The Words That Defined This Week in Donald J. Trump’s Trial
In the third week of testimony in Donald J. Trump’s criminal trial, jurors have seen dozens of dry records and heard hours of sordid stories.
This week’s witnesses included Stormy Daniels, an adult film-star who was paid $130,000 in hush money by Mr. Trump’s one-time fixer when her story of a sexual encounter threatened to derail the then-candidate’s 2016 election bid. Mr. Trump is charged with masking his reimbursement to the fixer, Michael D. Cohen, by orchestrating the falsification of 34 documents related to the transaction.
The first American president to face criminal proceedings, Mr. Trump has denied the felony charges and having had sex with Ms. Daniels. If convicted, he could face probation or prison.
Here are the most memorable things said in court over the past seven days:
‘Pay with cash.’
Mr. Trump’s words echoed through the courtroom last Thursday, pulled from an audio clip that Mr. Cohen surreptitiously recorded in 2016.
He and Mr. Trump were discussing a payment to David Pecker, then the publisher of The National Enquirer, to suppress the story of a Playboy model, Karen McDougal, who said she had had an affair with Mr. Trump.
“I need to open up a company for the transfer of all that info regarding our friend David,” Mr. Cohen said on the recording. Mr. Trump directed Mr. Cohen to “pay with cash.”