Stormy Daniels to testify about alleged ‘sexual acts’ in hush money case
The 12th day of Trump’s trial was marked by another gag order ruling against the former president and testimony from two new witnesses.
Merchan ruled that Trump violated the gag order prohibiting him from attacking witnesses and others involved in the case. Trump was fined $1,000 and warned that he could face jail time “if necessary” for any further violations. It was the second time Trump was fined for running afoul of the judge’s order.
Two witnesses took the stand yesterday: Trump Organization former controller Jeffrey McConney and Deborah Tarasoff, an accounts payable supervisor who has worked at the company for 24 years. She is the first current Trump Organization employee to testify in the trial.
They described the process for making payments at the company and detailed how Trump’s then-lawyer Cohen was paid for the payments made to Daniels. It was the first time that checks tied to the alleged scheme were displayed in court.
Outside the courtroom, Trump railed against the judge’s ruling on the gag order. “Frankly, our Constitution is far more important than jail,” he said, while suggesting that he might violate the order again. “I’ll do that choice any day.”
