Donald Trump’s hush money trial resumes Tuesday with testimony from the third prosecution witness, Gary Farro, a banker who helped Trump’s former attorney Michael Cohen open accounts. Cohen used one to buy the silence of porn performer Stormy Daniels. She alleged a 2006 sexual encounter with Trump, which he denies.
Here’s the latest:
Quick Read
- Donald Trump’s hush money trial resumed with its second week of testimony, featuring Gary Farro, a banker involved in the opening of accounts used by Trump’s former attorney, Michael Cohen.
- These accounts were reportedly used to facilitate payments to Stormy Daniels to prevent her from publicizing an alleged sexual encounter with Trump, which he denies.
- The trial focuses on $130,000 in payments made to Cohen, which prosecutors argue were mischaracterized as legal expenses by Trump’s company to influence the 2016 presidential campaign.
- Trump has pleaded not guilty to 34 felony counts of falsifying business records.
- This trial marks the first criminal trial of a former U.S. president and is one of four prosecutions of Trump to reach a jury.
- The judge in the case, Juan M. Merchan, may rule this week on a request by prosecutors to fine Trump for alleged violations of a gag order that restricts him from making public statements about witnesses, jurors, and others involved in the trial.
- Testimony has explored the “catch-and-kill” practice by the National Enquirer to buy and suppress stories detrimental to Trump, with former publisher David Pecker providing insights last week.
- Trump’s ongoing presence in court is mandated, aligning with his campaign activities outside of court hours.
The Associated Press has the story:
Trump’s hush money trial resumes with second week of testimony
Newslooks- NEW YORK (AP) —
Donald Trump’s hush money trial resumes Tuesday with testimony from the third prosecution witness, Gary Farro, a banker who helped Trump’s former attorney Michael Cohen open accounts.
Cohen used one to buy the silence of porn performer Stormy Daniels. She alleged a 2006 sexual encounter with Trump, which he denies.
The first week of testimony was the scene-setter for jurors: Manhattan prosecutors portrayed what they say was an illegal scheme to influence the 2016 presidential campaign by burying negative stories.
For his part, the former president and presumptive Republican nominee has been campaigning in his off-hours, but is required to be in court when it is in session, four days a week.
The charges center on $130,000 in payments that Trump’s company made to Cohen. Prosecutors say Trump obscured the true nature of those payments and falsely recorded them as legal expenses.
Trump has pleaded not guilty to 34 felony counts of falsifying business records.
The case is the first-ever criminal trial of a former U.S. president and the first of four prosecutions of Trump to reach a jury.
JUDGE MAY RULE THIS WEEK ON PROSECUTORS’ REQUEST TO FINE TRUMP
Judge Juan M. Merchan may decide this week on prosecutors’ request to fine Trump for what they say were violations of a gag order that bars him from making public statements about witnesses, jurors and some others connected to the case.
The judge also has set a hearing Thursday on another batch of alleged gag order violations.
In an order first made in March and later revised, Merchan barred Trump from making public statements about probable trial witnesses “concerning their potential participation in the investigation or in this criminal proceeding.”
Merchan’s order didn’t give specific examples of what types of statements about witnesses were banned. He noted the order was not intended to prevent the former president from responding to political attacks.
The gag order also barred Trump from making public statements of any type about jurors, court staff, lawyers in the case or relatives of prosecutors or of the judge.
Currently:
— Key players: Who’s who at Donald Trump’s hush money criminal trial
— The hush money case is just one of Trump’s legal cases. See the others here
— These people were charged with interfering in the 2020 election. Some are still in politics today
— The National Enquirer was the go-to American tabloid for many years. Donald Trump helped change that
— Trump and DeSantis meet to make peace and discuss fundraising for the former president’s campaign
