The next witness in the criminal trial of Donald J. Trump is Keith Davidson, a lawyer who negotiated two deals before the 2016 election that paid women from Mr. Trump’s past in exchange for their silence about sexual or romantic relationships with him.
Mr. Davidson, who practiced in Beverly Hills, Calif., represented Karen McDougal, a former Playboy model who was paid $150,000 by The National Enquirer’s parent company for the rights to her story about a 10-month affair with Mr. Trump starting in 2006.
He also represented Stormy Daniels, a former porn star who was paid $130,000 by Michael Cohen, Mr. Trump’s longtime lawyer and fixer, to remain silent about her account of having sex with Mr. Trump, also in 2006. Mr. Davidson drafted the hush-money agreement that used the pseudonyms “Peggy Peterson” for Ms. Daniels and “David Dennison” for Mr. Trump.
The payments for both women were initially wired to Mr. Davidson, who no longer represents either Ms. Daniels or Ms. McDougal.
Mr. Trump is charged with falsifying records at his company to disguise his repayment of the hush money to Mr. Cohen as legal fees. He has denied wrongdoing, and said he did not have sex with Ms. Daniels or an affair with Ms. McDougal.
Mr. Davidson could be a useful witness to the Manhattan district attorney’s office because he was directly involved in both deals, which prosecutors have cast as the products of a conspiracy to suppress negative news about Mr. Trump before the 2016 election.
In court, a prosecutor, Matthew Colangelo, read a text that Mr. Davidson wrote to the former editor of The Enquirer, Dylan Howard, on election night as it became clear Mr. Trump would win.
“What have we done?” Mr. Davidson wrote, according to Mr. Colangelo.
Mr. Trump’s lawyers are likely to try to discredit Mr. Davidson, whom the former Enquirer publisher David Pecker testified last week was a “major source” of information for Mr. Howard. The lawyer, Emil Bove, also mentioned that Mr. Davidson had a prior relationship with Mr. Cohen, suggesting he may try to convince jurors that Mr. Davidson, Mr. Howard and Mr. Cohen were pursuing their own agenda, not protecting Mr. Trump.
Mr. Trump has also said the deal with Ms. Daniels was “extortion,” and it is possible that his lawyers will make a similar suggestion when questioning Mr. Davidson.
