Former US President Donald Trump will appear again in a Manhattan court on Tuesday as his “hush money” trial enters its third week.
Tuesday’s negotiations come after a long, three-day weekend. The first week of the trial focused primarily on jury selection, while the second week saw the prosecution and defense present opening statements and witness statements.
Trump, the presumptive Republican nominee for the 2024 presidential election, has been indicted on 34 counts of falsifying business records in connection with the $130,000 payment to adult film star Stormy Daniels.
Prosecutors accuse Trump of paying Daniels “hush money” to silence her before the 2016 presidential election after she claimed she had an affair with him.
However, for a felony charge to stand, prosecutors must convince jurors that the forgeries were made in furtherance of another crime.
They have argued that the “hush money” payments were aimed at influencing the 2016 race, in which Trump came under scrutiny over his relationships with women, including harassment allegations.
The defense, however, insisted that Trump was innocent and acted within the law to protect his family from public embarrassment. Additionally, the former president has denied having sexual relations with Daniels.
The trial is expected to last about six weeks, according to Juan Merchan, the judge presiding over the case.
Witnesses testify to campaign activities
Last week, the first witness was called to the stand, former National Enquirer publisher David Pecker.
After meeting with then-presidential candidate and his lawyer Michael Cohen, Pecker told prosecutors for four days and 10 hours that he had become the “eyes and ears” for Trump’s campaign.
Pecker said he regularly contacted Cohen as he bought exclusive rights to stories, which he then suppressed as part of a so-called “catch and kill” plan.
These stories contained information that could have been politically damaging to Trump. These included a report about an alleged affair with model Karen McDougal and a Trump Tower bouncer’s claim that Trump had fathered a child out of wedlock.
Prosecutors said this “catch and kill” plan was part of a coordinated effort to limit scrutiny of allegations of sexual misconduct against Trump.
Pecker testified that the effort was specifically aimed at helping Trump’s campaign and that the politician did not appear to be concerned about the information reaching his family.
During cross-examination, the defense noted that Pecker had entered into additional “catch and kill” deals with prominent figures, including former California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and prominent Democratic politician Rahm Emanuel, in an apparent attempt to undermine the publisher’s claim Undermining the agreement he had made with Trump was extraordinary.
After Pecker’s testimony, prosecutors called to the stand Rhona Graff, who worked as Trump’s business assistant from 1987 to 2021.
She testified that she once saw Daniels in Trump Tower before Trump ran for president. She added that she heard Trump say he was interested in casting her on the reality TV show he hosted, “The Apprentice.”
Graff said Daniels and McDougal’s email addresses were both stored in Trump’s company’s computer systems.
Banker Gary Farro later testified that Trump’s lawyer, Michael Cohen, set up accounts with him for two shell companies shortly before the election, including one that was used to pay Daniels.
Farro said Cohen led him to believe that the company, Essential Consultants LLC, would be in the real estate consulting business. His testimony is scheduled to continue on Tuesday.
Judge Merchan could also decide this week whether Trump violated a partial gag order that prohibits him from speaking about people involved in the trial, including Cohen and Daniels, both of whom are expected to testify.
Prosecutors said last week that Trump violated the order more than a dozen times in social media posts and public comments. Some of these violations even happened in court, they added.
While penalties could include prison time, prosecutors have said they are not seeking that at this time.
The New York trial is the result of one of four criminal charges Trump is currently facing.
Last week, the U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments from Trump’s defense team asserting that his actions while in office should be protected by presidential immunity.
The case is directly related to one of the criminal charges against him: a federal case filed in Washington, DC, alleging that Trump tried to overturn the 2020 election. Trump’s lawyers have argued that he should be immune from prosecution because his statements and actions constituted official acts.
It was not immediately clear when the top court would make a decision in the case.
Trump also faces a separate federal lawsuit in Florida related to classified documents he removed from the White House after his term ended. Prosecutors allege he tried to hide those documents even after officials tried to recover them.
The fourth indictment is a state-level case in Georgia, where he faces additional allegations related to efforts to overturn the 2020 election results.