Takeaways from day nine of the Trump hush money trial
CNN
Judge Juan Merchan handed down his first punishment to Donald Trump for violating the judge’s gag order in the New York hush money trial Tuesday, fining Trump $9,000 for nine violations.
Judge Juan Merchan handed down his first punishment to Donald Trump for violating the judge’s gag order in the New York hush money trial Tuesday, fining Trump $9,000 for nine violations. The judge also warned the former president in his written order that continued violations could also lead to imprisonment – a striking reminder of the historic and surreal nature of this trial. Once the trial itself began Tuesday, jurors heard from the attorney who negotiated both the Stormy Daniels and Karen McDougal hush money agreements, Keith Davidson, who detailed his tribulations with Trump’s then-fixer Michael Cohen in the final days of the 2016 campaign to get the money promised to Daniels for her to stay quiet. Davidson testified that a tabloid editor believed Daniels’ story would be the “final nail in the coffin” for Trump’s presidential aspirations in October 2016 after the Access Hollywood tape came out. Instead, Davidson negotiated a $130,000 hush money deal with Cohen on Daniels’ behalf, and she did not speak out publicly before the 2016 election. Here are the takeaways from day nine of the Trump hush money trial: Before the jury was called in Tuesday morning, Merchan levied a $9,000 fine against the former president for multiple violations of the judge’s gag order barring public discussion of witnesses in the case or the jury.
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