I thought today was going to be boring because it was mostly going to be about Jury selection, but there was tons of news today, because they went over several motions today.
The biggest news is the prosecution will ask the judge to hold Trump in contempt for his attacks on witnesses."
Regarding Trump's Truth Social posts about Cohen, I think this is about violation of the gag order.
From Reuters
New York prosecutors said at the start of Donald Trump's criminal trial on Monday they would ask a judge to hold the former president in contempt after they described a "pressure campaign" against his former fixer and a likely witness Michael Cohen.
Other news This is all from Twitter
Trump asked the judge to recuse himself. Denied.
There was a bunch of stuff about what evidence can be let it and if the evidence would be salacious or prejudicial to Trump.
Aug 2015 meeting with Michael Cohen and David Pecker coordinating coverage on Trump. Trump's lawyers say talking about stories is not illegal and may be prejuidicial.
skeptical that these prepublication meetings were conducted in such a way with the falsification of business records down the road in mind. But he's satisfied probative value exceeds prejudice, if any, and allows it in.
Karen McDougal, the playboy playmate is allowed to testify
No mention of Melania being pregnant/or recently gave birth when this happened
Access Hollywood tape can be talked about but will not be played
E. Jean Caroll deposition cannot be entered, but an email thread about it can
Merchan DENIES prosecution's request to bring evidence of three other allegations of misconduct. Says it's "just a rumor, just gossip, complete hearsay"—doesn't want to "prejudice the defendant on the basis of a rumor."
Discussion of which Cohen crimes they can talk about. Judge says
I don't want the jury to think that because Michael Cohen pled guilty to FICA violations or anything else, that therefore Trump is guilty.
Yeah, MacDougal sure looks legit. 🙄
"In 1997, McDougal tried out and won a local swimsuit competition promoted by Venus Swimwear in Michigan, earning her place at the international final in Florida. Her victory caught the eye of Playboy photographer David Mecey.[4] Soon after that, she was approached by Playboy, offering a test shoot at Playboy Studio West, which she accepted.[6] Upon completing her test shoot, she was promptly selected to return for a complete photo and video shoot and chosen as Miss December 1997.[4] Her pictorial, which was shot by photographers Richard Fegley and Stephen Wayda, has a winter theme[1] and its outdoor portion was shot in snowy fields near Park City, Utah.[9] Her video, the "Playmate Profile", was featured on Playboy TV soon after her magazine debut.[2]
In May 1998, it was announced that she had been chosen by Hugh Hefner and fans as Playmate of the Year (PMOY) of 1998 at a luncheon at the Playboy Mansion.[10]
As part of being named PMOY, she was awarded $100,000 and a special edition silver Shelby Series 1 convertible with a customized Michigan license plate "PMOY 98".[3] McDougal's PMOY pictorial was featured in the July 1998 issue of Playboy where she also appeared on its cover.[11] In contrast to her Playmate pictorial, her PMOY pictorial has a tropical theme and its outdoor portion was shot in Saint Lucia.[3] According to her interview in her Playmate of the Year "Video Centerfold" which was released soon after her PMOY issue debuted, she believes her physical imperfections are her "funny" smile, her crooked pinkies which she inherited from her grandfather, and her "ugly feet" which she wishes others would not look at.[5] Because of the popularity of the VH1 television series "Pop-up Video" at the time, one of the segments in her PMOY video was done as a Pop-up Video parody filled with factoids about her and Playboy.[5] During her appearance on The Magic Hour to promote her PMOY issue, McDougal demonstrated her signature pose, straddle split on TV in front of a live studio audience.[12]
In an online chat in 2002, McDougal expressed interest in posing nude for Playboy again if offered."
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karen_McDougal
Bet she learned a lot from Hef and the See Eye Ay.
A witness needs to be credible, lacking any solid proof.