Trump trial live: Judge Merchan fines ex-president $9k for violating gag order as witness testimony continues

Asked if he knows Dylan Howard, Davidson says: “Dylan Howard was the former content editor I believe, or chief content officer, at American Media Inc … I knew him in my professional dealings. … We were professional acquaintances and friends.”

“On occasion” his clients would “end up” in tabloid media, he says.

Would he negotiate the sale of certain stories? “Rarely.”

On David Pecker: “In my life, I maybe interacted with him three maybe four times.”

Alex Woodward30 April 2024 17:18

New witness: Keith Davidson

The next witness is called by prosecutors — Keith Davidson.

Davidson, 53, is a lawyer who represented Stormy Daniels and Karen McDougal in negotiating deals with AMI to sell their stories of alleged affairs with Mr Trump and obtain NDAs.

Ms Daniels later accused Mr Davidson of colluding with Cohen to keep her silent.

Alex Woodward30 April 2024 17:11

New witness: Phillip Thompson

After the entry of the video clips into evidence, a new witness is called: Phillip Thompson with Esquire Deposition Solutions, a court reporting company.

In this deposition, Trump was asked about the Access Hollywood tape, and if he could confirm that his voice was on the tape. Jurors just saw the transcript in which he acknowledged that it was him.

No further questions. He’s off the stand.

Alex Woodward30 April 2024 17:07

Ex-Trump White House aide says she ‘has no choice but to support Biden’

Former deputy press secretary Sarah Matthews joined Atlantic writer McKay Coppins on Jen Psaki’s show on Monday to explain why she feels she can no longer support her former boss, unlike other GOP critics like Mitch McConnell and Bill Barr.

Oliver O’Connell30 April 2024 17:00

C-SPAN was subpoenaed for clips from three Trump events in 2016 and 2017.

In the video, he says “I no idea who these women are. I have no idea,” calling their stories “total fiction” and “100 per cent made up, they never happened, they never would happen.”

“I don’t know who these people are,” he said. “It’s a total set-up. Now suddenly after many many years, phony accusers come out before the most important election.”

And now clips from this event at Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, where he says women “lied” and the stories are a “total fabrication.”

“The events never happened,” he said.

And finally, a brief clip from a news conference where he called Cohen a “very talented lawyer, very good lawyer, my friend.”

Alex Woodward30 April 2024 16:48

Oliver O’Connell30 April 2024 16:45

New witness: Dr Robert X Browning, C-SPAN

Another new witness is called to testify — Dr Robert X Browning.

Browning has been the executive director of the C-SPAN TV archives for 37 years and is testifying under subpoena.

Alex Woodward30 April 2024 16:39

Court resumes

After a quick mid-morning break, court has resumed in Donald Trump’s hush money trial.

Alex Woodward continues to report for The Independent from the courthouse in Lower Manhattan:

Judge Merchan says the text messages up for redaction show “exchanges between a co-conspirator and someone who is not a co-conspirator” that say “pretty prejudicial things”.

Also, Merchan agrees that the defence has “opened the door” to certain questions, which attorneys can use to “explain what I call waffling, going back and forth, among the main witnesses”.

But “at this point, I don’t believe it goes to consciousness of guilt.”

He also announced that a juror has a morning flight on the Friday before Memorial Day so there’s no trial on 24 May.

So that’s two days off the calendar in May already: 17 and 24 May. The judge doesn’t seem bothered. He thinks things are moving on time.

Oliver O’Connell30 April 2024 16:32

With the jury out on their morning break, Assistant District Attorney Joshua Steinglass is going over some proposed redactions from some messages in evidence involving people who are not alleged co-conspirators or witnesses.

Those messages are meant to “contextualize” what was going on around the time of the Stormy Daniels transaction so that National Enquirer editor Dylan Howard’s responses can be admitted, Steinglass says.

Steinglass wants to include a message saying “very shady s***” was going on at the time. Blanche does not, obviously.

Blanche also objects to an exchange that says “The Daily Mail is scared of Trump”.

Prosecutor Matthew Colangelo also tells the judge that prosecutors intend to make another Sandoval request — they want to cross-examine Trump, if he testifies, about Judge Merchan’s gag order ruling from this morning…

Colangelo argues that the defence has “opened the door” for that testimony after defence arguments have sought to undermine the credibility of witnesses targeted by Trump.

Essentially three reasons why they want to elicit this testimony: to “offset the defence claim that the witnesses are benefiting from their willingness to testify,” to “explain why both witnesses initially denied certain facts and now acknowledged certain facts,” and to examine Trump’s “consciousness of guilt”

Alex Woodward30 April 2024 16:07

Pelosi brands MSNBC host ‘apologist for Donald Trump’

The veteran former House speaker really lays one on Katy Tur here.

Just brutal.

Oliver O’Connell30 April 2024 16:00