Current:Home > ContactProsecutors move deeper into Trump’s orbit as testimony in hush money trial enters a third week -Infinite Edge Capital
Prosecutors move deeper into Trump’s orbit as testimony in hush money trial enters a third week
View
Date:2025-04-14 18:57:51
NEW YORK (AP) — Prosecutors in Donald Trump’s hush money trial are moving deeper into his orbit following an inside-the-room account about the former president’s reaction to a politically damaging recording that surfaced in the final weeks of the 2016 campaign.
What to know about Trump’s hush money trial:
- A guide to terms used in the Trump trial.
- Trump is the first ex-president on criminal trial. Here’s what to know about the hush money case.
- A jury of his peers: A look at how jury selection will work in Donald Trump’s first criminal trial.
- Trump is facing four criminal indictments, and a civil lawsuit. You can track all of the cases here.
Hope Hicks, a former White House official and for years a top aide, is by far the closest Trump associate to have taken the witness stand in the Manhattan trial.
Her testimony Friday was designed to give jurors an insider’s view of a chaotic and pivotal stretch in the campaign, when a 2005 recording showing Trump talking about grabbing women without their permission was made public and when he and his allies sought to prevent the release of other potentially embarrassing stories. That effort, prosecutors say, included hush money payments to a porn actor and Playboy model who both have said they had sexual encounters with Trump before he entered politics.
“I had a good sense to believe this was going to be a massive story and that it was going to dominate the news cycle for the next several days,” Hicks said of the “Access Hollywood” recording, first revealed in an October 2016 Washington Post story. “This was a damaging development.”
The trial enters its third week of testimony Monday with prosecutors building toward their star witness, Michael Cohen, Trump’s former lawyer and personal fixer who pleaded guilty to federal charges related to the hush money payments. Cohen is expected to undergo a bruising cross-examination from defense attorneys seeking to undermine his credibility with jurors.
Trump faces 34 felony counts of falsifying business records in connection with payments made to stifle potentially embarrassing stories. Prosecutors say Trump’s company, the Trump Organization, reimbursed Cohen for payments to porn actor Stormy Daniels and gave Cohen bonuses and extra payments. Prosecutors allege that those transactions were falsely logged in company records as legal expenses.
Former President Donald Trump speaks to media as he returns to his trial at the Manhattan Criminal Court, Friday, May 3, 2024, in New York. (Charly Triballeau/Pool Photo via AP)
Trump has pleaded not guilty and denied sexual encounters with any of the women, as well as any wrongdoing.
So far, jurors have heard from witnesses including a tabloid magazine publisher and Trump friend who bought the rights to several sordid tales about Trump to prevent them from coming out and a Los Angeles lawyer who negotiated hush money deals on behalf of both Daniels and Playboy model Karen McDougal.
Former President Donald Trump appears at Manhattan criminal court before his trial in New York, Friday, May 3, 2024. (Charly Triballeau/Pool Photo via AP)
Trump’s lawyers have tried to chip away at the prosecution’s theory of the case and the credibility of some witnesses. They’ve raised questions during cross-examinations about whether Trump was possibly a target of extortion, forced to arrange payouts to suppress harmful stories and spare his family embarrassment and pain. Prosecutors maintain the payments were about preserving his political viability as he sought the presidency.
The case is one of four Trump prosecutions and possibly the only one that will reach trial before the November election. Other felony indictments charge him with plotting to subvert the 2020 presidential election after he lost to Democrat Joe Biden and illegally hoarding classified documents after he left the White House.
____
Tucker reported from Washington.
veryGood! (2)
Related
- McKinsey to pay $650 million after advising opioid maker on how to 'turbocharge' sales
- Shark attack on South Padre Island, Texas leaves 2 injured, 2 others report encounters
- Proof Julia Roberts and Danny Moder Are Closer Than Ever After 22 Years of Marriage
- Philadelphia mass shooting leaves 8 people injured, 1 dead; no arrests made, police say
- Rolling Loud 2024: Lineup, how to stream the world's largest hip hop music festival
- Kevin Bacon recalls wearing a disguise in public: 'This sucks'
- Wisconsin Supreme Court changes course, will allow expanded use of ballot drop boxes this fall
- Hurricane Beryl churning toward Mexico with strong winds, heavy rain
- McConnell absent from Senate on Thursday as he recovers from fall in Capitol
- An electric car-centric world ponders the future of the gas station
Ranking
- Sarah J. Maas books explained: How to read 'ACOTAR,' 'Throne of Glass' in order.
- Powerball winning numbers for July 3: Jackpot rises to $138 million
- 1 killed, 10 injured as speedboat crashes into jetty in California
- From 'Ghostbusters' to 'Gremlins,' was 1984 the most epic summer for movies ever?
- Apple iOS 18.2: What to know about top features, including Genmoji, AI updates
- Hiring in the U.S. slowed in June, raising hopes for interest rate cuts
- LSU offers local freshmen $3,000 to live at home this semester
- Disappointed Vanessa Hudgens Slams Paparazzi Over Photos of Her With Newborn Baby
Recommendation
Will the 'Yellowstone' finale be the last episode? What we know about Season 6, spinoffs
Dallas Cowboys QB Dak Prescott spotted in walking boot ahead of training camp
Pink's undisclosed health issue and the need for medical privacy
2 dead, 3 injured after stabbing at July 4th celebration in Huntington Beach, California
Man can't find second winning lottery ticket, sues over $394 million jackpot, lawsuit says
Man killed checking on baby after Nashville car crash on I-40
Def Leppard pumped for summer tour with Journey: 'Why would you want to retire?'
Boil water advisory issued for all of D.C., Arlington County due to algae blooms