Donald Trump’s hush money trial is back in action, with Judge Juan Merchan ruling that Trump violated his gag order and fined him $9,000. The judge ruled against Trump on nine of the 10 accusations, penalizing him a thousand dollars each. This order prohibited him from attacking witnesses, which Trump has argued is unfair and unconstitutional. Merchan also scolded Trump’s attorney for losing credibility in defending his client. While there is a possibility of further fines and even incarceration, it is unlikely to happen as it could generate public sympathy for Trump.
The first witness, Gary Farro, Cohen’s former banker, delivered testimony harmful to Trump’s fixer, Michael Cohen. However, Cohen is not on trial, Donald Trump is. The key accusation is that Trump falsified expense records to reimburse Cohen. Farro testified that he had no indication that the account Cohen was establishing was related to a political candidate. Cohen created an account under Essential Consultants and transferred it to a Stormy Daniels account, listing it as a retainer which Farro found to be a falsehood. Davis maintained that if he had known it was a shell company, he would not have approved it.
The testimony revealed details of the relationships between Cohen, McDougal, Daniels, and Davidson. Daniels’ manager was confronted aggressively by Cohen about the deal which ultimately went through when Cohen agreed to pay the money himself. However, the trial had additional moments that were described as dull because of technical witnesses like the C-SPAN archive director and court reporter official. While this information may add drama to the case, ultimately, the focus is on whether prosecutors can prove that Trump committed a crime.
Trump has expressed dissatisfaction with his lead lawyer’s lack of aggression in attacking witnesses and the judge, wanting someone who will contest the 2020 election like a Roy Cohn type. Despite Trump’s desire to control the legal strategy, his campaign spokesman stated their focus is on fighting the case. The trial will determine whether Trump committed a crime, and a holdout juror could be all he needs for acquittal. The case has not yet reached a decisive point, and focus on the main allegation against Trump is crucial for the trial’s outcome.
