Judge Juan Merchan issued the ruling on Monday in the trial of former President Donald Trump’s “hush-money” case in Manhattan. The judge affirmed that he will not allow the playing of an “Access Hollywood” tape featuring the former president and denied prosecutors’ requests to enter other allegations of sexual assault into the evidence.
Prosecutors had requested to bring in allegations of assault against President Trump that emerged after the release of the “Access Hollywood” tape in 2016, but Judge Merchan described them as rumors and deemed them prejudicial at this point. However, he agreed to allow video footage of President Trump denying the allegations at various campaign rallies.
The judge also ruled that video footage from President Trump’s deposition in E. Jean Carroll’s defamation trial should not be played in front of the jury, but interactions with the National Enquirer and claims about an alleged affair with Karen McDougal will be allowed in the trial.
Trump attorney Todd Blanche argued that some of the allegations prosecutors want to enter are “literally just salacious with no value,” and that they would confuse the jury about the actual crime charged. The day began with Judge Merchan denying defense requests to recuse himself from the case and to expand the juror questionnaire.
President Trump has pleaded not guilty to 34 felony counts of falsifying business records related to an alleged effort to keep false stories out of the press. The charges stem from $130,000 in payments made to his former lawyer, Michael Cohen, on behalf of Ms. Daniels before the 2016 election.
Prosecutors allege that the payments were falsely logged as legal fees to conceal their actual purpose, while President Trump’s lawyers argue that the disbursements were legitimate expenses. The defense is expected to challenge the credibility of prosecution witnesses like Cohen and Daniels, portraying them as liars.
President Trump has described himself as a victim of “political persecution” and faces multiple criminal cases in addition to the Manhattan trial. He has pleaded not guilty to all charges.
(The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
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