Donald Trump’s attorneys attempted to discredit the credibility of witness Keith Davidson, who was involved in the hush money deal with Stormy Daniels, by highlighting his history of extracting money from celebrities without committing extortion. Trump’s attorney raised the issue of Davidson’s past dealings with celebrities such as Hulk Hogan, Lindsay Lohan, Charlie Sheen, and Tila Tequila, suggesting that the deals made with Trump followed a similar pattern. Davidson was evasive in his responses to questions about his prior celebrity dealings during his testimony.
In addition to questioning Davidson’s credibility, Trump’s attorney also used recordings made by Michael Cohen of his conversations with Davidson against the witness. The recordings included discussions about the “leverage” of the Daniels story in 2018. Prior to Davidson’s testimony, Judge Juan Merchan held a hearing on Trump’s alleged violations of a gag order, with prosecutors citing four statements made by Trump that violated the order. Trump has already been fined $9,000 for previous violations.
After Davidson’s testimony, prosecutors called a digital evidence expert to enter evidence into records related to the hush money case against Trump. The trial continued to move forward despite the attempts to undermine the credibility of witnesses. This development marked Day 10 of the Trump hush money trial, with both sides presenting their arguments and evidence to the court.
During the trial, Trump’s attorney questioned Davidson about the deals he cut before the 2016 election for both Stormy Daniels and Karen McDougal. Bove pressed Davidson on whether he had engaged in extortion with the Trump deals, suggesting that Davidson had gone “right up to the line without committing extortion.” Davidson’s responses to these questions were evasive, leading to tense exchanges during the proceedings.
Bove also brought up Davidson’s involvement in other celebrity deals, including an investigation into his attempt to sell a sex tape to Hulk Hogan. The attorney alleged that these deals sought monetary payments to keep damaging information out of the media, implying that the Trump deals followed a similar pattern. Davidson remained vague in his responses to these questions, raising doubts about his credibility with the testimony he had given.
Even when prosecutors questioned Davidson, he remained evasive at times. Assistant district attorney Joshua Steinglass engaged in a conversation with Davidson about the denials made by Stormy Daniels regarding her relationship with Trump and the hush money payment. Davidson argued that the denials were technically true based on the definitions of the allegations, stating that the payment to Daniels was a settlement payment for “considerations” rather than hush money. The trial continued with both sides presenting their arguments and evidence in court.
