Trump trial: 1st week of testimony ends with testimony from Michael Cohen's former banker
Banker Gary Farro testified in Donald Trump's hush money 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 to hide the reimbursement of a hush money payment his then-attorney Michael Cohen made to Daniels in order to boost his electoral prospects in the 2016 presidential election.
Top headlines:
- Banker says he set up LLC, which Cohen used to pay Daniels
- 'Thank you for handling' McDougal, Pecker says Trump told him
- 'This story is true,' Pecker recounts being told of Stormy Daniels
- Pecker describes $150,000 negotiations for McDougal's story
- Secret Service has plans if Trump is confined for contempt: Sources
What to know about the hush money case
READ MORE: Here's what you need to know about the historic case.
'It's just common sense,' defense argues regarding Trump's posts
The contempt hearing has turned tense as Trump attorney Todd Blanche tries to defend Trump's posts as mere responses to attacks -- but isn't giving clear examples of how Trump was being attacked.
Instead, Blanche asked the judge why the timing of the posts mattered -- prompting a strong rebuke from the judge.
"I'm asking the questions, OK?" Judge Merchan told Blanche. "Please don't turn it around."
Merchan continued to reprimand Blanche: "I'm asking a specific question over and over and I'm not getting an answer."
Merchan then lamented that nearly an hour into the hearing they are still only up to reviewing post NO. 2 of 10, and the jury is set to arrive at 11 a.m. ET to resume trial proceedings.
"The people got to speak as long as they want to," Blanche said regarding the prosecutors.
"The people were answering my questions," Merchan retorted.
So far, Merchan has appeared skeptical of what Blanche has been arguing in defense of the posts. Blanche at times has been struggling to answer Merchan's questions, at one point saying, "I don't have any case law to support that. It's just common sense."
Prosecutors warn about seeking potential jail time
Donald Trump's lawyer Todd Blanche, during the contempt hearing on the limited gag order in the case, defended the former president's comments by arguing that Trump was responding to political attacks.
"President Trump does in fact know what the gag order allows him to do and not allow him to do," Blanche said. "There is no dispute that President Trump is facing a barrage of political attacks from all sides."
According to Blanche, while the limited gag order prohibits statements about a witness' potential participation in a case, Trump is allowed to make comments in response to political attacks from potential witnesses like Michael Cohen and Stormy Daniels.
"They are talking about their very strong dislike of President Trump," Blanche said about a post related to former Daniels attorney Michael Avenatti's comments on Michael Cohen.
Judge Juan Merchan questioned Blanche about what exactly made Trump's response "political" in nature.
"You believe that everything Mr. Avenatti said does not relate to the trial, but the use of the word 'pardon' makes it political and in a sense authorizes your client to respond?" Merchan asked.
"It's everything. It can't just be a single word," Blanche responded.
"When your client is violating the gag, I expect more than one word," Merchan said.
Conroy asked Merchan to advise Trump that for future violations of the gag order, "incarceration is an option should it be necessary."
Trump's remarks 'pose a very real threat,' prosecutors say
Donald Trump's alleged violations of the court-imposed limited gag order "pose a very real threat to the integrity of the judicial proceedings," prosecutor Christopher Conroy said during the hearing on whether Trump should be held in contempt.
In addition to the 10 alleged gag order violations, Conroy said the district attorney's office would file an additional contempt motion later today about comments Trump made to cameras on Monday about Michael Cohen.
Among Trump's comments: "Because as you know, Cohen is a lawyer -- represented a lot of people over the years -- now, I'm not the only one. And he wasn't very good in a lot of ways, in terms of his representation, but he represented a lot of people."
"And also, the things he got in trouble for were things that had nothing to do with me. He got in trouble and went to jail. This had nothing to do with me. This had to do with the taxi-cab company that he owned, which is something -- and medallions and borrow money and a lot of things but had nothing to do with me. He represented a lot of people over the years."
"And when are they going to look at all the lies that Cohen -- did -- in the last trial. He got caught lying in the last trial. So he got caught lying -- pure lying. And when are they going to look at that?"
Conroy told the judge that Trump has "violated this order repeatedly and hasn't stopped."
Conroy said Trump's conduct is "all part of his plan for this trial," accusing the former president of "conditioning his followers" by making derogatory remarks about potential witnesses.
Trump falsely claims his supporters can't protest
On his way into the courtroom, Trump continued to falsely claim that his supporters were being barred from protesting outside the courthouse.
"Great Americans -- people that want to come down and they want to protest at the court. And they want to protest peacefully," he told reporters. "We have more police presence here than anyone's ever seen for blocks. You can't get near this courthouse."
But as the day's proceedings began, the park across from the New York criminal courthouse was open and nearly empty, and the area around the courthouse is not closed off.
-Mike Pappano and Brian Hartman
'This story is true,' Pecker recounts being told of Stormy Daniels
"Do you know someone by the same of Stephanie Clifford?"
The question, by assistant district attorney Josh Steinglass, was the jury's introduction during the evidentiary phase of the trial to the woman whose long-denied claim of a sexual tryst with Donald Trump set in motion the alleged falsification of business records.
"Stormy Daniels is, or was, a porn star," former National Enquirer publisher David Pecker replied, using Clifford's stage name.
Pecker was having dinner with his wife on a Saturday night in early October 2016 when he said he received an urgent call from National Enquirer editor Dylan Howard.
"He said that she, she being Stormy Daniels, is trying to sell a story that she had a sexual relationship with Donald Trump, and Dylan can acquire the story for $120,000 from Keith Davidson if we made a decision right now," Pecker recalled.
In a series of text messages the jury saw, Howard told Pecker, "I know denials were made in the past but this story is true."
Pecker replied to Howard, "We can't pay 120k." The company had already paid $30,000 for the Dino Sajudin story and $150,000 for the Karen McDougal story, and Pecker recalled thinking, "I am not a bank."
In the text exchange, Howard responded, "Perhaps I call Michael and advise him and he can take it from there, and handle."
Pecker texted back, "Yes a good idea."
Pecker recalled having "a number of conversations" with Michael Cohen about Stormy Daniels. Cohen wanted Pecker to catch and kill the story.
"I said, 'I am not purchasing this story, I am not going to get involved with a porn star,'" Pecker testified he told Cohen. "He was upset and said the boss would be furious with me."