Speaking at Trump’s hush money trial, lawyer Keith Davidson testified about his concern that he may have helped the businessman win the White House.
The lawyer who represented adult-film star Stormy Daniels when she took US$130,000 to keep silent about an alleged affair with Donald Trump before the 2016 election testified about his concern that he may have helped the real estate mogul win the White House.
Testifying at the New York trial on Thursday, Keith Davidson described a series of text messages he exchanged with Dylan Howard, the editor of the National Enquirer, on the night of the election eight years ago.
The tabloid, which supported Trump, had tipped off the candidate’s lawyer when Daniels began shopping around her story, kicking off talks that led to the payment days before the vote.
“What have we done?” Davidson, a California lawyer, said to Howard in a text message displayed on screens for the jury in the criminal trial of Trump for allegedly falsifying business records. “Oh, my god,” Howard responded.
Prosecutor Joshua Steinglass asked Davidson to explain for the jury what he meant in the text.
“There was an understanding that our efforts, our activities may have assisted the presidential campaign of Donald Trump,” said Davidson, who also represented Karen McDougal, a former Playboy model who claimed to have an affair with Trump.
Trump, who is campaigning to return to the White House in the November election, is on trial in Manhattan for allegedly falsifying dozens of business records to conceal the payment to Daniels, which was made by his then-lawyer and fixer Michael Cohen. Prosecutors say it was part of a broader conspiracy to identify negative stories about Trump and keep them from being published.
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg argues the hush agreement with Daniels became crucial after the release of the so-called Access Hollywood tape, in which Trump made comments about assaulting women.
