Alvin Bragg’s Case Against Trump Suffers More Setbacks

NEW YORK—Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s case suffered extra setbacks Thursday because the prosecution’s sixth witness wrapped up his testimony with important hits to his credibility.

During a heated cross-examination, protection legal professional Emil Bove managed to forged Keith Davidson, former legal professional for Karen McDougal and Stormy Daniels, as a shady lawyer who will get as near the road as he can with out crossing it, brokering offers that border on extortion.

Davidson, who performed an vital position within the $130,00 cost to Daniels on the coronary heart of the prosecution’s case, did not deflect a lot of Bove’s line of questioning, showing dodgy when he mentioned he “could not recall” the solutions, solely to be pressured to reckon along with his personal phrases when instructed to hearken to recorded audio of the conversations.

The day featured the name-dropping of a number of celebrities—together with Charlie Sheen and Tila Tequila—as Bove endeavored to show nondisclosure agreements had been a routine a part of Davidson’s work and underscore the witness’ questionable ethics. Bove pressed Davison on whether or not he represented purchasers to “extract” settlements from celebrities; Davidson took concern with the phrase.

“We’re both lawyers,” Bove informed Davidson. “I’m not here to play lawyer games with you.”

Davidson wrangled over phrases with the prosecution, too. When questioned by prosecutor Joshua Steinglass on how the statements he crafted for Daniels’ denying the affair following studies of the cost in 2018 may very well be “technically true,” Davidson mentioned a strict studying could be true.

“I don’t think that anyone had ever alleged that any interactions between she and Mr. [Donald] Trump was romantic,” Davidson mentioned, keying in on the final phrase to differentiate it from a “sexual encounter.”

On an analogous query about how denying a “sexual relationship” was true, Davidson famous it was by no means alleged that that they had a “relationship.”

Davidson mentioned he wouldn’t use the time period “hush money” to explain the cost to Daniels and would fairly name it “consideration” in a civil settlement. Several media outlets have published tales with headlines that proceed to discuss with the trial as a “hush money” case.

Prosecutor Josha Steinglass pressed Davidson on the declare that the denials had been “technically true.” Davidson says you need to undergo it phrase for phrase.

“I don’t think that anyone had ever alleged that any interactions between she and Mr. Trump was romantic,” Davidson mentioned.

— Katelynn Richardson (@katesrichardson) May 2, 2024

Another key level got here when Bove requested Davidson if he recalled saying Daniels had “settler’s remorse” or ever used the phrase “leverage” in a dialog with Michael Cohen. Davidson was requested to hearken to parts of the dialog—which Cohen had recorded with out his information on the time — after he mentioned he couldn’t recall the main points.

A grand jury indicted Trump in March 2023 on 34 felony counts for allegedly falsifying enterprise information associated to a cost made to maintain Daniels quiet about her claims of a sexual encounter. Prosecutors are looking for to demonstrate Trump falsified the information in service of a broader “conspiracy” to intervene with the 2016 election.

Bove’s questioning of Davidson urged an alternate clarification to the Daniels cost: Trump was one other sufferer of the legal professional’s extortion efforts.

In the course of his testimony, Davidson additionally managed to forged even better doubt on the already doubtful trustworthiness of the prosecution’s star witness, Cohen, who he mentioned may very well be a “very aggressive guy.” Stories recounted by Davidson made Cohen seem unstable, equivalent to one expletive-laced telephone name Davidson says he acquired from Cohen after the 2016 election airing frustration about not touchdown a spot within the Trump administration.

“‘I’ve saved that guy’s a– so many times, you don’t even know,” Davidson recalled Cohen saying.

Cohen had been gunning for a place as excessive as legal professional basic, Davidson later mentioned, noting he thought Cohen was “going to kill himself” after that decision.

At the tip of his cross-examination, Bove pointed to the signatures web page of the settlement with Daniels, highlighting the truth that Davidson by no means noticed a model signed by “David Dennison,” Trump’s pseudonym.

The tenth day of the trial, which began with one other listening to on 4 new alleged violations of Trump’s gag order, concluded with the introduction of a brand new witness, Douglas Daus, an analyst within the High Technology Analysis Unit on the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office.

Daus, who analyzed two of Cohen’s cellphones, took the stand to clarify the technicalities of extracting information from Cohen’s telephone. On cross-examination, Bove aimed his questions on the integrity of the proof. Daus is predicted to renew his testimony on Friday.

Originally published by the Daily Caller News Foundation