An individual who served as legal counsel for two women seeking hush money in 2016 to keep quiet about alleged sexual encounters with a prominent public figure will resume giving testimony on Thursday in the high-profile criminal trial.
During the previous day's court session, the witness, Keith Davidson, detailed his role in negotiating agreements on behalf of model Karen McDougal and adult film actress Stormy Daniels as they pursued arrangements regarding the rights to their accounts of alleged sexual incidents involving the public figure in question.
McDougal received $150,000 from the parent company of a well-known tabloid publication for her narrative, which prosecutors claim was part of a larger scheme to support the public figure's presidential campaign in 2016. On the other hand, Daniels, known by her legal name Stephanie Clifford, was paid $130,000 by Michael Cohen, the public figure's former attorney.
Cohen is anticipated to be summoned later in the trial as a crucial witness against the public figure, who has entered a plea of not guilty to 34 felony charges related to falsifying business records. The public figure refutes the accusations and maintains that there was no intimate involvement with Daniels or McDougal.
During the court proceedings on Tuesday, prosecutors presented a collection of text messages and emails showcasing Davidson's promotion of McDougal's allegations to the tabloid, labeling them as a "blockbuster" story concerning Trump. Subsequently, Davidson engaged in direct negotiations with Cohen to trade the rights to Daniels' claims.
Davidson affirmed that he recognized the advantage of concealing the stories for the benefit of Trump's candidacy.
Prior to Davidson's testimony on Tuesday, Judge Juan Merchan found Trump in contempt for a series of social media and online campaign posts that were deemed to breach a gag order in the case. On Thursday, the judge is scheduled to review arguments regarding four additional instances where prosecutors allege that Trump violated the gag order, which prohibits him from making public statements about witnesses and other involved parties in the case.
