The New York judge presiding over ex-President Donald Trump's document-falsification investigation has rejected all motions by his former personal attorney, Michael Cohen, and porn actress Stormy Daniels — who he alleges he had an intimate relationship with. to testify.
Donald Trump's lawyers have filed about fifteen motions to block prosecutors from calling certain witnesses or showing various evidence in court.
One of them was aimed at blocking the testimony of the expected star witness in the trial, Michael Cohen. They significantly attacked his credibility, arguing that he had already perjured himself. They also accused him of lying during his testimony in Donald Trump's civil trial for tax fraud.
The defendant provides examples of credible circumstances [Michael] Cohen was skeptical. However, he has not given any false testimony in the file that ends up before the court
Judge Juan Merson wrote in his nine-page decision.
The latter also gave the green light to the testimony of Stormy Daniels, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford. So, prosecutors can question her about the $130,000 she received from Michael Cohen just before the November 2016 election, only to remain silent about her alleged relationship with Donald Trump 10 years later.
Michael Cohen was sentenced to three years in prison for tax evasion and election law violations.
Photo: Reuters / Jeana Moon
Buying information from [Stormy] Daniels [fait] Not only does the account of the events leading up to the falsification of business documents end, but [est] It is also possible to prove the defendant's motives
Justice Merson wrote.
Donald Trump faces 34 counts of falsifying documents following his indictment by a New York grand jury in March 2023.
Michael Cohen, a former confidante of Donald Trump, claims today that he bought Ms Clifford's silence at the behest of his former client and was later repaid by her.
Mr. Trump is not accused of guzzling Stormy Daniels in exchange for money because the non-disclosure agreement was not illegal. But prosecutor Alvin Bragg alleges, specifically in his accounting records and a series of invoices and checks, that Michael Cohen was reimbursed for the fees.
The judge also decided to admit the former model's testimony playboy Karen McDougal, who claims to have been Donald Trump's mistress from 2006 to 2007, but within a restricted framework, will be clarified during the trial. For his part, he sold his story for $150,000 National EnquirerA publication favorable to Donald Trump and not publishing it.
Although no charges are attached to the payment to him, attorney Alvin Bragg wants to present it as evidence to support his contention that Donald Trump participated in a scheme to cover up negative information to boost his chances of being elected.
The judge also rejected Donald Trump's request to block lawyers accused of trying to influence the 2016 election.
Michael Cohen has already served prison time after pleading guilty to campaign finance violations related to payments to Stormy Daniels and Karen McDougal.
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Judge Merchan, however, granted a request by Donald Trump's lawyers to exclude a recording in which he was asked to make vulgar and derogatory comments about women, which derailed his 2016 election campaign.
The magistrate made it clear that if the jurors did not need to hear the extract, which caused a great deal of noise, the lawyers had the right to refer to it during their arguments.
In October 2016, The The Washington Post A behind-the-scenes recording of the show was released in 2005 Approach HollywoodWe heard Donald Trump boast that he could catch
Women with complete impunity through their gender.
If the defense opens the door, the court may reconsider this aspect of the judgment
However, Judge Merchant cautioned.
The trial, scheduled to begin on March 25, was postponed until mid-April after Donald Trump's lawyers obtained more than 100,000 pages of documents and requested a delay from an old federal investigation recently handed over to prosecutors.
Donald Trump faces three other criminal investigations that have yet to be set and may not be completed before the presidential election in November.
Separately, earlier Monday, attorneys filed a civil suit for financial fraud on behalf of Donald Trump The Trump Organization A court filing confirmed that it was “practically impossible” to provide the required guarantee for the US$455 million (C$617 million).
With information from CNN
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