Adult film actress Stormy Daniels took the stand Tuesday in former President Donald Trump’s unprecedented criminal trial.
Trump pleaded Not guilty There are 34 counts of first-degree falsification of business records. The charges stem from a years-long investigation by police. Manhattan District Attorney’s Office.
The charges relate to alleged payments made to keep Daniels quiet about her alleged 2006 affair with President Trump before the 2016 presidential election.
Biden, the former head of the Justice Department who is prosecuting Trump, once received compensation for “political consulting” from the DNC.
Trump’s former lawyer Michael Cohen paid Daniels $130,000 ahead of the 2016 presidential election to keep her quiet about an alleged affair with Trump in 2006. I paid hush money.
The payments to Mr. Daniels were first disclosed in a Wall Street Journal report in January 2018, and Mr. Cohen and Mr. Daniels’ lawyers declined to speak publicly about their alleged sexual encounters with Mr. Trump. It was reported that he had signed a non-disclosure agreement to do so.
But at the time, Cohen, Trump and even Stormy Daniels rejected the deal.
Stormy Daniels responded to former President Donald Trump’s arraignment with a specific tweet. (Philip Farawan/Getty Images/Photo: Seth Wenigpour/Getty Images)
In January 2018, Cohen said the alleged contact between Daniels and Trump was a rumor that had been circulating “since 2011.”
Daniels also denied the allegations in a letter dated January 10, 2018, obtained and reviewed by Fox News.
“I recently became aware that certain news outlets have claimed that I had a sexual and/or romantic relationship with Donald Trump years ago. I believe this is completely false. ,” Daniels wrote. “My involvement with Donald Trump was limited to a few public appearances and nothing more.”
In her letter, Daniels wrote that when she met Trump, he was “polite, professional, and a complete gentleman to me and everyone in my presence.”
“Rumors that I received hush money from Donald Trump are completely false,” the letter said. “If I really had an affair with Donald Trump, believe me, you wouldn’t read about it in the news, you’d read about it in my book. But in reality, these stories are It’s not true.” ”
But in March 2018, Daniels changed her story. In an interview with CBS News’ “60 Minutes,” Daniels claimed that she had one unprotected sexual encounter with President Trump.
At the time, President Trump said he had no knowledge of the payments to Daniels.
Flashback: Stormy Daniels and Trump: What you need to know
when asked April 2018 When asked why Mr. Cohen paid the money, Mr. Trump responded, “You can ask Michael Cohen. Michael is my lawyer.”
There were initially questions about whether the non-disclosure agreement signed by Daniels, not Trump, was valid.
Mr. Daniels has launched a legal effort to remove Mr. Trump and Mr. Cohen over the payments. She also filed a defamation lawsuit against Cohen. cease and desist letters The document was sent by Cohen’s attorney and instructed her to refrain from making any further “false and defamatory” statements about Cohen after her tell-all 60 Minutes interview.
Prosecutors called a number of witnesses to testify in the third week of the trial, including attorney Keith Davidson, who previously represented Stormy Daniels, and Playboy model Karen McDougal.
Davidson said Daniels’ denials of any relationship with Trump were technically true. She also testified that the money former Trump lawyer Michael Cohen paid her was “compensation,” not quid pro quo.
Mr. Trump’s lawyers played an audio recording of Mr. Davidson during cross-examination in which Mr. Davidson’s voice was heard admitting that Mr. Cohen did not need Mr. Trump’s authority to make the payments to Stormy Daniels. I heard it.
Meanwhile, Cohen was sentenced as follows: 3 years He is in prison after pleading guilty to federal charges including lying to Congress, campaign finance violations and tax evasion. The charges against Cohen arose from two separate investigations. One by federal prosecutors in the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York, and the other by Special Counsel Robert Mueller.
Flashback: Former Trump lawyer Michael Cohen sentenced to 3 years in prison for tax evasion, campaign finance violations and lying
Cohen misled Congress about his work on President Trump’s proposal to build a skyscraper in Moscow and concealed the fact that he continued to talk to Russians about the proposal throughout the 2016 presidential campaign. Pleaded guilty.
In the New York case, prosecutors accused Cohen of engaging in a multi-year “tax evasion scheme” to avoid paying federal income taxes on more than $4 million he earned through a number of businesses, including owning Taxi Medal and selling real estate. accused as. Based in Florida, he also provides consulting work for other clients.
Cohen pled guilty arrange payment of $130,000 Daniels was paid $150,000 to model Karen McDougall to prevent her from going public with her alleged affair with Trump. President Trump has repeatedly denied these allegations of contact.
This is a developing story. Please check back for the latest information.
