A lawyer who in 2016 represented two women who sought payment over their silence about alleged sexual encounters with Donald Trump will continue his testimony Thursday on U.S. state television. criminal trial against the former president.
On Tuesday, the most recent day of the proceedings, Keith Davidson told the court how he negotiated on behalf of model Karen McDougal and adult film star Stormy Daniels as they sought deals for the rights to their stories about alleged sexual encounters with Trump.
McDougal received $150,000 from the parent company of the tabloid National Enquirer for her story, as part of what prosecutors say was a scheme to boost Trump's 2016 presidential campaign. Daniels, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford, was paid $130,000 by Michael Cohen, Trump's former lawyer.
Cohen is expected to be called later in the trial as a key witness against Trump, who has pleaded not guilty to 34 felony counts of falsifying company records. Trump denies committing the crimes and says he did not have sex with Daniels or McDougal.
On Tuesday, prosecutors showed in court a series of text messages and emails in which Davidson marketed McDougal's allegations to the tabloids, calling them a “blockbuster” story about Trump. He later negotiated directly with Cohen to sell the rights to Daniels' claims.
Davidson testified that he understood that suppressing the stories would be beneficial to Trump's candidacy.
Before Davidson took the stand Tuesday, Judge Juan Merchan spoke Trump scorned for a series of social media and online campaign posts, he concluded that a silence order had been violated in the case. He will hear four more arguments Thursday in which prosecutors say Trump violated the gag order, which bars him from making public comments about witnesses and others involved in the case.
