Judge Merchan Hands Trump a Win

Judge Juan Merchan handed former President Donald Trump a win in his hush money payment trial on Friday.

Merchan, the judge overseeing the trial, sided with Trump's legal team on whether a piece of evidence could be introduced, according to Newsweek reporter Katherine Fung, who has been covering the trial from inside the courtroom.

"Merchan sides with the defense on the Larry King interview. The prosecution will not be allowed to introduce it," Fung wrote in a post to X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter.

Trump's attorney Emil Bove argued the 1999 interview between King and Trump should not be admitted as evidence because it is "not relevant with President Trump's state of mind in 2016 and 2017," Fung reported.

In the interview, Trump discussed his knowledge about campaign finance when asked by King about his opinions on campaign finance reform.

"I think nobody knows more about campaign finance than I do because I am the biggest contributor," he said.

Merchan agreed to not allow the evidence be introduced because it could be a stretch that he remembers the laws 17 years later, according to Jose Pagliery, a reporter for The Daily Beast.

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

Trump is facing trial in New York City on 34 counts of falsifying business records related to a hush money payment allegedly made to adult film actor Stormy Daniels ahead of the 2016 presidential election. Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg alleged the payment was meant to prevent her from speaking publicly about her claims of having an affair with the former president.

Trump, the presumptive 2024 Republican presidential nominee, has denied having an affair with Daniels and pleaded not guilty to all criminal charges. He maintains his innocence and has accused Bragg and other prosecutors of targeting him for political purposes, criticizing the trial as a form of election interference.

Earlier on Friday, Judge Merchan rejected a subpoena from Trump's legal team seeking to compel evidence from Mark Pomerantz, a prosecutor who formerly worked in Bragg's office and resigned over frustration with the investigation.

The jury in the case heard testimony from Daniels, who answered questions from both prosecutors and Trump's defense lawyers. On Friday, Madeline Westerhout, Trump's former executive assistant in the White House resumed her testimony that began on Thursday.

Daniel Dixon, a custodian of records for AT&T, Jen Tamalin, a custodian of records for Verizon, and Georgia Longstreet, a paralegal from the DA's office, also testified on Friday.

Trump's former attorney Michael Cohen is expected to testify beginning on Monday. He allegedly made the $130,000 payment to Stormy Daniels and is a key witness in the case.