Trump trial testimony goes from lurid to more logistical
After two weeks of tabloid testimony – literally, from the former publisher of the National Enquirer, and figuratively, from adult film star Stormy Daniels – the temperature turned way down Friday at former President Donald Trump’s New York hush money trial.
Instead of lurid talk of gold tweezers, boxer shorts and satirical candles, jurors got a quiet and abbreviated day of logistics. Witnesses testified about technical elements of payments and phone records, interspersed with discussions about what evidence could be admitted.
Trump faces 34 felony counts of falsifying business records in the first criminal trial of a former U.S. president. Prosecutors allege he was covering up unlawful interference in the 2016 election through a $130,000 hush money payment to Daniels made by Trump’s personal lawyer Michael Cohen. Trump denies he had sex with Daniels and has pleaded not guilty.
The prosecution must prove that Trump knew about the payment and that it was made to protect his popularity with voters.
Before testimony began, Trump ignored shouted questions from reporters about whether he would testify. Instead, he promoted a weekend rally in New Jersey where he said he would be able to campaign for president despite the “horrible gag order” that prevents him from commenting on witnesses or jurors.
Judge Juan Merchan ruled Thursday against loosening the gag order on Trump. Just before the early end of proceedings Friday, Trump lawyer Todd Blanche asked Merchan to gag Cohen, who is expected to testify next week.
Blanche argued Merchan has the ability to do that for witnesses as well as for a defendant. He said it was unfair that Trump could not talk about potential witnesses, but Cohen was free to talk about him.
Prosecutor Joshua Steinglass said his team has repeatedly told all witnesses to refrain from public statements. Because they aren’t under a gag order, Steinglass said, “We have no power to order.”
Merchan got pointed, telling prosecutors “to communicate to Mr. Cohen that the judge is asking him to refrain from making any more statements about this case” or about Trump. He repeated himself for emphasis.
Still, Trump complained after leaving the courtroom for the week that Merchan hadn’t done anything formal to quiet Cohen.
“Everybody can say whatever they want, they can say whatever they want, but I’m not allowed to say anything about anybody. It’s a disgrace,” he said.
On Thursday evening, after leaving the witness stand, Daniels, who agreed during her testimony that she hates Trump, slammed the former president on X: “Real men respond to testimony by being sworn in and taking the stand in court. Oh…wait. Nevermind.”
Trump’s former White House assistant Madeleine Westerhout finished her testimony Friday by agreeing that Trump kept a close eye on financial matters.
Merchan struck one of her comments from the record: Westerhout had said that when news of the Daniels payment came out in 2018, Trump was “very upset” because “he knew it would be hurtful to his family.” But she then said, “I don’t believe he specifically said that.”
Employees of AT&T and Verizon briefly took the stand so the prosecution could introduce phone records involving Cohen and former Trump Organization Chief Financial Officer Allen Weisselberg.
Paralegals in Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s office spoke about various social media posts, text messages and phone records. They included a series of 2016 texts between Daniels’ former manager, Gina Rodriguez, and the ex-editor of the National Enquirer, Dylan Howard.