Donald Trump Witnesses Make for 'Powerful' Case Against Him

Witnesses in Donald Trump's hush money case in Manhattan make for a "powerful case" against him, a legal expert said this week.

While appearing on CNN News Central on Tuesday, Norm Eisen, the former White House ethics czar, spoke about the different witnesses in Trump's case brought by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg for alleged hush money payments made to adult film star Stormy Daniels in 2016.

"I think that the prosecution, Alvin Bragg, has a powerful case here," Eisen, who counseled Democrats in Trump's first impeachment, said. "If they're calling [former White House Communications Director] Hope Hicks, if they're calling these other witnesses, it's because they meticulously put together a case that they're gonna present to the jury of how Donald Trump allegedly...kept vital information from the voters in the 2016 election."

Newsweek reached out to Trump's spokesperson via email for comment.

The Context:

Trump was indicted by Bragg last April for alleged hush money payments made to Daniels and accused the former president of "repeatedly and fraudulently falsified New York business records to conceal crimes that hid damaging information from the voting public during the 2016 presidential election."

Trump has continued to deny any wrongdoing in the case but several witnesses are expected to appear in the trial, including Daniels, Hicks, former Trump lawyer Michael Cohen, former White House adviser Kellyanne Conway, model Karen McDougal and former American Media CEO David Pecker.

What We Know:

Last week, New York Supreme Court Justice Juan Merchan issued a gag order against Trump in the trial. The order bars Trump from speaking about many of those involved in the case, such as jurors and witnesses.

Despite the gag order, Trump has repeatedly attacked Merchan and his daughter. In response, Bragg filed a court document this week, requesting an expansion to the gag order.

"To the extent that the original March 26 Order did not already prohibit this behavior, this Court can and should clarify or extend the Order to protect family members of the Court on the record described below, and should warn defendant that any future disregard of the Order will result in sanctions," Bragg's motion said.

Views:

During his appearance on CNN, Eisen said that the requested expansion of the gag order against Trump is "not normal," but noted that "it's not unheard of."

Last month, former Watergate prosecutor Nick Akerman said that the gag order was "so unusual."

On Monday, Trump's office shared a statement with Newsweek that did not directly respond to the gag order and instead attacked Merchan's daughter.

"Judge Juan Merchan has a clear conflict, and him continuing to be involved in this Crooked Joe Biden directed Witch Hunt is a complete violation of applicable rules, regulations, and ethics," the statement read. "Authentic Campaigns, and thus the judge's daughter, is actively making money from this sham attack against President Trump, rendering Judge Merchan conflicted out."

What's next:

Merchan set a trial date for April 15 in Trump's case and he previously said that he'd be open to testifying in the case.

"I would have no problem testifying," Trump said. "I didn't do anything wrong."

The former president also suggested that he planned to appeal the trial date.

Update 4/2/24, 9:53 a.m. ET: This article was updated with additional information.

Update 4/2/24, 10:29 a.m. ET: This article was updated with additional information.