A New York judge has ruled that Michael Cohen and Stormy Daniels will be allowed to testify at former President Trump's hush-money trial, despite objections from Trump's defense team. The trial, initially set to begin next week, has been postponed to mid-April due to new evidence.
Judge Juan M. Merchan's decisions on Monday permit Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Brag to call Daniels and former Playboy model Karen McDougal to testify about alleged payments orchestrated by Cohen and Trump to silence them regarding purported extramarital encounters with Trump. However, McDougal is restricted from discussing specific details of her reported affair unless deemed relevant by prosecutors.
The judge also ruled in favor of allowing Cohen to testify, dismissing claims from the defense that he is an unreliable witness prone to perjury.
The trial revolves around Bragg's investigation into hush-money payments made during the 2016 election. Cohen paid Daniels $130,000 and arranged for the National Enquirer to pay McDougal $150,000 to suppress their claims of affairs with Trump. Trump's company later reimbursed Cohen, categorizing the payments as legal expenses.
Trump, currently the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, pleaded not guilty to 34 felony counts of falsifying business records last year. His legal team asserts that the payments were legitimate expenses and not part of a cover-up, with Trump denying the alleged encounters.
Cohen previously pleaded guilty to federal campaign finance violations linked to the hush-money payments and other offenses. He served approximately a year in prison before being placed under home confinement during the COVID-19 pandemic.
In 2019, federal prosecutors in the Southern District of New York decided against charging Trump in connection to the payments to Daniels and McDougal. The Federal Election Commission closed its investigation into the matter in 2021.
Additionally, Judge Merchan ruled that the 'Access Hollywood' tape, featuring Trump making controversial remarks, will not be presented at trial. Prosecutors can question witnesses about the video, but its actual footage will not be shown to the jury.
Prosecutors argue that the 'Access Hollywood' tape and sexual assault allegations against Trump led to the payment to Daniels to prevent negative media coverage. Trump's defense team opposed showing the video, labeling it as prejudicial and irrelevant to the trial's focus on documents and accounting practices.
Furthermore, the judge rejected a defense motion to prevent prosecutors from suggesting that Trump attempted to sway the 2016 election improperly or that the National Enquirer used a 'catch and kill' strategy to suppress negative stories about him.
