Michael Cohen, Stormy Daniels allowed to testify in Trump hush money trial
Judge Juan Merchan also said that prosecutors could reference, but not play for a jury, Trump's "Access Hollywood" comments.
A New York judge on Monday denied Donald Trump's bid to keep his former lawyer Michael Cohen and adult film star Stormy Daniels from testifying in the former president's criminal trial related to a 2016 hush money payment.
State Judge Juan Merchan gave Cohen and Daniels the green light to take the stand but placed some restrictions on Daniels' testimony, specifically that she can’t testify about a lie detector test she took in 2018 indicating she’d been truthful about her comments about Trump.
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s case alleges that Trump falsified business records to hide money he was paying Cohen to reimburse him for $130,000 Cohen paid Daniels in the closing days of the 2016 presidential campaign. Daniels has claimed she had a sexual encounter with Trump in 2006. Trump has denied that he slept with Daniels, but he has acknowledged repaying Cohen.
In a court filing last month, Trump's attorneys argued neither Cohen nor Daniels should be allowed to testify because they're "liars." Cohen admitted having lied under oath during his testimony at Trump’s recent civil fraud trial, but the judge who presided over that case found his testimony “credible” despite his admission.
In Monday's filing, Merchan said that he had also placed some limits on another witness who claims she had an affair with Trump — former Playboy model Karen McDougal — and that "exact limitations" would be discussed in court before jury selection. Trump, who has pleaded not guilty, has denied he had a relationship with McDougal, as well.
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