Trump trial: Judge rebukes Michael Cohen ahead of expected testimony Monday
Former President Trump was in court on Day 15 of his criminal trial in New York.
Former President Donald Trump is on trial in New York City, where he is facing felony charges related to a 2016 hush money payment to adult film actress Stormy Daniels. It marks the first time in history that a former U.S. president has been tried on criminal charges.
Trump last April pleaded not guilty to a 34-count indictment charging him with falsifying business records in connection with a hush money payment his then-attorney Michael Cohen made to Daniels in order to boost his electoral prospects in the 2016 presidential election.
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Daniels says lawyer on call referenced someone else
Stormy Daniels testified that she didn't recall the conversation her then-attorney Davidson referenced in the secretly recorded phone call the jury just heard.
She added that Davidson referenced what someone else -- her agent Gina Rodriguez's boyfriend -- might say about the call, not her recollection of it.
"I never yelled at Keith Davidson over the phone," Daniels said. "It sounds like a threat from Keith Davidson."
Jury hears secretly recorded call between Daniels' lawyer and Cohen
Jurors heard a surreptitiously recorded phone call between then-Trump attorney Michael Cohen and Stormy Daniels' then-attorney, Keith Davidson.
"I just didn't want you to get caught off guard, and I wanted to let you know what was going on behind the scenes," Davidson says on the recording. "And I would not be the least bit surprised if, I wouldn't be the least bit surprised if you see in the next couple of days that Gina Rodriguez's boyfriend goes out in the media and tells the story that Stormy Daniels, you know, in the weeks prior to the election was basically yelling and screaming, and calling me a p----."
"Can I, can I ask you a question? Right," says Cohen.
"No, hold on one second," says Davidson. "I wouldn't be the least bit surprised if he comes out and says, you know what, Stormy Daniels, she wanted this money more than you can ever imagine. I remember hearing her on the phone saying, you f------ Keith Davidson. You better settle this goddamn story. Because if he loses this election, and he's going to lose, if he loses this election we lose all f------ leverage this case is worth zero. And if that happens, I'm going to sue you because you lost this opportunity. So settle this f------ case. That's a far cry, that's a far cry from far cry from being, you know, bullied and pushed into settling a case."
Trump, sitting at the defense table, appeared highly pleased with this testimony -- he hunched forward over the table in leaned into the monitor on his table that displayed the transcript of the call, firmly nodding is head yes in agreement repeatedly when the tape said "we lose all f------ leverage."
Trump then looked directly at the witness stand when Daniels responded to the tape, saying she never yelled at Davison.
Daniels said she wanted a 'paper trail'
Stormy Daniels told defense attorney Necheles that despite the nondisclosure agreement effectively killing her story, the deal resulted in a "paper trail" that made her feel safe.
"I wanted the truth to be printed with some paper trail," Daniels said. "With a target on my back on my family's -- it was the perfect solution."
Necheles, who suggested on Tuesday that Daniels had been attempting to extort Trump, then resumed those efforts.
"You were threatening that you would try to hurt Trump politically if he didn't give you money?" Necheles said.
"False," Daniels retorted.
Daniels says she chose nondisclosure for her safety
Defense attorney Susan Necheles resumed her cross-examination of Stormy Daniels by focusing on Daniels' motivation for selling her story ahead of the 2016 election.
Daniels previously testified that she wanted to get her story out but was afraid for her safety, so she opted instead to sign the nondisclosure with Trump and receive $130,000.
Pressed on the topic, Daniels said she initially wanted to get her story out.
"I was asking to sell my story to publications to get the truth out," Daniels. "I wanted to do a press conference."
Daniels added that she thought she was "running out of time" to get the story out.
"You were running out of time to get money?" Necheles asked.
"No, to get the story out," Daniels responded.
Daniels said she opted to sign a nondisclosure agreement to prioritize her safety.
"I choose to be safe," Daniels said.
"You choose to make money, right?" Necheles said.
"I choose to take a nondisclosure," Daniels replied.
Prosecutors could rest their case by end of next week
Prosecutor Joshua Steinglass indicted that the state's case could be headed into the home stretch.
"We expect to call potentially two witnesses" next week, Steinglass told Judge Merchan, saying it is "entirely possible" the state rests their case by the end of next week.
That will be followed by the presentation of the defense's case, then a prosecution rebuttal.
In another sign of how quickly the case is moving along, Merchan also invited the parties to begin submitting suggestions for the jury charge -- the instructions on the law delivered by the judge before the jury begins deliberating.