New York v. Trump trial enters third week as judge prepares to rule on gag order violations – Fox News
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Former President Trump returns to Judge Juan Merchan's Manhattan courtroom Tuesday to begin the third week of his criminal trial. Manhattan DA Alvin Brag has charged Trump with 34 counts of falsifying business records in relation to hush payments he made to pornography actress Stormy Daniels.
Covered by: Anders Hagstrom
Former President Donald Trump returns to court in Manhattan on Tuesday, facing 34 counts of falsifying business records.
Judge Juan Merchan ordered Trump to pay $9,000 in fines for violating his gag order. Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg had accused the former president of 11 gag order violations, which would have totaled $11,000.
Trump continues to complain that the trial is interfering with his ability to campaign, even as President Biden is free to travel across the country
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Donald Trump (Getty Images)
Judge Juan Merchan ordered former President Trump to pay $9,000 in fines for repeatedly violating his gag order on Tuesday.
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg had accused Trump of violating the order 11 times last week, calling on Merchan to impose a $1,000 fine for each incident. Merchan sided with prosecutors on nine of the instances.
Merchan imposed the gag order on April 1, prohibiting Trump from speaking publicly about witnesses and the family members of certain court officials.
Bragg’s office pointed to multiple social media posts and press appearances in which Trump criticized, or shared criticism of, former lawyer Michael Cohen and pornography actress Stormy Daniels. Both individuals are serving as witnesses against Trump.
Former President Trump condemned the anti-Israel protests taking place at college campuses across the country on Tuesday, comparing them to Charlottesville and January 6.
Trump argued that the Charlottesville protest from 2017 was “peanuts” compared to the anti-Israel protests at Columbia University. He went on to question whether the Justice Department would work to prosecute campus protesters as aggressively as they have protesters who participated in the January 6 storming of the U.S. Capitol.
“The Biden protests that are going on are horrible. It’s all caused by him, because he doesn’t know how to speak. He can’t put two sentences together,” Trump said. “The colleges are being overrun…He said he ran because of Charlottesville…Charlottesville is peanuts compared to what we’re looking at now.”
“There’s a lot of people being hurt very badly. I wonder if there’s gonna be the same kind of treatment they gave J6. Let’s see how that all works out. I think I can give you the answer right now,” he added.
Later in his comments, Trump once again blasted Judge Juan Merchan, saying he should recuse himself or throw out the case entirely. He also challenged President Biden to meet him on the debate stage.
Former President Trump’s trial in Manhattan court is attracting applause from longstanding anti-Trump pundits, including attorney George Conway.
Conway has long been critical of Trump, launching attacks against him in 2018, despite Conway’s wife, Kellyanne Conway, working for the administration. The attorney went on to help found the Lincoln Project in 2019, which is a political action committee focused on defeating Trump in the 2020 election, and again during this year’s presidential election.
Last week, news broke that a coalition of anti-Trump legal pundits gather on Zoom each Friday to discuss the latest updates to Trump’s trials and court cases as the election season continues to intensify. Those on the call include Conway, liberal constitutional lawyer Laurence Tribe, Republican pundit Bill Kristol, White House counsel under the Nixon administration John Dean, and others, Politico first reported.
Conway detailed in a recent op-ed that he has attended Trump’s ongoing Manhattan court proceedings, sitting in the court’s overflow room to watch the trial unfold.
Trump is on trial for 34 counts of “falsifying New York business records in order to conceal damaging information and unlawful activity from American voters before and after the 2016 election,” according to the DA’s office.
The case stems from allegations Trump’s former personal attorney, Michael Cohen, paid former porn star Stormy Daniels $130,000 to quiet her claims of an extramarital affair she had with the real estate tycoon in 2006. Trump has denied having an affair with Daniels.
Prosecutors allege that the Trump Organization reimbursed Cohen and fraudulently logged the payments as legal expenses. Prosecutors are working to prove that Trump falsified records with an intent to commit or conceal a second crime, which is a felony. The second crime was a violation of a New York law called “conspiracy to promote or prevent election.”
Donald Trump (Getty Images)
1. Former President Trump missed his wife, former First Lady Melania Trump’s birthday, due to the requirement for him to attend each day of his criminal trial. Trump also may not be able to attend his youngest son Barron Trump’s high school graduation, on May 17, due to the trial. The judge says he will consider that request as the date approaches and based on how the trial is going.
2. Federal prosecutors in 2018 and 2019 investigated the alleged hush money payments, but opted against charging Trump. The Federal Election Commission also investigated the matter but tossed its probe.
3. Prosecutors intend to call Trump’s former personal attorney, Michael Cohen, to the stand to testify on the alleged payments. He has been considered a star witness. But Cohen, in 2018, pleaded guilty to campaign finance violations, making false statements to Congress and tax evasion. He was sentenced to three years in prison.
4. The daughter of Judge Juan Merchan, who is presiding over the trial, works for a firm that services primarily Democratic politicians. Loren Merchan has worked on campaigns for Trump foe Rep. Adam Schiff, who pushed the debunked Trump-Russia collusion investigation during his presidency; as well as Vice President Kamala Harris’ 2020 presidential campaign.
5. The criminal trial in New York is based on charges of falsifying business records in the first degree, which is typically considered a misdemeanor. Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg has brought the charges against Trump on a separate legal theory – that the alleged falsification of records was done “in furtherance of another crime.” Prosecutors say that crime was an attempt to promote or prevent election –referring to the 2016 election.
Former President Trump’s trial in Manhattan court will continue to hear testimony regarding Karen McDougal, a former Playboy model, who alleged having an affair with Trump in the early 2000s.
Trump’s trial revolves around his former personal attorney, Michael Cohen, paying a former pornographic actress, Stormy Daniels, $130,000 to reportedly quiet her claims of an affair with Trump in 2006. Trump has denied having an affair with Daniels.
Prosecutors allege that the Trump Organization reimbursed Cohen, and fraudulently logged the payments as legal expenses.
The case will also feature two other payments, including a $30,000 payment to a Trump Tower doorman who claimed that Trump fathered a child out of wedlock with a former housekeeper, and a $150,000 payment through a tabloid publisher to a former Playboy model named Karen McDougal. Trump has also vehemently denied these allegations.
McDougal claims she had a months-long affair with Trump in 2006, the same year Daniels claims she had a sexual encounter with Trump. In 2016, ahead of the election, she reportedly sought to go public with the story. The former publisher of the National Enquirer, David Pecker, caught wind of the tip and contacted Cohen, Pecker testified earlier last week.
“What do you think?” Pecker recounted what he said to Trump back in 2016, suggesting Trump buy the story. Trump, however, said, “I don’t buy any stories.”
“Any time you do anything like this, it always gets out,” Pecker told the court Trump said.
The Manhattan District Attorney’s office argues that the National Enquirer’s parent company, American Media Inc., assisted Trump ahead of the 2016 election by flagging him on news stories that could have hurt his campaign.
Prosecutors say Trump and associates employed “catch and kill schemes,” which are understood as tactics used by media and publishing companies to buy the rights of a person’s story with the intention of never publishing its contents.
The court is expected to hear ongoing testimony regarding McDougal in the days to come.
Dino Sajudin was a former Trump World Tower doorman who allegedly heard rumors that former President Trump had fathered a secret love child with his former housekeeper. He claims to have gotten this information from “Mr. C,” a day-to-day operations manager at the Trump Organization.
“Little Tiffany and Ivanka are not the only girls out there carrying the big guy’s DNA,” Sajudin alleges in his book, “Trump Doorman.” “As time went on, I continued to complain to my union boss about the head concierge. One day, Mr. C looked at me dead in the face and said, ‘Dino, when you have Trump’s kid, you can do whatever the hell you want to.’”
Sajudin was paid $30,000 by American Media Inc., which publishes the National Enquirer, to “catch and kill” the story, according to testimony from Enquirer publisher David Pecker. Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s office claims that Trump and his former lawyer, Michael Cohen, were involved in orchestrating the purchase.
AMI, upon deeper investigation, concluded that the claim from Sajudin was baseless. Pecker described said the Enquirer would have published the story after the 2016 election, but they determined it to be “1,000% false.”
“Catch-and-kill” schemes are tactics used by media and publishing companies to buy the rights of a person’s story with no intention of publishing it – whether the story contains true or false allegations.
The NY v. Trump case specifically revolves around payments made to adult film actress Stormy Daniels and Playboy model Karen McDougal. Both women claimed to have had affairs with former President Trump.
Trump has denied the allegations.
He was charged with 34 counts of falsifying business records in the first degree. He pleaded not guilty to all charges.
Prosecutors allege that Trump falsified business records by labeling payments to his former attorney Michael Cohen as “legal fees.” They say those payments were actually made to repay his former attorney for paying Daniels $130,000 to allegedly silence her claims of an affair with Trump in 2006.
“Catch-and-kill” schemes are used by publishers to bury negative stories about high-profile people.
American Media Inc. ex-publisher David Pecker, who owned the National Enquirer at the time of the payments, testified during the trial that he used the practice of purchasing stories for other high-profile figures beyond Trump – including professional golfer Tiger Woods and ex-Obama chief of staff Rahm Emanuel, among others.
Former President Trump’s historic and unprecedented criminal trial is wrapping up its second week.
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg charged the former President with 34 counts of falsifying business records in the first degree. Trump has pleaded not guilty.
So far, opening arguments have been delivered by Trump’s defense attorneys and prosecutors from the Manhattan District Attorney’s office. Trump defense attorneys say the former president is “innocent.”
Prosecutors must try to convince the jury not only that Trump falsified the business records related to hush money payments, but also that he did so in furtherance of another crime – conspiracy to promote or prevent election.
Typically, on their own, crimes of falsifying business records and conspiracy to promote or prevent election are viewed as misdemeanors.
So far, the prosecution has called one witness – former American Media Inc. CEO David Pecker. AMI published the National Enquirer tabloid.
Pecker testified about an alleged “catch and kill” practice, which was to buy negative stories about Trump, regardless of their legitimacy, and bury them to protect Trump’s reputation.
Long-time Trump secretary Rhona Graff testified later Friday, as did a First Republic Bank employee who worked closely with Michael Cohen while he was employed by the Trump Organization.
Meanwhile, the judge imposed a gag order on the former president, which prohibits him from making statements about court staff and potential witnesses.
Bragg has alleged Trump violated the order at least 10 times, and is asking the judge to penalize the former president with a $1,000 fine per violation. They also want Trump to be held in contempt of court.
Trump attorneys argue the gag order is a violation of the former president’s First Amendment rights.
The judge is expected to hold a hearing on the gag order’s alleged violations next Wednesday.
Trump is required to attend every day of his criminal trial.
While President Biden visits pivotal swing states to make the case for his re-election, Trump is not as free to do so, given his various trials and proceedings for criminal cases. The former president has also noted that he would rather be campaigning for the presidency than attending court.
However, it’s unclear whether this is truly a disadvantage for Trump. The indictments against him have actually become a focal point in his campaign. They have often referred to the various criminal cases as “election interference” and accused Biden of trying to prevent him from campaigning.
Trump’s court cases also get significant media coverage, keeping him at the forefront of current events, even without being on the trail.
Depending on the events that unfold during his trials and how the public perceives them, especially in swing states, Trump may be able to make his case for the presidency from the courtroom.
Stephanie Clifford, known by her stage name Stormy Daniels, is an adult film actress and stripper who is at the center of the hush money case against former President Trump.
Daniels made headlines during Trump’s presidency when she said she had a sexual encounter with Trump years before he got elected in 2016. Trump has denied ever having an affair with Daniels.
During Trump’s presidency, Daniels was cheered by critics of the then-president. She traveled around the country on the so-called “Make America Horny Again” tour, and was even given the “key” to West Hollywood, Calif., on May 23, 2018, a day set aside by city officials to celebrate her achievements.
In 2018, Fox News reported that Michael Cohen, Trump’s former personal attorney, previously arranged hush money payments to both Daniels and former Playboy model Karen McDougal, who said she also had an affair with the former president. Under the arrangement, Daniels was paid $130,000 and McDougal was given $150,000, reportedly in exchange for their silence.
Those payments were investigated by the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Southern District of New York and by the Federal Election Commission. Federal prosecutors ultimately opted not to charge Trump in the case.
However, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg pressed charges against Trump last year, alleging Trump falsified business documents between 2015 and 2017 in connection with the hush money payments to Daniels and McDougal.
The historic and unprecedented criminal trial of former President Trump is set to resume for its third week Tuesday.
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg charged the former president with 34 counts of falsifying business records in the first degree.
Trump pleaded not guilty.
So far, opening statements have been delivered by Trump’s defense attorneys and prosecutors from the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office.
Trump defense attorneys say the former president is “innocent.”
Prosecutors must try to convince the jury not only that Trump falsified the business records related to hush money payments, but also that he did so in furtherance of another crime: conspiracy to promote or prevent election.
This is an excerpt from an article by Fox News’ Brooke Singman
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