The sixth day of the Manhattan-based Trump hush money trial has come to a close. Despite having now heard from a half-dozen witnesses, the prosecutors in District Attorney Alvin Bragg‘s office have yet to present compelling evidence of any crime being committed. The lack of evidence hasn’t gone unnoticed, even by corporate media outlets like CNN. During a Thursday segment, CNN’s political director David Chalian said he’s seen “precious little evidence” of Trump’s involvement in Michael Cohen’s payment deals with Stormy Daniels and Karen McDougal.
MORE GAG ORDER VIOLATIONS?
Prosecutors started the day in court by presenting Democrat–aligned Judge Juan Merchan with four new accusations of former President Trump violating his court-issued gag order. “His statements are corrosive to this proceeding and the fair administration of justice,” prosecutor Chris Conroy told Judge Merchan Thursday morning. He added: “The defendant is doing everything he can to make this case about politics.”
Todd Blanche, a member of Trump’s defense team, fired back at the prosecution. He argued that Trump has a right to defend himself against public statements made by the likes of Michael Cohen and that Cohen and Stormy Daniels are “not people who need to be protected.”
“Cohen has been inviting and almost daring President Trump to respond to almost everything he’s saying,” Trump’s defense attorney told Judge Merchan. One of the alleged gag order violations cited by the prosecution was a comment where Trump referred to witness David Pecker as “nice.” Blanche noted, regarding the comment: “There’s no animosity between the two of them. There’s no threatening, menacing statements.”
“It’s not about just Mr. Pecker, Judge Merchan responded. He continued: “It’s about what the other witnesses see. It affects those witnesses as well.”
There was no immediate ruling on whether Trump violated the gag order in the four instances cited by prosecutors.
KEITH DAVIDSON BACK ON THE STAND.
The trial resumed after the gag order hearing, with Hollywood entertainment lawyer Keith Davidson returning to the stand for testimony directed by the prosecution. Prosecutor Joshua Steinglass received unexpected pushback from Davidson over his reference to the payments as “hush money.” Addressing the payments, the entertainment lawyer told Steinglass, “It wasn’t a ‘payout,’ and it wasn’t ‘hush money.’ It was consideration in a civil settlement.” Davidson told the prosecution that he’d never use the term “hush money.”
In another strange moment in the prosecution’s case, they opened the door to evidence that Michael Cohen continued to worry about statements made by Stormy Daniels well after the 2016 election. This directly undermines the core of their case that the payments were part of a plot to interfere in the presidential election.
At the direction of the protection, Davidson went through texts with Cohen just before Stormy Daniels’s 2018 appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live! The texts between Cohen and Davidson mostly revolved around a statement from Daniels that denied she ever had a relationship with Trump. Regarding the statement, Davidson said: “I think it’s technically true.”
The remainder of Davidson’s testimony was a relatively unrevealing back and forth with prosecutors about the nuances of the English language and terms like “hush money,” “payout,” and “affair.”
‘NO INTERACTIONS WITH TRUMP.’
Keith Davidson’s cross-examination went far better for the defense than his initial testimony did for the prosecution. Trump‘s defense attorney, Emil Bove, handled the initial questioning of Davidson, immediately asking the entertainment lawyer if, before Thursday, he’d ever been in a room with Donald Trump. “I have had no personal interactions with Donald Trump,” Davidson responded. Bove spent most of the early stages of Davidson’s cross-examination focusing on the lawyer’s work before 2016. Davidson acknowledged he’d been retained in 2011 by Daniels’s agent to have a story removed from a gossip site.
Trump’s defense attorney then zeroed in on Davidson’s conversation with Cohen regarding Trump’s post-2016 election plans. According to Davidson, Cohen bragged that he may become the President-Elect’s chief of staff or even the U.S. Attorney General. It appears the purpose of this line of question is to show Cohen as someone prone to delusions of grandeur, often overstating his role in Trump’s personal, business, and political activities.
HUSH MONEY OR EXTORTION PLOT?
Next, Bove moved on to the topic of “extortion.” He pressed Davidson: “In your mind, you were concerned about avoiding creating evidence of extortion, correct?” The entertainment lawyer responded, “Not particularly.” However, Bove then raised a 2012 extortion investigation into Davidson involving a sex tape allegedly featuring Hulk Hogan. Davison insisted he did nothing illegal in that case, stating: “I did everything I could to make sure my activities were lawful.”
Bove then pivoted to the 2016 presidential election, addressing Davidson’s claim that he didn’t use the political contest as leverage in his negotiations with Cohen. “You made no threats to Michael Cohen related to the 2016 election, is that the answer?” Trump’s defense attorney asked, with Davidson responding: “I made no threats to anyone.”
“You never linked these negotiations to the 2016 election with anyone. Is that your testimony?” Bove countered. The entertainment lawyer replied, “That’s fair.”
When asked about his involvement with payout plots involving other celebrities, including Charlie Sheen, Manny Pacquiao, and Tila Tequila, Davidson claimed his memory was “fuzzy.” This likely further bolstered the defense’s contention that Davidson and his clients had more sinister motives behind their claims, bordering on extortion.
ANOTHER BLOW TO BRAGG’S CASE.
In another blow to District Attorney Alvin Bragg‘s case, Davidson acknowledged—under cross-examination—that Trump never signed the non-disclosure agreement with Daniels. During earlier testimony, Davidson claimed that references to “DD” or “David Dennison” were stand-ins for Trump.
After Bove concluded his cross-examination of Davidson, the court took a short break. Alvin Bragg, perhaps surveying the damage his prosecution has taken, entered the court following the recess for the first time during the trial. The District Attorney and Trump exchanged brief glances at each other.
During a brief redirect, Bove asked Davidson if he recalled telling Cohen that if Trump lost the election, Daniels would lose her leverage. Davidson said he did recall the conversion. The defense then played a recording of Davidson telling Cohen: “If he loses this election, and he’s going to lose, we all lose all f**king leverage.”
You can read The National Pulse’s Day Five trial coverage here, and if you find our work worthwhile, consider joining up as a supporter.
