In an ongoing criminal trial in Manhattan, former US President Donald Trump is accused of falsifying business records to conceal hush-money payments to adult film star Stormy Daniels. These payments are alleged to have aimed at preventing Daniels from disclosing a purported sexual encounter with Trump, particularly after the emergence of the damaging 2016 Access Hollywood tape. The case, gaining publicity through testimony from lawyer Keith Davidson, also touches on similar payments to Playboy model Karen McDougal.

One America News Network (OAN) has retracted a false article claiming Michael Cohen, Trump’s former attorney, had an affair with Stormy Daniels and orchestrated a payoff to her. This retraction followed a settlement with Cohen, who highlighted the inaccurate content, resulting in OAN acknowledging the mistake and issuing an apology.

Furthermore, amidst this backdrop of legal challenges, Trump hinted at the possibility of political violence surrounding the upcoming presidential election, echoing his disputed claims about the 2020 election, in an interview with Time Magazine. The trial has produced several key revelations including explicit text messages exchanged in the negotiation of the hush-money payments and testimonies describing attempts to suppress stories detrimental to Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign.

Several fines have been issued against Trump for violating a gag order during the proceedings, with the presiding judge, Juan Merchan, warning of jail time for further violations. Trump’s legal issues continue to unfold as more details are expected to emerge from the trial.