5 Takeaways From Trump’s Hush-Money Trial After Stormy Daniels’s Testimony – The New York Times
Trump Hush-Money Trial
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The fourth week of the trial interspersed intense and emotional testimony with talk of documents and chains of custody.
Kate Christobek and
The fourth week of Donald J. Trump’s Manhattan criminal trial veered from the salacious to the monotonous, and ended with a preview of a showdown coming next week: the long-awaited testimony of Mr. Trump’s fixer-turned-nemesis, Michael D. Cohen.
On Friday, Justice Juan M. Merchan asked prosecutors to tell Mr. Cohen to stop talking about Mr. Trump, after a defense lawyer told him of a recent TikTok video in which Mr. Cohen wore a shirt with a picture of Mr. Trump behind bars.
His request capped a week in which the jury heard a porn star’s lurid story of a 2006 sexual encounter with Mr. Trump but also less sensational, if potentially damning, testimony about Mr. Trump’s checks, invoices and ledgers.
The former president is accused of falsifying business records to hide a $130,000 payment to the porn actress, Stormy Daniels, just before the 2016 election, a payment meant to silence her. Mr. Trump, 77, has denied the charges and says he did not have sex with Ms. Daniels. If convicted, he could face prison or probation.
Here are five takeaways from Mr. Trump’s fourth week, and 15th day, on trial:
For almost eight gripping hours, Ms. Daniels took the jurors inside the Lake Tahoe, Nev., hotel suite where she said she and Mr. Trump had sex, a detailed account that included everything from what was in his bathroom to her conflicted feelings before and after.
Initially, her testimony meandered, leading to interruptions and a warning from Justice Merchan to avoid tangents, as well as many successful objections by defense lawyers.
Here’s how key figures involved in making hush-money payoffs on behalf of Donald J. Trump are connected.
The first criminal trial of former President Donald J. Trump is underway. Take a closer look at central figures related to the case.
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