Donald Trump returns to the hush money trial Tuesday facing a threat of jail time for additional gag order violations as prosecutors gear up to summon big-name witnesses including porn actor Stormy Daniels.
Trump and his campaign were reeling from the Oct. 7, 2016, publication of the never-before-seen 2005 "Access Hollywood" footage in which he boasted about grabbing women's genitals. He spoke with Cohen and Hope Hicks, his campaign's press secretary, by phone the next day as they sought to limit damage from the tape and keep his alleged affairs out of the press.
The testimony from Jeffrey McConney yielded an important building block for prosecutors trying to pull back the curtain on what they say was a corporate records cover-up of transactions designed to protect Trump's Republican presidential bid during a pivotal stretch of the race. It focused on a $130,000 payment from Cohen to Daniels and the subsequent reimbursement Cohen received.
"You never had any reason to believe that President Trump was hiding anything or anything like that?" Trump attorney Todd Blanche asked.The testimony followed a stern warning from Judge Juan M. Merchan that additional violations of a gag order barring Trump from inflammatory out-of-court comments about witnesses, jurors and others closely connected to the case could result in jail time.
Trump sat forward in his seat, glowering at the judge as he handed down the ruling. When the judge finished speaking, Trump shook his head twice and crossed his arms.
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