Donald Trump was back at the Manhattan Criminal Court for hush money trial on Thursday after the campaign trail in the battleground states of Wisconsin and Michigan.
Judge Juan Merchan is considering four more alleged violations of Mr Trump’s gag order today after earlier fining him $9,000 and warning the defendant could face “incarceratory punishment” if he persists in bad-mouthing key participants.
Mr Trump’s legal team says he is responding to attacks on him from former fixer Michael Cohen and Joe Biden.
Wrapping up his testimony today was Keith Davidson, the ex-lawyer for Stormy Daniels and Playboy model Karen McDougal who negotiated the sale of their stories to guarantee their silence.
Mr Davidson’s past involvement in salacious celebrity stories was brought up in cross-examination in an attempt to muddy his standing with the jury.
In a recording played to the jury, Cohen said that Mr Trump told him “I hate the fact we did it” concerning the hush money plot. Cohen said he advised him it was right.
The Independent’s Alex Woodward is covering the trial at Manhattan Criminal Court.
Key takeaways from Trump’s day in court
Donald Trump was back in court again on Thursday during his third week of the hush money trial in Manhattan, where jurors heard bombshell recordings between Mr Trump and his former personal attorney Michael Cohen.
The former president’s legal team attempted to defend Mr Trump over his gag order violations on Thursday. Earlier this week, Judge Juan Merchan fined him $9,000 for repeated violations of the order, which bars him from talking about foreseeable witnesses or staff of the judge or DA’s office. Ironically, after court adjourned for the day, Mr Trump falsely claimed to reporters that he was not “allowed to testify” because of the gag order.
The court also saw a different side of Michael Cohen, who has previously been described in the Manhattan courthouse as “excitable” and “pants on fire.”
One witness said he thought Cohen “was going to kill himself” after Cohen found out that Mr Trump, Cohen’s long-term client, wasn’t considering him for top roles in his White House administration.
Here are some takeaways from another day at the hush money trial:
Maroosha Muzaffar3 May 2024 05:00
ICYMI: Watch: Trump hush money trial continues as second gag order ruling due
Mr Trump was warned he could face “incarceratory punishment” if he continued bad-mouthing key participants.
He used Wednesday’s recess to hit the campaign trail in Wisconsin and Michigan, delivering a familiar onslaught of insults, grievances, half-truths, and apocalyptic forecasts.
Thursday’s proceedings come after the court has heard key testimony from Gary Farro, the banker for former Trump fixer Michael Cohen, explaining how the $130,000 payment to Stormy Daniels to cover up the alleged extramarital affair with Mr Trump was funded.
Maroosha Muzaffar3 May 2024 04:30
Trump should wear a shock collar in court, says Fallon
“In an effort to stop Trump from falling asleep in court, his lawyers have been giving him a number of different devices”, the comedian said during his opening monologue on the Tonight Show on Wednesday.
“So far, the only thing that can keep him awake is an iPad playing Bluey.”
Joe Sommerlad3 May 2024 03:30
Potential Donald Trump juror breaks silence on death threats he’s received
A potential juror who was excused from Donald Trump’s criminal trial has revealed he received death threats, despite not being involved in the case. Mark DeMuro told Good Morning Britain how Trump supporters had contacted him saying they were going to “teach him a lesson” if the former USPresident did not receive a fair trial. Speaking on Thursday (2 May), Mr DeMuro told the ITV news programme about the content of the messages he received: “We know who you are, we know where you are, we are going to come and teach you a lesson.” Mr Trump was held in contempt of court this week and fined $9,000 for violating a gag order.
Oliver O’Connell3 May 2024 02:30
Trump blames Cohen for breaking gag order
The judge presiding over Donald Trump’s hush money trial fired back at his attorney’s attempts to dodge punishment for his comments about the jury – remarks that appear likely to violate a gag order that blocks him from public attacks on witnesses and jurors.
In a contempt hearing on Thursday morning, the former president’s legal team tried to blame at least some of Mr Trump’s potential violations on Michael Cohen, arguing his former attorney and the potential star witness in the case has made “multiple and repeated attacks” on his “credibility” and campaign.
Pulling up several social media posts from Cohen, Mr Trump’s attorney argued that he is “inviting and almost daring Trump to respond to everything he’s saying”.
Alex Woodward reports from court:
Oliver O’Connell3 May 2024 01:30
Michael Cohen: Once Trump’s inside man — no, friends say he’s at risk
In the seven years since professing this unwavering loyalty, the former lawyer and “fixer” has suffered his own very public downfall and criminal conviction, and is now recast as star witness in the Manhattan district attorney’s hush money case against the former president.
Oliver O’Connell3 May 2024 00:30
In pictures: Trump makes post-trial campaign stop at Midtown Manhattan firehouse
Oliver O’Connell3 May 2024 00:00
Man who bragged that he ‘fed’ an officer to the Jan 6 mob gets nearly five years in prison
A Georgia business owner who bragged that he “fed” a police officer to a mob of rioters storming the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, was sentenced on Thursday to nearly five years in prison for his repeated attacks on law enforcement during the insurrection.
Jack Wade Whitton struck an officer with a metal crutch and dragged him — head first and face down — into the crowd on the Capitol’s Lower West Terrace. Whitton later boasted in a text message that he “fed him to the people.”
Roughly 20 minutes later, Whitton tried to pull a second officer into the crowd, prosecutors say. He also kicked at, threatened and threw a construction pylon at officers trying to hold off the mob of then-President Donald Trump‘s supporters.
“You’re gonna die tonight!” he shouted at police after striking an officer’s riot shield.
Today in court: Bombshell audio captures Trump and Cohen discussing hush money ‘catch and kill’ plot
For the first time in Donald Trump’s hush money trial, jurors heard the former president’s own voice discussing a deal with his former attorney to buy the silence of a former Playboy model who alleged an affair with Mr Trump.
A portion of the recording – secretly recorded by Michael Cohen while Mr Trump was in the middle of his 2016 campaign for the presidency – was played inside a Manhattan courtroom on Thursday, giving the jury a brief but crucial look into how his “fixer” kept his boss up to date with a scheme that is now central to the criminal case against him.
Oliver O’Connell2 May 2024 23:06
Watch: Trump delivers pizza to firefighters in Midtown Manhattan
After a long day of court, Donald Trump stopped by a Midtown Manhattan firehouse to deliver pizza to first responders.
Oliver O’Connell2 May 2024 22:45
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