One of the most important pieces of evidence in Donald Trump’s criminal trial is one that jurors may never hear directly in court: the “Access Hollywood” tape. The latest witness testimony in Manhattan emphasized that notion, as lawyer Keith Davidson told jurors that the infamous recording’s release had “tremendous influence” on interest in Stormy Daniels’ story.
Davidson represented Daniels, who claimed in the run-up to the 2016 presidential election that she previously had sex with Trump. Michael Cohen, then Trump’s fixer/lawyer, allegedly paid her hush money. The payoff is at the center of the former president’s case, in which he is charged with falsifying business records to cover up the alleged scheme. The presumptive GOP presidential nominee has pleaded not guilty and has denied that he had sex with the adult film star.
The tape, released in October 2016, captured Trump bragging in 2005 about being able to grab women by their genitals.
“It wasn’t until ‘Access Hollywood’ that interest sort of reached a crescendo,” Davidson testified Tuesday, explaining how the deal went down to secure Daniels’ silence as Trump successfully sought the White House.
“It wasn’t until ‘Access Hollywood’ that interest sort of reached a crescendo,” Davidson testified Tuesday, explaining how the deal went down to secure Daniels’ silence as Trump successfully sought the White House. His testimony is set to resume Thursday. It builds on the state’s case that started with David Pecker, the former National Enquirer publisher who testified that he agreed to help Trump’s 2016 campaign by squashing negative stories.
Manhattan prosecutors have long pressed the significance of the “Access Hollywood” recording. In a pretrial court filing, they told Judge Juan Merchan that its release “caused a panic within the campaign about defendant’s electoral prospects and ultimately served as the catalyst for consummating the Stormy Daniels payoff.” But citing concerns of undue prejudice to the defense, the judge ruled ahead of trial that prosecutors can’t play the tape itself (unless Trump opens the door to its admission). Nonetheless, the tape remains an important feature of the case, even if it’s never played in court. Expect to hear more about it beyond Davidson’s testimony, as prosecutors hammer home their theory of the case as a conspiracy to corrupt the 2016 election and then cover it up by skewing business records tied to Cohen’s reimbursement. Subscribe to the Deadline: Legal Newsletter for weekly updates on the top legal stories, including news from the Supreme Court, the Donald Trump cases and more.
Jordan Rubin is the Deadline: Legal Blog writer. He was a prosecutor for the New York County District Attorney’s Office in Manhattan and is the author of “Bizarro," a book about the secret war on synthetic drugs. Before he joined MS NOW, he was a legal reporter for Bloomberg Law.
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