Prosecutor Joshua Steinglass told the court: ‘We intend to elicit evidence Karen McDouglas was a former Playboy model who claims to have had a romantic and sexual relations with Mr Trump including while Mr Trump’s wife Melania was pregnant with their child’.
He said that they have ‘no intention of describing sexual acts or locales’ where it happened.
But the ‘fact this occurred while Melania was pregnant and after the birth of his son speaks directly to the extent to which the defendant believes the story could be damaging to his campaign’, Steinglass said.
Trump’s lawyer Todd Blanche argued that the ‘only value is to embarrass President Trump’. He said the claims were ‘salacious with no value’
Judge Merchan said that the evidence should be allowed in except for ‘bringing up that the defendant’s wife was pregnant and this went on and even after she gave birth’
‘At this moment the prejudicial value excuses the probative value’, he said.
McDougal claims she had a ten-month affair and was in love with Trump between 2006 and 2007. She was then paid $150,000 to tell her story to the National Enquirer, but the interview was never published.
The former president, 77, is facing 34 felony charges of falsifying business records to cover up a $130,000 payment to porn star Stormy Daniels over their alleged affair.
Each count he has strenuously denied carries a maximum sentence of four years in prison, but if found guilty he could face a fine or probation as a first-time offender.
Prosecutor Joshua Steinglass asked the judge to allow evidence describing the liaisons between Trump and McDougal, and the fact the former first lady was due to give birth at the time.
Steinglass said: ‘We intend to elicit evidence Karen McDougal was a former Playboy model who claims to have had a romantic and sexual relations with Mr Trump including while Mr Trump’s wife Melania was pregnant with their child’.
Steinglass said that the National Enquirer thought the story was ‘true’ after looking into it. But he said that they have ‘no intention of describing sexual acts or locales’ where it happened.
But the ‘fact this occurred while Melania was pregnant and after the birth of his son speaks directly to the extent to which the defendant believes the story could be damaging to his campaign’, Steinglass said.
Trump’s lawyer Todd Blanche aid that the ‘only value is to embarrass’ his client.
He said that there is ‘no scenario a jury won’t take a negative view’ of Trump’s behaviour and that it was ‘salacious with no value’
Merchan said that the evidence should come in except for ‘bringing up that the defendant’s wife was pregnant and this went on and even after she gave birth’
‘At this moment the prejudicial value excuses the probative value’, he said.
In a setback for Trump, Judge Merchan allowed into evidence the transcript of the former president’s infamous Access Hollywood tape.
Steinglass said that it was ‘incendiary’ and that it was an ‘admission, or at the very least a description of sexual assault’.
The prosecutor said it was ‘more than just comments of a sexual nature’ .
Prosecutors will show jurors emails from Steve Bannon to Michael Cohen which said that the Access Hollywood tape was ‘all over the place’.
Steinglass said it was ‘powerful evidence of the Trump campaign’s reaction to the incendiary evidence and explains why the campaign were so eager to explain his words as ‘locker room talk’.
Daniels was ‘living proof the defendant wasn’t all talk’, Steinglass added.
In another ruling Judge Merchan denied a request to introduce reports that were published after the Access Hollywood tape came out about three other women making accusations against Trump.
Judge Merchan said they were ‘very, very prejudicial’ and ‘just gossip’.
But jurors will be able to see videos of Trump denying the claims, the judge ruled.
Trump’s day got off to a bad start as Judge Merchan rejected a request from the his legal team to recuse himself and claimed the former president was using a ‘series of inferences, innuendos and unsupported speculation’.
He slapped down suggestions that posts on X by his daughter should cause him to recuse because it wasn’t her account, and didn’t impact his ability to oversee the proceedings.
Merchan also said he wasn’t ready to say whether the high-profile defendant could attend his 18-year-old son Barron’s high school graduation on May 17, which falls in the middle of the case.
The judge said: ‘If everything is going according to schedule then I’m sure we’ll be able to adjourn for one or both of those days. But if we’re running behind schedule we will not be able to’.
As the judge spoke Trump folded his arms and looked unimpressed.
Trump walked into court wearing a dark blue suit and a red tie after telling reporters the case was ‘outrageous’ and an ‘assault on America’.
‘This is a persecution like never before. It is an assault on America and that’s why I’m very proud to be here,’ he said.
He then sat at his desk with his lawyer with his hands together on the desk.
Trump entered behind his lead attorney Blanche, paused for a split second, licked his lips, then began walking up the courtroom’s center aisle.
‘Good morning, Mr. Trump’, Judge Juan Merchan said cordially as he officially called the case and invited the lawyers to introduce themselves.
Trump has frequently targeted Merchan with criticism and sparked a gag order after slamming his daughter’s links to the Democratic party.
The presumptive Republican nominee for president looked defiant as he left Trump Tower on Monday morning and waved to waiting fans and photographers as he got into his motorcade.
Before he departed, he went on a rant on his social media platform, Truth Social, about the ‘rigged’ case and the ‘corrupt’ charge.
‘When I walk into that courtroom, I know I will have the love of 200 million Americans behind me, and I will be FIGHTING for the FREEDOM of 325 MILLION AMERICANS!’ he wrote.
Trump and his team of lawyers claim the prosecution is political and the trial is a ‘witch hunt’ meant to stop him running for president again.
The court was surrounded by protesters and photographers as he made the four-mile journey downtown to 100 Centre Street.
Attorneys from both sides now have the arduous task of picking a panel of 12 impartial jurors from a pool of hundreds of Manhattan residents.
Experts believe the selection process could last anywhere between five days and two weeks.
The trial itself – set to last between six and eight weeks – will be full of bombshell testimony and drama that are the results of years of scandal.
‘When I walk into that courtroom, I know I will have the love of 200 million Americans behind me, and I will be FIGHTING for the FREEDOM of 325 MILLION AMERICANS!’ he wrote.
Trump and his team of lawyers claim the prosecution is political and the trial is a ‘witch hunt’ meant to stop him running for president again.
The court was surrounded by protesters and photographers as he made the four-mile journey downtown to 100 Centre Street.
Attorneys from both sides now have the arduous task of picking a panel of 12 impartial jurors from a pool of hundreds of Manhattan residents.
Experts believe the selection process could last anywhere between five days and two weeks.
The trial itself – set to last between six and eight weeks – will be full of bombshell testimony and drama that are the results of years of scandal.
Nobody was allowed to leave the courtroom when Trump arrived on the 15th floor. One member of the public protested that he couldn’t leave, had a verbal altercation with court staff and asked for one of their names.
The overflow room had three large TVs beaming a live stream from the main courtroom. The trial is not televised to the wider public.
The TV screens showed the table where Trump and his lawyers would be seated, the prosecution table and the judge.
The jury was not shown to avoid identifying them.
SOURCE: DailyMail
