{"id":2231894,"date":"2024-04-28T07:25:02","date_gmt":"2024-04-28T11:25:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/trump-trial-key-players-in-the-new-york-hush-money-trial\/"},"modified":"2024-04-28T07:26:31","modified_gmt":"2024-04-28T11:26:31","slug":"trump-trial-key-players-in-the-new-york-hush-money-trial","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/trump-trial-key-players-in-the-new-york-hush-money-trial\/","title":{"rendered":"Trump Trial: Key Figures in NY Hush Money Case"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">18<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Ftrump-trial-key-players-in-the-new-york-hush-money-trial%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2231894&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>Former President Donald Trump is embroiled in his ongoing hush money \u2064trial in New York, where\u2064 prosecutors are diligently calling upon key figures\u2063 from Trump&#8217;s past to prove his involvement in falsifying business records before and after the 2016\u2063 election. The case involves a cast \u200cof characters, including\u200b Michael Cohen, Stormy Daniels, \u2062Keith \u200dDavidson,\u200b Karen McDougal, David Pecker, and \u200dmore, as it unfolds.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<div>\n<p>Former President <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/donald-trump\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"Donald Trump\">Donald Trump<\/a> is heading into week three of his hush money trial in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/new-york\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"New York\">New York<\/a>, and prosecutors have begun calling on a cast of characters from Trump\u2019s past as they aim to prove he conspired to falsify business records before and after the 2016 election.<\/p>\n<p>The prosecutors, working on behalf of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/manhattan\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"Manhattan\">Manhattan<\/a> District Attorney Alvin Bragg, summoned former tabloid executive David Pecker to the stand for four days of questioning, then they called on longtime Trump aide Rhona Graff and banker Gary Farro.<\/p>\n<p>Based on court documents, including Bragg\u2019s indictment and <a href=\"https:\/\/manhattanda.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/2023-04-04-SOF.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>statement of facts<\/a>, several others are expected to appear as possible witnesses in the coming weeks. Below is a compilation of key figures and potential witnesses as the case moves forward.<\/p>\n<h2><strong>Michael Cohen<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>Cohen is the witness most directly involved in the activity cited in Bragg\u2019s indictment. Prosecutors are expected to call him to the stand to testify about payments he arranged to help Trump\u2019s 2016 campaign. Critics of Bragg\u2019s case have observed that it is severely weakened by relying on Cohen, who has admitted in the past to lying on multiple occasions.<\/p>\n<p>Cohen pleaded guilty in 2018 to lying to a bank, evading taxes, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/fec-drops-its-inquiry-into-trumps-payments-to-stormy-daniels\/\" title=\"FEC Drops Its Inquiry Into Trump\u2019s Payments To Stormy Daniels\">violating campaign finance laws<\/a>, and lying to Congress. He was sentenced to three years in prison and eventually blamed Trump for encouraging his criminal activity.<\/p>\n<p>Trump\u2019s defense team has indicated in court papers that it plans to chip away at Cohen\u2019s credibility, as well as highlight that Cohen is a highly vocal Trump critic aiming to sell his books, such as one he wrote about Trump called <em>Revenge<\/em>.<\/p>\n<p>Trump is restricted by a gag order from speaking publicly about Cohen while Cohen has gone on a media bender in preparation for the trial. After drawing scrutiny from even Democratic-aligned legal analysts for speaking so antagonistically about Trump, Cohen recently announced he would curtail his public opining until after he testified.<\/p>\n<figure>\n<div>\n<blockquote data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Despite not being the gagged defendant, out of respect for Judge Merchan and the prosecutors, I will cease posting anything about Donald on my X (formerly Twitter) account or on the Mea Culpa Podcast until after my trial testimony. See you all in a month (or more). <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/TeamCohen?src=hash&#038;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#TeamCohen<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/fzuQAffQRm\">pic.twitter.com\/fzuQAffQRm<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Michael Cohen (@MichaelCohen212) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/MichaelCohen212\/status\/1783220136612131000?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">April 24, 2024<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<h2><strong>Stormy Daniels<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>Daniels, a porn star, is one of three people whom Bragg alleges Trump illegally paid off.<\/p>\n<p>Daniels approached America Media, Inc., which owns the <em>National Enquirer<\/em>, in October 2016 and said she wanted to come forward with an allegation that she had an affair with Trump.<\/p>\n<p>Bragg alleged that Trump instructed Cohen to pay Daniels\u2019s attorney $130,000 to keep Daniels silent, effectively preventing her claims about Trump from becoming public in the lead-up to the election. Trump, according to Bragg, illegally concealed the payments to Daniels after he won the election.<\/p>\n<p>Daniels in 2018 denied that the affair happened, according to a public statement that contained her signature. She later walked back the statement in interviews.<\/p>\n<figure><figcaption>In this April 16, 2018 file photo, adult film actress Stormy Daniels speaks outside federal court in New York. Part of a criminal investigation by the New York District Attorney\u2019s Office pertains to payments made during President Trump\u2019s 2016 campaign to Daniels and model Karen McDougal to prevent them from publicly alleging they had extramarital affairs with him. . (AP Photo\/Mary Altaffer, File)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Daniels has embraced her public image since the debacle and released an eponymous documentary this year that centered on her experiences with Trump.<\/p>\n<h2><strong>Keith Davidson<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>Davidson was Daniels\u2019s lawyer and negotiated the payment to Daniels with Cohen, according to Bragg\u2019s statement of facts. Davidson is named only as \u201cLawyer B\u201d in the document.<\/p>\n<h2><strong>Karen McDougal<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>McDougal, a former playboy model, is the second of the three people Bragg alleged that Trump conspired to pay off.<\/p>\n<p>McDougal approached the <em>National Enquirer<\/em> months before the election and said she wanted to go public with an allegation that she had an affair with Trump.<\/p>\n<p>Pecker testified that he, in coordination with Cohen, negotiated an agreement to purchase the rights to McDougal\u2019s story for $150,000 under the promise that Cohen would eventually repay him. Pecker testified that the agreement involved burying McDougal\u2019s story so that it would not become public before the 2016 election.<\/p>\n<p>Defense attorneys have argued that nondisclosure agreements, such as those between Pecker and McDougal, are not illegal.<\/p>\n<h2><strong>David Pecker<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>Pecker, the former CEO of tabloid company American Media, Inc., testified for four days about his \u201ccatch-and-kill\u201d practice, which involved paying sources for rights to their negative stories about high-profile figures and then never publishing the stories.<\/p>\n<p>Prosecutors sought to showcase during their questioning how Pecker did this on three occasions for Trump to help him with the 2016 election, while defense attorneys <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/justice\/2980966\/trump-attorney-uncovers-inconsistency-peckers-catch-and-kill-testimony\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>poked<\/a> holes in Pecker\u2019s testimony and illustrated how Pecker had a long pattern of catching and killing stories for many public figures, not just Trump.<\/p>\n<figure><figcaption>Former president Donald Trump, left, watches as David Pecker answers questions on the witness stand, far right, from assistant district attorney Joshua Steingless, in Manhattan criminal court, Tuesday, April 23, 2024, in New York. (Elizabeth Williams via AP)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h2><strong>Dylan Howard<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>Howard was the editor in chief of <em>National Enquirer<\/em> at the time that it made its editorial decisions about Trump while he was a candidate.<\/p>\n<p>Howard was a go-between for Pecker and sources who wanted to come forward about Trump.<\/p>\n<h2><strong>Gary Farro<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>Farro testified on Friday about his former role as senior managing director at First Republic Bank. Farro was assigned to the bank\u2019s longtime customer Cohen at the time that Cohen obtained a $130,000 loan from the bank to pay Daniels\u2019s lawyer.<\/p>\n<p>Farro confirmed from the witness stand that he wrote an internal email on Oct. 13, 2016, that read, \u201cNeed an account opened for Mike Cohen immediately. He wants no address on the checks. Calling you now to discuss,\u201d according to a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/politics\/live-news\/trump-hush-money-trial-04-26-24\/h_45a9277dece9e40073c3a912e86ffeb3\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>report<\/a> from the courtroom..<\/p>\n<p>Cohen opened a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/fire-destroys-sen-rand-pauls-office-in-the-middle-of-night-crews-on-scene\/\" title=\"Sen. Rand Paul's office destroyed by fire overnight - Crews present.\">real estate consulting company<\/a> with the bank and then used that company to attempt to purchase AMI\u2019s rights to McDougal\u2019s story and then, days later, to pay Daniels\u2019s lawyer.<\/p>\n<h2><strong>Rhona Graff<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>Graff, a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/loretta-lynn-grammy-winning-country-music-legend-dead-at-90\/\" title=\"Loretta Lynn, Grammy-Winning Country Music Legend, Dead at 90\">longtime personal assistant<\/a> to Trump, appeared as a witness under subpoena on Friday. She testified that she worked for the Trump Organization for more than three decades and maintained its contact list, according to a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nbcnews.com\/politics\/donald-trump\/trumps-lawyers-set-grill-david-pecker-hush-money-trial-rcna149455\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>report<\/a> from the courtroom.<\/p>\n<p>Graff confirmed for prosecutors that Daniels and Karen McDougal, another woman Trump is accused of silencing, were part of the contact list. Prosecutors used Graff to verify that Daniels appeared in the contact list simply as \u201cStormy.\u201d<\/p>\n<h2><strong>Hope Hicks<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>Hicks, a former Trump aide, is expected to testify about her knowledge of negotiations between Cohen, Trump, and Pecker, according to multiple reports.<\/p>\n<p>Questions have swirled about what meetings and calls Hicks was present for during the alleged payment scandals, but federal court documents <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/justice\/2980055\/trump-trial-hope-hicks-contradictions-new-york-case\/\">unsealed<\/a> in Cohen\u2019s prosecution in 2018 indicated she at least spoke with Trump and Cohen ahead of Cohen paying Daniels\u2019s attorney.<\/p>\n<h2><strong>Madeleine Westerhout<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>Westerhout, the former director of Oval Office operations in Trump\u2019s White House, would have been privy to any meetings Trump took in the renowned room at the start of his presidency, including meetings with Cohen.<\/p>\n<p>Westerhout, according to ABC News, was subpoenaed to testify in the trial, but it is unclear if and when she will.<\/p>\n<h2><strong>Allen Weisselberg<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>Weisselberg, the former CFO of the Trump Organization, is referenced as \u201cTO CFO\u201d in Bragg\u2019s statement of facts. Weisselberg, 76, is currently serving out a five-month prison sentence at Rikers Island for perjury in a separate civil case involving Trump\u2019s business practices.<\/p>\n<p>Bragg alleged that Weisselberg helped orchestrate the payment arrangements to McDougal and Daniels.<\/p>\n<p>Bragg cited in his statement of facts an audio <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/2018\/07\/24\/politics\/michael-cohen-donald-trump-tape\/index.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>recording<\/a>, which was leaked to media in 2018, in which Cohen told Trump he spoke to Weisselberg \u201cabout how to set the whole thing up with funding\u201d in relation to the payment to McDougal.<\/p>\n<h2><strong>Dino Sajudin<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>Sajudin, a doorman working at Trump Tower in New York, went to AMI in 2015 with an allegation that he heard Trump fathered a love child.<\/p>\n<p>Pecker testified that he paid Sajudin $30,000 to prevent his story from appearing in the news at the instruction of Cohen. Alongside Daniels and McDougal, Sajudin is the third of the three people Bragg claimed Trump conspired to illegally pay off to help his election.<\/p>\n<p>The doorman told AMI he overheard Trump aides talking about how the then-candidate had a child out of wedlock, though, according to media outlets who <a href=\"https:\/\/www.newyorker.com\/news\/news-desk\/the-national-enquirer-a-donald-trump-rumor-and-another-secret-payment-to-buy-silence-dino-sajudin-david-pecker\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>vetted<\/a> the story at the time, there was little indication the story was true, and AMI employees also found it dubious.<\/p>\n<h2><strong>Matthew Colangelo<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>Colangelo is a leading prosecutor in the hush-money case who delivered the prosecution\u2019s opening statement.<\/p>\n<p>Bragg plucked Colangelo from the Department of Justice in 2022, but he did not hire Colangelo for his white-collar prosecutorial experience, which was lacking at the time he joined Bragg\u2019s office.<\/p>\n<p>Bragg instead valued Colangelo\u2019s \u201cbroad knowledge\u201d of the Trump Organization, according to a <em>New York Times<\/em> report published at the end of 2022.<\/p>\n<p>Before working at the DOJ, Colangelo worked for Attorney General Letitia James, who investigated Trump for three years before bringing a massive civil lawsuit against Trump in the fall of 2022.<\/p>\n<p>During his time in James\u2019s office, Colangelo was involved in Trump\u2019s civil case and also led her office\u2019s federal initiatives, which involved filing lawsuits against the Trump administration, as well as investigating the Trump Foundation.<\/p>\n<h2><strong>Todd Blanche and Susan Necheles<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>Blanche and Necheles are veteran New York attorneys leading Trump\u2019s defense. They both run their own firms and are the first attorneys in history to take on defending a former president in a criminal trial.<\/p>\n<p>Blanche, according to the <em>New York Times<\/em>, was a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2024\/04\/04\/nyregion\/todd-blanche-hush-money-case.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>registered<\/a> Democrat in New York just one year ago but recently became a registered Republican in Florida.<\/p>\n<h2><strong>Juan Merchan<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>The judge presiding over the case has maintained an orderly courtroom, but he has drawn criticism from Trump and his supporters for a gag order he imposed on the former president, as well as a conflict of interest Trump alleges Merchan has with the case.<\/p>\n<figure><figcaption>FILE \u2013 Judge Juan M. Merchan poses in his chambers in New York, March 14, 2024. (AP Photo\/Seth Wenig, File)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Merchan modeled his gag order after one an appellate court in Washington, D.C., outlined in Trump\u2019s separate criminal case there. The gag order restricts Trump from speaking about known witnesses in the case, court staff and their family members, and prosecutors and their family members. Trump has decried the order as unconstitutional, saying voters have a right to hear the presumptive Republican presidential nominee speak freely.<\/p>\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Trump has also twice pushed to have Merchan recused from the case because his daughter, Loren Merchan, works at a top Democratic marketing firm. Her firm has had lucrative business relationships with some of Trump\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/judge-will-decide-on-unsealing-mar-a-lago-raid-affidavit-today\/\" title=\"Judge Will Decide on Unsealing Mar-a-Lago Raid Affidavit Today\">top political rivals<\/a>, including Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA) and Vice President Kamala Harris. Schiff solicited campaign funds last year by citing Trump\u2019s case in at least one email, and Trump\u2019s attorneys argued that proved Loren Merchan could financially benefit from the outcome of the case.<\/p>\n<p>Juan Merchan rejected both of Trump\u2019s recusal requests, saying an independent judicial panel found no direct conflict of interest.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Former President Donald Trump is in the midst of his hush money trial in New York, with prosecutors summoning key figures from his past to establish his involvement in falsifying business records pre and post the 2016 election. Manhattan District prosecutors are diligently building their case against him<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":49,"featured_media":2231895,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/wex-s3.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/AP20324843914845.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[538],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2231894","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-washington-examiner"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/wex-s3.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/AP20324843914845.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2231894","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/49"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2231894"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2231894\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2231895"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2231894"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2231894"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2231894"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}