Trump Jurors Hear How Seamy Hush-Money Deals Were Made

• Published April 30, 2024Updated May 9, 2024

He was the man behind the hush money, the amiable Beverly Hills lawyer who specialized in celebrity dirt — unearthing it, and then, for the right price, burying it forever.

But in 2016, the lawyer, Keith Davidson, was on the verge of something grander than a run-of-the-mill sex tape or affair. He had two clients shopping stories so big they might sway a presidential election: Their names were Stormy Daniels and Karen McDougal, and they were ready to tell the world about their sexual encounters with Donald J. Trump.

In the days ahead, the Manhattan district attorney's office will question Mr. Davidson at Mr. Trump's criminal trial in Manhattan, asking him to take jurors behind the scenes to see how Mr. Trump's allies bought his clients' silence. Mr. Davidson, who began testifying earlier in the week, is expected to face questioning about the hush-money payment to Ms. Daniels, as well as its aftermath, when for a time she denied having an affair with Mr. Trump.

On Thursday, after the regular midweek break in the trial, prosecutors are expected to wrap up their questioning of Mr. Davidson, and then Mr. Trump's lawyers will have the chance to cross-examine him.

Already, his hours of testimony opened a rare window on the seamy world of celebrity hush money and corroborated key facts underpinning the prosecution's case against Mr. Trump, the first American president to face a criminal trial.

In a crucial back-and-forth with prosecutors this week, Mr. Davidson began to tie Mr. Trump to the $130,000 hush-money payment to Ms. Daniels, the porn star whose payoff is at the heart of the case. Although Mr. Trump did not pay Ms. Daniels directly — his fixer, Michael D. Cohen did — Mr. Davidson portrayed Mr. Trump as the hidden hand shaping the machinations.

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