In the ongoing criminal trial involving former U.S. President Donald Trump, his defence team has adopted a strategy aimed at challenging the credibility of prosecution witnesses, portraying the hush money payment central to the case as extortion.
Trump is facing allegations of attempting to conceal a payment made to porn star Stormy Daniels just before the 2016 presidential election. He has pleaded not guilty and refuted Daniels’ claim of a sexual encounter between them.
During the trial, defence attorney Emil Bove questioned lawyer Keith Davidson, who was involved in arranging the payment with Trump’s personal lawyer Michael Cohen.
Bove’s line of questioning aimed to undermine Davidson’s credibility by raising allegations of similar negotiations with other celebrities.
Davidson was asked about his purported attempts to solicit money from figures like Hulk Hogan, Charlie Sheen, and Tila Tequila in exchange for potentially embarrassing information.
Bove insinuated that Davidson was adept at skirting the line of extortion without crossing it. However, Davidson denied any involvement in extortionate behaviour.
Trump’s legal team is expected to employ a similar approach with other anticipated witnesses, including Daniels and Cohen, who has previously served time in prison related to the payment scheme.
Davidson confirmed that Daniels signed a non-disclosure agreement with Trump regarding a 2006 sexual encounter but refrained from labelling the payment as hush money. He described it as part of a civil settlement agreement.
Additionally, Davidson defended the denial statement crafted for Daniels in 2018, stating that it technically remained true under close scrutiny.
However, Daniels later disowned the statement, claiming the signature on it was not hers.
Ozioma Samuel-Ugwuezi
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