A witness who appeared Tuesday in former President Donald Trump's criminal hush money trial just pulled back the curtain on a world that, according to legal analyst Lisa Rubin, can only be described with a single word: Sketchy.
MSNBC host Chris Hayes and Rubin smiled as they discussed the salacious details shared by Keith Davidson, an attorney who said he bartered catch-and-kill deals with National Enquirer for clients Stormy Daniels and Karen McDougal, despite hesitations from the tabloid.
"That is too sketchy for...the National Enquirer," Hayes quipped. "You need to run this as an off-book operation, because us, the National Enquirer, find this to be dubious."
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"I'm glad you used the word 'sketchy,' because 'sketchy' comes to mind with Keith Davidson," replied Rubin. "He did not want to acknowledge his full complicity in either of these deals. He was shadowy."
Rubin went on to explain how Davidson's testimony played a pivotal role in the case brought by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, who contends Trump falsified business records to cover up hush money paid ahead of the 2016 presidential election.
Trump pleaded not guilty to the charges and denies affairs with Daniels, an adult film star, and McDougal, a former Playboy model.
"[Davidson] is the lawyer for Stormy Daniels and Karen McDougal, so prosecutors were taking him through the settlement payments of both women," said Rubin. "This was the seedy underbelly of the world that David Pecker sort of took us through."
Former federal prosecutor Harry Litman joined in to explain his view that Davidson brought Bragg's narrative to its pivotal moment: when Trump, then a presidential candidate, was faced with the release of the notorious Access Hollywood tape he feared would torpedo his campaign.
"He really brought us to the precipice of Stormy Daniels and the crisis," Litman said. "He was very effective in reinforcing the notion that at this point it is a nitroglycerin crisis that has to be dealt with."
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Lisa Rubin discusses Keith Davidson testimony at Trump trial www.youtube.com
