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 Michael M. Santiago/GettyThe third week of Donald Trump's hush-money trial will come to a close on Friday after a second week of bombshell testimony about what prosecutors claim was a scheme to bury salacious, damaging stories about him in the run-up to the 2016 presidential election.
The Manhattan courtroom on Thursday heard more from Keith Davidson, a lawyer who represented porn star Stormy Daniels and Playboy model Karen McDougal—both of whom claimed to have had sexual liaisons with Trump (which he denies). Jurors heard about Davidson's shock when he realized that he may have contributed to the success of Trump's first bid for the White House, sending a dramatic election night text to Dylan Howard, the then-editor of the National Enquirer, reading: "What have we done?"
"Oh my God," replied Howard, who participated in the so-called "catch and kill" scheme at the Enquirer to shut down embarrassing stories about Trump. When asked in court what the exchange meant, Davidson explained that the pair had an understanding that "our activities may have in some way assisted the presidential campaign of Donald Trump."
Read more at The Daily Beast.
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 Doug Mills/ReutersThe B-list celebrity lawyer who scored two hush-money deals for a porn star and a former Playboy model came off as an even shadier character on Thursday, as Donald Trump's team worked hard to show that the prosecution's witness was actually engaged in a scheme to extort the politician in the weeks before the 2016 election.
The third week of the former president's criminal trial in New York has focused mostly on the dirty world of scandal coverups, with a Beverly Hills lawyer describing how worried stars, conniving publicists, and unscrupulous entertainment "journalists" manage the underground market for embarrassing information.
But while the trial on Tuesday served as a primer, Thursday showed how even now—nearly eight years after these Trump deals were put into place—a key player still couldn't come to grips with reality over exactly what he did.
Read more at The Daily Beast.
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Donald Trump's lawyers played hardball, questioning Stormy Daniels's lawyer's history of profiting from celebrities in embarrassing situations.
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Attorney Keith Davidson is cross-examined after a hearing on allegations that Donald Trump again violated a gag order in his New York hush money trial.
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 Brian Snyder/ReutersDonald Trump, a day after being warned about potential jail time if he continues to violate the gag order in his criminal trial in New York, lashed out at the judge presiding over that case as "crooked."
"There is no crime. I have a crooked judge. He's a totally conflicted judge," Trump told his supporters at a Wisconsin rally Wednesday—his weekly day off from the trial, where prosecutors allege the former president broke state laws governing business records and federal campaign finance law after covering up a hush-money payment to adult film star Stormy Daniels.
The trial, he added, is "unfortunately" a "95 percent or so Democrat area."
Read more at The Daily Beast.
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