Information from Eyewitness News, ABC News and the Associated PressDonald Trump's fixer-turned-foe awaits a bruising round of questioning from the former president's lawyers on Tuesday after testimony that linked the celebrity client to all aspects of a hush money scheme that prosecutors say was aimed at stifling stories that threatened his 2016 campaign.
Daniels needed to be paid to prevent her from going public about a sexual encounter she says she had with Trump, who was running for the White House in 2016. She told jurors last week that she received $130,000. On Oct. 27, 2016 - less than two weeks before the 2016 election - Cohen finalized the payments to buy Daniels' story. Immediately, he went to Trump to inform him the deal was done.In afternoon testimony at Donald Trump's hush-money trial, Michael Cohen said he used the Jewish high holiday of Yom Kippur - the day of atonement - as one of many excuses to delay completing a deal with Stormy Daniels.
A similar episode occurred after Cohen alerted Trump that Playboy model Karen McDougal had alleged that she and Trump had an extramarital affair. Cohen said Trump ordered him to "make sure it doesn't get released." Cohen recalled going to Trump's office, asking Trump if he knew McDougal or anything about the story.Cohen said he communicated regularly with National Enquirer publisher David Pecker and editor Dylan Howard to stop the story from getting out. He said the tabloid executives updated him regularly on their discussions and that he kept Trump apprised of developments.
Cohen said he was seeking to harness the power of the National Enquirer to Trump's benefit, given its high visibility next to the cash registers at tens of thousands of supermarkets across the U.S. Text messages, audio recordings, notes and more have all been introduced or shown to jurors in recent weeks to illustrate what prosecutors say was a scheme to illegally influence the election that year. And sometimes dramatic testimony from witnesses that included former National Enquirer publisher David Pecker, ex-Trump staffers and porn actor Stormy Daniels added to the intrigue.
"Right now it's seems to me we're trying to jump the gun. We're trying to explain why he's not here without making any effort to get him here," Merchan said.
Law Law Latest News, Law Law Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Source: Newsweek - 🏆 468. / 52 Read more »
Source: Newsweek - 🏆 468. / 52 Read more »
Source: njdotcom - 🏆 282. / 63 Read more »
Source: ksatnews - 🏆 442. / 53 Read more »
Source: AP - 🏆 728. / 51 Read more »
Source: sdut - 🏆 5. / 95 Read more »