sitting in a courthouse all day long listening to this stuff.

Donald Trump speaks to members of the media, as his criminal trial over charges that he falsified business records to conceal money paid to silence *advertiser censored* star Stormy Daniels in 2016 continues, at Manhattan state court in New York City. Photograph: Eduardo Muñoz/Reuters

Michael Cohen said ‘I’ll just do it myself’ after delay of Stormy Daniels payment, her ex-lawyer tells court – live

Keith Davidson tells hush-money trial deal to keep Daniels quiet agreed in early October 2017 but payment delayed several times

www.theguardian.com

 

[JennieM]

30 Apr 2024 17.15 EDT

Closing summary​

Donald Trump’s New York criminal trial entered its third week on Tuesday, here’s a recap of what happened today:

• Trump was joined by his son Eric, marking the first time a member of his family has attended his trial. Also in attendance on Tuesday was the Texas attorney general, Ken Paxton.
• Judge Juan Merchan fined Trump $9,000 for nine violations of a gag order designed to protect trial participants from his abuse, imposing the maximum financial penalty allowed under New York state law. Merchan ordered Trump to remove the offending posts on Truth Social and his campaign website and warned that further violations could result in jail time. The posts were taken down by Tuesday afternoon.
• Private banker Gary Farro returned to the stand on Tuesday morning to continue his testimony on the alleged dodgy financial maneuvering used to hide Trump’s dirty laundry from American voters. Last week, Farro said that in 2015 he became the contact for Michael Cohen – then Trump’s attorney – at First Republic Bank, where he says he witnessed Cohen’s financial chicanery to protect Trump.
• Keith Davidson, former attorney for both Stormy Daniels and Karen McDougal, was called to the stand on Tuesday afternoon. Davidson represented both Daniels and McDougal in hush money negotiations with Cohen, Trump’s then lawyer and fixer. Davidson’s testimony could be crucial in supporting prosecutors’ argument that Trump and his allies paid to stop tabloid stories about the former president’s alleged affairs with Daniels and McDougal before the 2016 election.
• Davidson testified that he began representing McDougal in 2016 “to provide advice and counsel … regarding a personal interaction that she had” with Trump. Davidson reached out to Dylan Howard, the editor of the National Enquirer, promising a “blockbuster Trump story”. Howard replied by text message: “I will get you more than ANYONE for it. You know why.”
• During negotiations with Howard, Davidson joked that as part of the agreement, “throw in an ambassadorship for me. I’m thinking the Isle of Man.” Asked to explain the joke, Davidson told the jury it was about Trump’s presidential run.
• Davidson was questioned by prosecutors about texts in which he was asked whether Trump had cheated on his wife. In those texts, Howard asked Davidson: “Did he cheat on Melania?” “‘I really cannot say yet, sorry,’” Davidson said, reading his text to Howard aloud.
• Davidson testified that the leak of Trump’s Access Hollywood tape had “tremendous influence” on the interest in Stormy Daniels’ story. He said that Daniels’ agent, Gina Rodriguez, had reached a deal with Howard for the tabloid to acquire the rights to her story for $120,000, but Howard backed out of the deal.
• Howard told Rodriguez to call Cohen and complete the deal directly with him, but she refused to negotiate with him following a previous interaction after which she described Cohen as a “jerk” and “very, very aggressive”. Rodriguez asked Davidson to step in and negotiate the deal with Cohen, he testified.
• Davidson said he used a pair of pseudonyms to disguise the parties involved: Stormy Daniels became Peggy Peterson; Donald Trump became David Dennison.
• Davidson testified that the payment to Daniels did not come even after both parties had reached a deal. Cohen made a series of excuses for the delay, Davidson said, noting that he “thought he was trying to kick the can down the round until after the election.”
• Davidson was asked if Cohen ever told him whom he was representing in the Daniels negotiations. He said the implication was clear and that Cohen “leaned on his close affiliation with Donald Trump … He let me know it at every opportunity he could that he was working for Donald Trump.”
• Multiple other witnesses also took to the stand on Tuesday, including Robert Browning, executive director of the C-SPAN archives who was largely called in a custodial capacity to discuss the facts surrounding media that prosecutors are admitting; and Phillip Thompson, who works for a court reporting company.
• Court will resume on Thursday at 9.30am ET with a gag order hearing, after which Davidson is expected to return to the stand.

Michael Cohen said ‘I’ll just do it myself’ after delay of Stormy Daniels payment, her ex-lawyer tells court – live

Keith Davidson tells hush-money trial deal to keep Daniels quiet agreed in early October 2017 but payment delayed several times

www.theguardian.com

 

[SouthAussie]

44m ago21.15 BST

Victoria Bekiempis

Earlier, Keith Davidson had been asked if he thought Michael Cohen were doing all of this for Donald Trump.

It is probably obvious (through revealed text messages) exactly who Davidson thought Cohen was doing this for. imo


The texts came as Mr Davidson and Mr Howard were discussing the infamous Access Hollywood recording where Mr Trump spoke salaciously about women he wanted to sleep with.

“Trump is *advertiser censored***d,” Mr Davidson was said to have texted Mr Howard when the tape came out.
“Wave the white flag. It’s over people!” Mr Howard responded.

Mr Davidson said at the time that things “could get a lot worse,” for Mr Trump if the Stormy Daniels affair story emerged after the Access Hollywood tape.

https://www.news.com.au/world/north-america/donald-trump-fined-for-breaching-gag-orders-warned-jail-time-a-possibility/news-story/0f1c0f3d43d5ba3a1abb2457704affe6

 

[SouthAussie]

.
For all the reams of messages unveiled today, prosecutors already may have displayed the most revealing texts between Mr Davidson and Mr Howard earlier in the trial.

Around 3 am on the night Mr Trump shocked the world and won the presidency, Mr Davidson frantically texted his tabloid friend: "What have we done?"

Trump trial: Profanity-ridden texts detail Stormy Daniels payment

A lawyer testified about a deal to pay for Ms Daniels' silence about allegedly having sex with Mr Trump.

www.bbc.com

 

[RANCH]

Michael Cohen is cashing in on the Trump trial with TikTok livestreams -- and it could be a problem

As he waits to testify in Donald Trump's hush money trial, Michael Cohen is discussing the proceedings on TikTok - which some experts say could hurt him in the courtroom.

abcnews.go.com

Timmons, the former prosecutor, said the financial benefit of Cohen's social media presence is particularly problematic.

"It's one thing to be providing out-of-court statements -- that's bad," Timmons said. "Getting paid for them can be disastrous."

"Anytime there's money involved with a witness it's a bad thing, because the jury is going to think this person is saying these things in court because they have a financial motive, not a motive of the truth," said Timmons.

Looks like Michael Cohen can't pass up talking about this case. I would like to know how much money he's getting from these TikTok "Diamonds" people are sending to him. JMO.

 

[Smelly Squirrel]

Michael Cohen is cashing in on the Trump trial with TikTok livestreams -- and it could be a problem

As he waits to testify in Donald Trump's hush money trial, Michael Cohen is discussing the proceedings on TikTok - which some experts say could hurt him in the courtroom.

abcnews.go.com

Looks like Michael Cohen can't pass up talking about this case. I would like to know how much money he's getting from these TikTok "Diamonds" people are sending to him. JMO.

A social media account is problematic? That goes many times more for Trump then I guess.

 

[Niner]

I see the contempt hearing is still on - for tomorrow. Does Trump have more violations?

 

[SouthAussie]

I see the contempt hearing is still on - for tomorrow. Does Trump have more violations?

Yes, there are 4 more alleged violations to be heard on Thursday.


Trump will face another gag order hearing on Thursday, where the district attorney’s office will present four more instances in which they say Trump violated the gag order.
What to Know About the Gag Order Violations in Trump’s New York Hush Money Case


This link shows what all of the (total) 14 violations are. Only 10 are listed, but one of them was posted five times - which brings the count to 14 ...... Here are all the gag order violations Trump is accused of making

 

[TootsieFootsie]

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

At first glance I thought poor Mr Trump has the mumps.

 

[Niner]

Yes, there are 4 more alleged violations to be heard on Thursday.


Trump will face another gag order hearing on Thursday, where the district attorney’s office will present four more instances in which they say Trump violated the gag order.
What to Know About the Gag Order Violations in Trump’s New York Hush Money Case


This link shows what all of the (total) 14 violations are. Only 10 are listed, but one of them was posted five times - which brings the count to 14 ...... Here are all the gag order violations Trump is accused of making

Thanks! I do have in my notes about the 4 additional violations.