Trump's lawyer says actress' payment for silence was extortion

A lawyer for Donald Trump tried this Thursday (2) to classify the payment for a porn star's silence as extortion.

Defense lawyer Emil Bove's questioning of lawyer Keith Davidson indicated the Trump legal team's strategy of undermining the credibility of prosecution witnesses in the first criminal trial of a former US president in history.

Trump is being accused of falsifying business records to hide a payment to adult film star Stormy Daniels just before the 2016 presidential election. Trump has pleaded not guilty and denies Daniels' claim that they had sex a decade earlier.

After Davidson testified that he arranged a payment of $130,000 with Michaerl Cohen, then Trump's personal lawyer, Bove asked about Davidson's alleged attempts to obtain money from Hulk Hogan in exchange for a sexual video involving the former fighter.

He also questioned Davidson about attempts to exchange embarrassing information for money from celebrities such as actor Charlie Sheen and reality TV star Tila Tequila.

“You were quite skilled at getting pretty close to the limit without committing extortion, right?” Boye asked.

Davidson denied ever committing extortion.

Trump's lawyers are expected to take a similar approach with other expected witnesses, including Daniels herself, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford, and Cohen, who served prison time for his role in the payment scheme.

Davidson confirmed that Daniels signed a confidentiality agreement with Trump to keep quiet about the 2006 sexual encounter, but said he would not describe the payment as a bribe. “It was a consideration in a civil settlement,” she said.

Davidson said the blunt denial he helped Daniels craft when the payment was revealed in 2018 was not a lie because it referred to a “romantic sexual” relationship and not a one-time sexual encounter.

“You have to take it word for word, and I think if that were done, it would technically read extremely well,” Davidson said.

Daniels later denied the statement and said that the signature on it was not hers.

More fines?

Earlier, Judge Juan Merchan signaled he might fine Trump on charges that he again violated a gag order that prohibits him from making public comments about jurors, witnesses and the families of the judge and prosecutors if those statements were intended to interfere with the case.

Merchan questioned the defense's claim that Trump did not violate the gag order when he said the Manhattan jury for the first criminal trial of a former U.S. president was chosen from a heavily Democratic region.

“I’m arguing he didn’t do it,” Trump lawyer Todd Blanche told the judge.

“Well, I don’t agree with that argument,” Merchan responded, without saying if or when he would impose a fine.

Trump later claimed, incorrectly, that the gag order will prevent him from testifying to defend himself.

“I am not allowed to testify because of an unconstitutional gag order,” he told reporters in the hallway outside the courtroom. The gag order does not prevent Trump from testifying at trial.