Who will take the witness stand in Trump hush money trial? Here’s the list of names
A cast of colorful characters could soon serve as witnesses in the first-ever criminal trial of a former American president currently underway in New York.
Among those expected to take the witness stand in the Manhattan hush money trial against former President Donald Trump are a pornstar, a former Playboy model and a criminally convicted attorney, according to reports from multiple outlets.
Here are the names of the reported potential witnesses, whose testimonies could shape the outcome of the trial:
David Pecker
Pecker, a long-time friend of Trump, formerly served as the publisher of the National Enquirer, a tabloid newspaper, according to the Associated Press.
Prosecutors have alleged that Pecker met with Trump and longtime attorney Michael Cohen to discuss using his publication to quash negative stories about Trump, per Reuters. Their method would have involved purchasing the rights to stories and then refusing to run them.
Pecker, who has been described by prosecutors as a “central figure in the alleged scheme to bury claims from women who said they had affairs with Trump,” was the prosecution’s first witness to be called on April 22, according to NBC News.
While on the stand, he explained tabloid journalism and noted that the National Enquirer frequently paid for stories, per Reuters. His relationship with Trump was not discussed, but he is expected to return for further questioning.
Stormy Daniels
Daniels, a porn actress whose legal name is Stephanie Clifford, has claimed she had sex with Trump at a hotel in Lake Tahoe in 2006, according to CBS News.
Following the alleged affair, Daniels claimed she was paid $130,000 by Michael Cohen, Trump’s former attorney, to buy her silence in the lead-up to the 2016 election, according to Reuters.
She first spoke publicly about the matter in an interview with CBS’s “60 Minutes” in 2018 after the Wall Street Journal reported on the alleged hush money payment, according to The Hill.
In a newly released documentary, Daniels said she kept quiet about the affair during the 2016 election because she feared for her life.
Trump has long claimed Daniels’ allegations were false, writing on then Twitter in 2018, “She knows nothing about me, a total con!”
Michael Cohen
Cohen, who served as Trump’s attorney for over a decade, pleaded guilty in 2018 to violating campaign finance laws in paying Daniels, according to Reuters.
He was sentenced to three years in prison, but served under two years before being released.
He testified before Congress in 2019 on his relationship with Trump, telling representatives, “He is a racist. He is a conman. He is a cheat.”
He also testified against Trump in the civil fraud trial in New York, in which prosecutors alleged he illegally inflated his property values.
Trump lashed out at Cohen in an April 13 post on Truth Social, writing, “Has disgraced attorney and felon Michael Cohen been prosecuted for LYING?”
Karen McDougal
McDougal, a former Playboy model, has claimed she had a nearly year-long affair with Trump about two decades ago, per the AP.
She has also claimed that in 2016 the parent company of the National Enquirer paid her $150,000 for the rights to the story about her alleged relationship with Trump.
Trump has maintained that he did not have sex with McDougal.
Hope Hicks
Hicks served as press secretary for the Trump campaign and later as director of communications in the Trump White House, per Reuters.
In the weeks leading up the 2016 election, she reportedly participated in phone calls with Trump as aides attempted to keep allegations of his extramarital affairs from becoming public, according to ABC News.
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