Legal analysts found it unusual to see Donald Trump's lawyers clash with a witness during the Manhattan hush money trial on Thursday.
Trump faces 34 felony counts surrounding accusations he paid adult film star Stormy Daniels to hide details of a sexual relationship ahead of the 2016 election. Daniels' former attorney, Keith Davidson, also helped negotiate a hush money deal with Playboy playmate Karen McDougal involving similar allegations.
Davidson was on the stand when Trump's lawyers began asking about other "deals" that he did for famous people. According to Scripps News, Trump lawyer Emil Bove named clients like Charlie Sheen, Lindsey Lohan and Hulk Hogan. He kept characterizing the settlements as "extractions," which appeared to bother Davidson.
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"Look, we’re both lawyers here; I’m not here to play lawyer games," Bove said.
"You’re getting truthful answers, sir," Davidson said with emphasis on the last word. "If you’re not here to invoke legal games, then don’t say 'extract.'"
"They're going at it!" exclaimed MSNBC host Jose Diaz-Balart, as reporters outside the courthouse explained the incident as Bove attempting to discredit Davidson.
Talking about the clash, former federal prosecutor Andrew Weissmann called the exchange "fascinating."
"A normal defense cross [examination] of this witness would really just start and end with the fact that this witness has no direct dealings with Donald Trump," the NYU professor explained. "Everything that he knows is through other people, primarily Michael Cohen."
However, Davidson's testimony corroborates documents, text messages and emails, said Weissmann.
"It was remarkable to me sitting in the courtroom today just how much the prosecutor was tying him to specific documents that make it absolutely incontrovertible," he continued. "They are attacking him in terms of his credibility instead of saying, you don't know anything about my client."
It prompted Weissmann to wonder, "What's up here?" It made him think that Trump's lawyers could be trying to set up Davidson as a possible fall guy.
"That will be an interesting strategy," said Weissmann, noting that the witness doesn't have any access or information about Trump's business records, much less falsifying them.
On CNN a similar conversation unfolded as host Kaitlan Collins called the courtroom mood as turning "hostile" and the lawyers' exchange "testy" at times. "I mean, this is getting contentious. I mean, all they're trying to do here, and it's quite effective. It's as if they can make him out to be shady and someone not to believe."
Collins explained the Trump team has a lot of information about Davidson.
"They're only gold, in their mind; they just need one juror" to hang the jury, she said.
Trump lawyers are trying to discredit Davidson and other witnesses in the mind of at least one juror, she suggested.
See the videos of the comments below or at the link here.
MSNBC:
"They're going at it": Trump lawyer fights with witness on the stand www.youtube.com
CNN:
Analysts can't understand why Trump's lawyer is battling witness www.youtube.com
