{"id":2238085,"date":"2024-05-06T07:03:02","date_gmt":"2024-05-06T11:03:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/trump-trial-anticipation-builds-for-star-witnesses\/"},"modified":"2024-05-06T07:06:02","modified_gmt":"2024-05-06T11:06:02","slug":"trump-trial-anticipation-builds-for-star-witnesses","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/trump-trial-anticipation-builds-for-star-witnesses\/","title":{"rendered":"Excitement Grows for Key Testimonies in Trump Trial"},"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\">16<\/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-anticipation-builds-for-star-witnesses%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=2238085&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>The upcoming New York trial \u2063of former\u200d President Donald Trump is set to resume, with prosecutors aiming to present\u2062 additional witnesses to support their case\u200b of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/supreme-court-rejects-trump-bid-to-shield-financial-records\/\" title=\"Supreme Court Rejects Trump Bid To Shield Financial Records\">hush money payments<\/a> during the 2016 presidential election. Among the anticipated witnesses are\u200c Michael Cohen, Stormy Daniels, Kellyanne Conway, and Allen Weisselberg. The possibility of Trump\u2062 taking the stand remains\u2063 uncertain amidst legal complexities. Cohen&#8217;s credibility is \u200bunder scrutiny due to his past\u2064 actions and statements.  <\/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 Donald Trump\u2019s trial in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/new-york\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">New York<\/a> will resume Monday with prosecutors calling on more witnesses to try to prove to a jury that the former president concealed hush money payments to influence the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/2016-elections\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">2016<\/a> presidential election.<\/p>\n<p>Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg\u2019s team has spent two weeks questioning eight witnesses, including some high-profile names, but the prosecution\u2019s headliner, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/Michael-Cohen\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>Michael Cohen<\/a>, has not appeared yet, nor have other prominent figures in the case.<\/p>\n<p>Cohen is perhaps the most highly anticipated witness for the prosecution, but it is unclear who else might appear on the stand. Prominent figures who could enter the courtroom in the coming days and weeks include porn star Stormy Daniels, Trump\u2019s former campaign manager Kellyanne Conway, or former Trump Organization executive Allen Weisselberg. Madeleine Westerhout, Trump\u2019s former director of Oval Office operations, is another <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/justice\/2981760\/key-players-trump-new-york-hush-money-trial\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">expected<\/a> witness.<\/p>\n<h2>Stormy ready<\/h2>\n<p>Prosecutors\u2019 plans for who they will call to the stand have been kept under wraps, but Daniels said in March during an <a href=\"https:\/\/abcnews.go.com\/US\/stormy-daniels-absolutely-ready-testify-trumps-hush-money\/story?id=108349122\">appearance<\/a> on <em>The View<\/em> that she was \u201cready\u201d to testify and hopeful for the opportunity.<\/p>\n<figure><figcaption>Stormy Daniels (left) and Michael Cohen (right) will likely take the stand in Trump\u2019s hush money trial next week (AP)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019m absolutely ready. I\u2019ve been ready. I\u2019m hoping with all of my heart that they call me because \u2026 I don\u2019t need someone to speak for me,\u201d Daniels said.<\/p>\n<h2>Will Trump take the stand?<\/h2>\n<p>The most glaring question surrounding witnesses is whether Trump will choose to take the stand to defend himself.<\/p>\n<p>While Trump repeatedly said he planned to testify, a decision by Judge Juan Merchan at the start of the trial to allow prosecutors to question Trump about several of his unrelated legal battles has <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/justice\/2975915\/trump-new-dilemma-witness-stand\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">created<\/a> a dilemma for the former president. The decision means prosecutors can now interrogate Trump \u2014 if he chooses to testify \u2014 about his defamation case involving E. Jean Carroll or his civil fraud suit in an attempt to undermine Trump\u2019s credibility. Merchan has made clear that Trump has a Fifth Amendment right to decline to testify.<\/p>\n<h2>Cohen\u2019s credibility<\/h2>\n<p>Cohen, for his part, went on a controversial media rampage in the lead-up to the trial and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/justice\/2970187\/michael-cohen-witness-trumps-trial-media-blitz-credibility-questions\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">teased<\/a> his forthcoming testimony while also aggressively criticizing Trump. Because of a gag order, Trump is restricted from responding publicly to Cohen\u2019s attacks.<\/p>\n<p>Cohen\u2019s credibility has become a source of scrutiny in the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/the-big-problem-with-the-stormy-daniels-hush-money-case-against-trump\/\" title=\"The Big Problem With The Stormy Daniels Hush Money Case Against Trump\">hush money case<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>He served as Trump\u2019s attorney and fixer in 2016. Two years later, he pleaded guilty to numerous federal crimes, including lying to a bank and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/Congress\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>Congress<\/a>, as well as <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/police-raid-the-headquarters-of-french-president-emmanuel-macrons-political-party-report\/\" title=\"Police Raid The Headquarters Of French President Emmanuel Macron\u2019s Political Party: Report\">campaign finance violations related<\/a> to the hush money payments for which Trump is now facing state charges.<\/p>\n<p>Prosecutors have indicated that they expect Cohen to provide a firsthand account to jurors of how Trump was allegedly behind an illegal scheme to pay off Daniels. Cohen pleaded guilty for his role in the scheme in 2018, but federal prosecutors declined to charge Trump at the time.<\/p>\n<p>Those who have testified so far in the hush money case include former tabloid executive David Pecker, who spoke about his longtime \u201ccatch-and-kill\u201d practice, which involved paying for the rights to stories, including two involving Trump, and then never publishing them in his magazines.<\/p>\n<p>Keith Davidson, a Los Angeles-based <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/lawyers\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>attorney<\/a> who specializes in nondisclosure agreements, testified for several days about how he represented Daniels and former Playboy model Karen McDougal as he negotiated payments for them in exchange for their silence about alleged affairs with Trump. Trump\u2019s attorneys have argued that hush-money payments are lawful.<\/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>Hope Hicks, who was intimately involved with the Trump campaign\u2019s day-to-day activities in 2016, took the stand for three hours on Friday and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/justice\/2990752\/trump-trial-hope-hicks-breaks-down-crying\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">appeared<\/a> nervous and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/justice\/2990752\/trump-trial-hope-hicks-breaks-down-crying\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"at one point tearful\">at one point tearful<\/a>, as she spoke about the campaign\u2019s scramble to course-correct Trump\u2019s image with women in the days ahead of the election.<\/p>\n<p>Prosecutors have used witnesses like Hicks to help bolster their key allegation that Trump was motivated to <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\">make hush money payments<\/a> to help his campaign. Trump\u2019s attorneys, however, secured cross-examination testimony from Hicks saying that Trump also had other motivations for wanting to keep the women quiet, including that he was worried about his wife Melania\u2019s opinion of him.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Donald Trump&#8217;s New York trial resumes Monday with prosecutors summoning additional witnesses to establish his alleged involvement in concealing hush money payments for election interference. Over the past two weeks, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg&#8217;s team has interrogated eight witnesses, including notable figures, in an effort to bolster their case before the jury<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":49,"featured_media":2238086,"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\/05\/MixCollage-03-May-2024-09-28-PM-6706-1024x591.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2238085","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/wex-s3.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/MixCollage-03-May-2024-09-28-PM-6706-1024x591.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2238085","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=2238085"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2238085\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2238086"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2238085"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2238085"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2238085"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}