NEW YORK — Lindsay Lohan, Hulk Hogan and Tila Tequila were among the celebrity figures mentioned during the sixth day of testimony in former President Donald Trump's ongoing criminal trial.
Thursday's trial comes as the former president's lawyers seek to undermine the credibility of attorney Keith Davidson, who represents two women who paid hush money during President Trump's 2016 campaign. took a detour into the graveyard of celebrity scandals.
President Trump's lawyer Emile Bove said Davidson, who was subpoenaed to testify, blackmailed the former president when she negotiated a deal to keep porn star Stormy Daniels quiet about her alleged affair with Trump. He hinted that he was trying to get in line to do so. election that year.
President Trump is on trial on 34 charges of falsifying business records for allegedly repaying a former fixer. The former president has maintained his innocence and denied having an affair.
Prosecutors called Davidson to the stand and questioned him over two days, detailing his negotiations to jurors. On cross-examination, Mr. Bove suggested that his lawyers regularly look into sordid stories. He brought up that Davidson had previously been investigated on racketeering charges for his dealings with celebrities.
Trump's lawyers say Davidson was facing state and federal charges of extortion in connection with posting a clip of wrestler Hulk Hogan's sex tape on the now-defunct blog Gawker in 2012. They elicited confirmation from Mr. Davidson that he was under investigation. The lawyer was never indicted.
The blog posted a shortened version of a grainy black-and-white video of a professional wrestler having sex with his friend's wife. According to CNN, a federal sting targeting Davidson in December 2012 uncovered three DVDs of the incident.
When asked about this, Davidson initially hinted that he didn't know if it would be considered a “sting operation,” but eventually acknowledged that the FBI was monitoring his negotiations. .
Mr. Hogan later sued to eliminate Gawker, and in 2016 won $115 million in a privacy violation lawsuit against the online site.
Bove also questioned Davidson at trial about how National Enquirer Editor-in-Chief Dylan Howard signed articles related to the sex tape.
Mr. Davidson was one of Mr. Howard's “key sources,” the tabloid's former publisher testified last week. The lawyer warned Howard about Daniels' alleged affair with Trump, which ultimately led to the hush money payment at the center of the case.
“Did you provide Howard with information about the tapes or not?” Bove asked.
“No, it's not,” Davidson insisted.
Beauvais also accused the witness of helping someone named “Ms. Adams.” Holland' leaks information about Lindsay Lohan's stay at a rehab facility to TMZ.
The defense attorney appeared to reference a 2010 TMZ report that described Lohan as “belligerent” and abusing alcohol while on duty, and passed that information on to a chemical dependency specialist at the clinic named Dawn Holland. It is said that
Ms. Davidson testified that she did not help “Ms. Johnson.” “Holland” leaked her information, but when I asked her if she helped her get compensation for her leak, she said she couldn't remember.
Davidson similarly could not recall specific details regarding a series of other celebrity scandals, including reality TV star Tila Tequila and actor Charlie Sheen.
The lawyer acknowledged working with the broker for Tila Tequila's sex tapes, saying Sheen had paid him at one point, but answered questions vaguely about the details of those cases.
The cross-examination took a turn for the worse, with Mr. Bove expressing frustration at the witnesses' sometimes vague answers and “I don't remember'' answers to many questions.
“Is it fair to say that your memory is hazy on some of these issues?” Bove asked as the exchange heated up.
Davidson said he represents hundreds of clients and was questioned about the allegations over the years. When Bob demanded a real answer, he raised his voice.
“You've got the real answer, Doctor!” Davidson replied emphatically.
The cross-examination undermined Mr. Davidson's state testimony, during which jurors learned that text messages between Mr. Davidson and a top editor at the National Enquirer showed that the women's stories had been destroyed. I noticed a connection between this and Mr. Trump's candidacy for the 2016 presidential election.
The lawyer often paused before answering questions on the witness stand over two days and appeared unenthusiastic about being subpoenaed to testify.
Trump at times turned toward Davidson on the witness stand as the former president pulled up various exhibits, including dozens of text messages sent and received by Davidson during hush money negotiations. looked at the monitor in front of him.
On election night 2016, as Trump was inching closer to becoming president-elect, Davidson wrote to the Enquirer's editor-in-chief:
He testified Thursday that the remarks were “gallows humor” amid “increasing confidence” that Trump will win the presidential election.
“There was a perception that our activities may have supported Donald Trump's presidential campaign in some way,” Davidson said.
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