New York, NY – Former President Donald Trump’s upcoming criminal hush money trial in New York will feature testimonies from adult film actress Stormy Daniels and his former lawyer Michael Cohen, according to a ruling by Judge Juan Merchan on Monday. The judge denied Trump’s legal team’s request to exclude their testimonies. Both Daniels and Cohen have alleged that Trump paid Daniels hush money to conceal a sexual encounter they had before the 2016 presidential election. The trial, which was originally scheduled to begin on March 25 but has been delayed until at least mid-April, is expected to last several weeks.
In the trial, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg has charged Trump with 34 felony counts of falsifying business records to cover up his reimbursement of Cohen for a $130,000 hush money payment to Daniels. Prosecutors claim that Trump disguised the payments as legal fees and falsely documented them at the Trump Organization.
Trump’s legal team argued that Cohen should be excluded from testifying, citing his history of lying and distorting facts. They pointed to Cohen’s previous admission of lying to a federal judge in a civil fraud trial. However, Judge Merchan stated that he was not aware of any perjured testimony from Cohen in the hush money case.
Similarly, Trump’s team sought to block Daniels’ testimony, describing her stories as “contrived” and “inflammatory.” They also quoted her as saying that she had “been asked to kind of behave” in the context of testifying. Nonetheless, Judge Merchan allowed her testimony, emphasizing its value in completing the narrative of events and establishing Trump’s intent.
It is important to note that the hush money case against Trump represents the first-ever criminal trial of a former president. Trump has appealed a previous ruling in a civil fraud case where he was found liable for fraud and ordered to pay over $450 million.
The ruling on Daniels and Cohen’s testimonies sets the stage for a trial that will shed light on the alleged hush money payments and their cover-up. As the trial date is rescheduled and preparations continue, the proceedings are expected to draw significant attention and scrutiny.