Now cnn Breaking News yann, welcome to the lean. Im ticked tapper. Were following Breaking News out of new york where Donald Trumps hush money coverup trial its currently underway right now. Attorney Keith Davidson is on the stand. He is the lawyer who represented both 1998 Playboy Playmate of the year, Karen Mcdougal, who alleged an affair with down from and horn actress and director Stormy Daniels, who alleged to a Brief Dalliance with trump. Trump denies both. This afternoon, davidson and as testified about his negotiations with National Enquirer editorinchief, dylan howard to sell the womens stories to that august to publication and how interest in buying Stormy Daniels accounts spiked after the access Hollywood Tape was released in early october 2016, before todays testimony gotten underway, judge juan merchan ruled that donald trump had violated the gag order against attacking members of the jury and witnesses with nine distinct posts on his truth social page, as well as his website. He find the judge fined the former president 9,000. Trump has now or Somebody Acting on his behalf as now, remove those posts, but judge marchand is ruling also came with a warning that if trump continues to violate the gag order, the judge will quote impose an incarcerated lori punishment, aka, put trump in jail. I want to bring in former Trump Payroll Corporation attorney bill brennan defense attorney, can woo and cnns Kristen Holmes and jamie gan gao. Thank you so much for being here. Lets review some of the more headline grabbing moments of the last hour or two obviously what is important here for the prosecution to prove is that not only these payments were made not only. Were the Business Records covered up, but it was all done in the furtherance of what the prosecutor is calling election interference. In other words, keeping information away from the public perhaps the most salacious part of todays testimony came when Keith Davidson, the attorney for Stormy Daniels, and Karen Mcdougal, was testifying about the access Hollywood Tape being released in early october. He says he texted National Enquirer editorinchief, dylan howard, quote, trump is eft and dylan howard responded wave the white flag. Its over people. Davidson then mentioned that stormings allegations had already been made public in a blog post to which he responded yet, but hes talking and taking blank is the final nail in the coffin, but hes eft already does that suggest that this is wrapped up in politics . Oh, absolutely. I mean, it continues to build the notion that the real reason for doing all of this as well as ultimately covering it up in the financial records is to influence the election because it would have been very, very bad for the campaign at that point. So this absolutely adds to that foundation. I mean yeah so just to bring you the updates of whats still going on in the courtroom right now. We have presentation of texts from the attorney, mr. Davidson i cant believe Michael Cohen let this go. Its going to be An S Show Davidson explains to the jury that when howard when dylan howard said trump is tight he means mr. Trump is frugal and this has to do with whether or not he was being paid to keep these stories out . Of the public realm. Bill. You might have davidson says he believed they had this deal sort of on a silver platter and it was just there for the taking back to what i was asking before when dylan and when davidson says trump is aft and dylan howard response wave the white flag, its over people that does seem to be them talking about the election. But maybe you disagree, but no, no, i agree that them talking about the election. But the guy sitting at the table as a defendant is the former president. Its not him talking about the election. There are Prognostic Masticating that hes eft i assume he means hes done how that work out for them. I mean, these are guys that are just waxing philosophic and prognosticator thing. And they dont have the defendant participating in the conversation. The banker said he never spoke to the former president davidson and cohen and howard. The little cabal there doesnt involve the former president unless they can drag the former president or give him some type of sea enters, some type of knowledge and theyve gotten how to hook it up to his mode of being the election, not a terribly shameful and embarrassing situation with his wife and kids. If that jury gets back there and says, you know, we really get the fact hes married. He has kids. It wouldve been horrible and he was running for president. But thats really a collateral effect. Its not guilty, right now in court, lawyers are are returning to their seats. The judge has sustained the objection. The objection had to do with mr. Davidsons grand jury testimony and whether or not that could be introduced i think its important for folks to understand that there are several ways you can get the information about this trial. Theres a channel that im sure has already convicted him. Theres a channel that that is probably already acquitted him and is barely covering this case. I have no idea what the jury is going to ultimately do and the reason we have attorneys on different sides of this is because this id like one of the one of the big mistakes made in previous instances about mr. Trump, his people get convinced that hes going to be found guilty or theyre going to be found innocent and thats based on narratives and ideological proclivities, not necessarily the facts before the jury the objection has been sustained. Im particularly in this case, remember, they only need one sympathetic juror and thats really what theyre going for. I mean, i dont think theres anyone on the legal team who thinks that donald trump is going to be outright acquitted. But can they get one sympathetic juror and theyre basing their belief that they can on the fact that all of this goes back to Michael Cohen and how Michael Cohen is going to look on the stand and you saw this backandforth here. Just now we talked about it with the money, the payments, and cohen saying, oh, theres an issue here. Oh, theres an issue with secret service. Theres a paywall. Theyre going to use. They being the defense the reasoning from all of these witnesses that it was michael doing this on his own . And theyre also going to try to paint him as a liar. And again, their goal is just to get one person who is watching in that audience, in that jury box to be sympathetic for donald trump. Well, and also i mean, mr. Brennan is a wise attorney and i think an honorable guy. And even if you thought, hey, he probably did it. If you were on that jury not you as an altar, you not the one that actually worked for donald trump at one point, but you might think and they didnt prove it. And jake, you you astutely pointed out its not enough, maybe what is sure to coulda its beyond a reasonable doubt. Its the highest standard of proof in the history of jurisprudence. They, and they have the burden, that burden never shifts to the defendant in any case. And the way they cobbled this case together to get this felony in there, they tied it to he had to do these things in furtherance of another crime. And thats where i think they may fail. And the objection has been sustained, and donald trump is shaking his head side to side probably upset that judge merchan has ruled has overruled. His attorneys. Objection. Im guessing thats whats going on right now, but honestly, jamie, like we see all this cd and unseemly behavior mr. Trump denies at once again, but even if one doesnt believe mr. Robin, thanks that a fair with Karen Mcdougal probably happened the liaison with Stormy Daniels probably happened. Hes not being tried for that. Now, correct . Its for fraud with Business Records. Its a more complicated thing. As bill said, i just want to go big picture for a moment. Im going to play the juror and one of the things i think we have to keep in mind is the e. Jean carroll case in many ways, that was a much tougher case. The jury pool was much broader than just manhattans begin with jury pool just to interject for one second, the prosecutor just said to Keith Davidson, did you have an understanding of how this deal was going to be funded and Keith Davidson says he had an assumption. Go ahead. Im sorry. So im just saying in that case, a very old pace. Lets say he said she said case from longtime ago. They did. The jury and there were members of that jury that i know robbie kaplan, E Jean Carrolls lawyer thought were very protrump people. They did get a verdict in that case. So we dont know what we dont know. We dont know what evidenced testimony is, coming down the road. We also have heard not sure yet that weve heard lanny davis former lawyer for Michael Cohen says, this case will not rise and fall on Michael Cohen, so we dont know what else the problem securities have full. We do know that the prosecutors are worried about the fact that these are the witness pool that they are putting forward. I mean, they said that already two jurors they said that was one of their various specific question based on the people that were putting forward, a porn star, a Playboy Playmate, Michael Cohen, trumps fix are lying that kind of thing. He ask people, are you able to put aside your beliefs about these kind of people to listen to the actual case, there is a concern about that with the prosecution as well. I want to bring in Donald Trumps former white house. Communications director, Alyssa Farah Griffin, who joins us remotely. Alyssa, always good to see you. Lets go back, rewind the tape a little just to this morning. Donald trump gets fine. 9,000 for his violations of judge merchans gag order attacking jurors, attacking witnesses, 9,000 is in the back pockets of his sofa. No doubt. But there also was a thread of jail time. If he continues to violate the gag order, which according to prosecutors, he does. How seriously do you think he takes that . Well, listen, donald trump lacks Impulse Control and weve seen this across the cases, federal, state. Hes dealt with these these violations of gag orders and these finds theres part of me that thinks he may actually want to call the judges bluff and see if she ends up putting him in jail what weve seen and i know that sounds outrageous to say is at times with republicans as pull numbers have gone up when hes on trial, when hes indicted, i think its a way that he can say, look, im a victim of the system because hes being reckless. I mean, the blatant us to which hes violating this gag orders shows to me just some level of intent or planning behind it. So i dont expect that youre going to see him stop and to your point 10,000, 9,000 is really nothing to him. It came out during last weeks testimony. Im sorry to go back to mit last week, but i havent talked to you since then. It came out that at one point somebody i think maybe even david david pecker had had had talked to both hope hicks at the when she was at the white house and Sarah Sanders at the white house about whether or not Karen Mcdougals contract should be extended. Essentially, this buying her silence for this fake column, she was writing for a magazine. Hold on one second. Alyssa, we have Keith Davidson saying he was my understanding that mr. Trump was the beneficiary of the contract. This is after the prosecutor had said, did you have an understanding how this deal was going to be funded right now in court, theyre talking about how the deal with Stormy Daniels two buy her silence for 130,000, how it kind of fell apart, and then how it was built back up together. There because ultimately, david pecker and ami did not pay for that. Although they did pay for the one with Karen Mcdougal. So at one point, someone i think david pecker correct me if im wrong, alyssa calls the white house and talks to two White House Communications aides about this and david Keith Davidson here saying, typically in his experienced the Beneficiary Funds the deal. In other words, donald trump is the beneficiary of the Stormy Daniels deal because shes going to keep quiet and that helps him were you surprised to hear that Sarah Sanders now the governor of arkansas and kopecks senior white house aide. Were involved in advising a Tabloid Magnate whether or not he should extend a much money contract for former Playboy Playmate of the year. When you put it that way well, listen, i served with both women years later. I dont have direct knowledge of what we heard, but that to me was one of the most striking things that came out because these are white house staffers. Theres no doubt hatch act violations involved in even that Conversation Being had. But what it also does is it speaks to were in a position where we may be in a second trump term very soon. How hes willing to use official taxpayer funded staff and officials to try to execute his means. That is utterly in improper for somebody in the white house to be doing but listen aides around him in both of those women were deep loyalty willis to him. They wanted to protect him at all costs. Those are the kind of people he wants to surround himself with even if it meant engaging in whats blatant and propriety will operating in a white house position. So judge merchan, just sustained a defense objection. I for those of you keeping score and perhaps mr. Trump is that were speculation as to whether or not donald trump was the beneficiary because he was going to be paying for this and he struck that from the record, even though the jury actually did here at prosecutors right now, were showing Text Messages between Keith Davidson, the attorney for Stormy Daniels, and Karen Mcdougal, and dylan howard the Editor In Chief of the National Enquirer, the texts continue from when howard said trump was tight, meaning cheap, howard texted davidson, i reckon that trump impersonator are hired has more cash. Were getting play by play of the final minutes of court today. How will this day end . Were going to be back in just a moment. Stay with us five good things. Listen wherever you get your podcasts if you have graves disease, gritty eyes could be more than a rough patch. People with graves could also get Thyroid Eye Disease or ted, which may need a different doctor find a ted is specialist at isit ted. Com work play thank relief. 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