MSNBC Panel Says Stormy Daniels’ Lawyer Was ‘Difficult’ Witness For Prosecution And ‘Helpful’ To Trump

MSNBC panelists are admitting that former attorney Keith Davidson, who represented porn star Stormy Daniels, was a challenging witness for the prosecution and helped the case of former President Donald Trump.

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While testifying, Davidson confirmed that Trump had committed 34 felonies in relation to his allegedly falsified business records to reimburse Michael Cohen, his former lawyer, for the $130,000 given to Daniels before the 2016 election. Meanwhile, Adam Pollock, a former deputy attorney general of New York, described Davidson’s testimony as “difficult” for the prosecution.

However, MSNBC legal analyst Catherine Christian called it “helpful” for the defense since it would provide Trump’s lawyers with more evidence to claim that Daniels’ lawyer took advantage of the then-candidate.

“I think Davidson is one in a line of difficult witnesses that already come before and are going to be coming in this trial,” Pollock said in response to host Katy Tur asking about how his testimony impacted the prosecution’s case.

“This is a messy trial, and sort of gives us all an insight, a crack into what this sordid world is about between the National Enquirer and selling stories. It’s not pretty to watch,” Pollock added.

“He was helpful in that he established that there was a payoff and he negotiated with Michael Cohen, but he was helpful to the defense because he has, particularly since the prosecution didn’t bring out some of his bad acts on their direct examination, he appears to be in the defense view, just a lawyer who shakes down people, whether it was Hulk Hogan or other people,” Christian said in response to the same question.

“That’s what he did and maybe that’s what happened here. That’s what the defense will say. This was a shakedown of Donald Trump. This wasn’t about paying someone as an illegal campaign contribution. This was a shake-down, and Michael Cohen, it’s an understatement to say how difficult of a witness he is for the prosecution,” Christian added.

In December 2016, Davidson testified that he received a call from Cohen, who he believed was planning to “kill himself” because Trump had not appointed him to a cabinet position.

A CNN panel agreed on Thursday that there isn’t enough evidence to support Trump’s allegation of “direct involvement” in the payments; they noted that the witness testimony has only produced “tidbits” of information and that there aren’t many “receipts” supporting the claim.

Judge Juan Merchan decided to close the court for a week at that time so that the four-day Memorial Day weekend wouldn’t interfere with the trial’s closing arguments.

Merchan told the jury that they would be back next Tuesday for closing arguments, which are likely to last all day. Trump’s fate will be in the hands of the jury once they get there.

Both the prosecutors and the defense’s lawyers make one last appeal to the jury, which will soon decide the case. It is the prosecutors’ job to prove their case, so they speak to the jury first. They also get the last word, so after the defense’s closing argument, the prosecution will give a rebuttal argument.

Here’s a look at what happens next in the trial, via CNN:

Jury instruction or jury charge: The judge instructs the jury as to the charges they must consider against the defendant and the laws governing their deliberations.

Jury deliberation: A panel of 12 jurors considers the evidence presented at trial and charges against the defendant. The jury must be unanimous in its decision. The jury can communicate with the court and ask questions about the case with the court through handwritten notes.

Verdict: The jury will notify the court that they’ve reached a verdict. The verdict will then be read in court and jurors will be polled to confirm the verdict read in court reflects their own vote.

Sentencing: If the jury reaches a guilty verdict, the judge sentences the defendant, typically after a sentencing hearing at a later date.

A decision in the case could come as soon as next week.