Judge Juan Merchan has rejected Donald Trump’s request for documents related to whether adult film star Stormy Daniels had committed “extortion” or “larceny” and whether Trump was a “victim of blackmail” in the hush money trial. Trump’s lawyers were seeking a large volume of documents from prosecutors, but the judge described it as an “improper fishing expedition.” Trump, who is the first former president in U.S. history to stand trial in a criminal case, has pleaded not guilty to 34 counts of falsifying business records, maintaining that the cases against him are politically motivated.
The prosecution in the trial aims to prove that before the 2016 presidential election, Trump paid or discussed paying two women—Stormy Daniels and Karen McDougal—to not disclose alleged affairs with him. Trump denies having affairs with either woman. Daniels completed her evidence on Thursday following a heated cross-examination with Trump’s attorney. In response to a defense request for documents about Daniels, Judge Merchan rejected the request for an internal memo about Daniels, stating that they only related to “a legal analysis related to the criminal investigation” and were privileged work product. There is no suggestion that Daniels was involved in larceny or extortion.
Trump’s lawyers were seeking to obtain internal emails and discussions with the district attorney about how to handle Trump’s previous discovery requests. However, Judge Merchan deemed the request as an attempt to obtain information on topics that are not relevant or material to the facts at issue. He also rejected a request for documents about Michael Cohen, Trump’s former lawyer who allegedly paid Stormy Daniels $130,000 on Trump’s behalf, stating that there was no reasonable likelihood that the request would uncover relevant and material information for the proceedings. Merchan wrote that the request for documents was “far too broad and an improper fishing expedition into general discovery.”
Despite Trump’s attempts to obtain more documents from the prosecution, Judge Merchan has rejected the subpoena request in its entirety, citing that the requested documents were not relevant or material to the ongoing proceedings. Trump continues to maintain his innocence in the case and has consistently claimed that the charges against him are politically motivated. The hush money trial marks a historic moment in U.S. history as the first criminal case against a former president, and the proceedings are closely watched by the public and media. The trial has brought significant attention to the allegations of hush money payments to women prior to the 2016 election, further complicating Trump’s legal challenges.
