On the eve of the Hush Porn trial, and not knowing much of what it is about, I decided to read up a bit. I came across this detailed and hilarious FBI search warrant.
From pages 38 to 57 is the heart of it, if you are interested. I don't know how much of all that crazy activity is illegal, but it just screams illegal to me. Fake shell companies (for "real estate consulting" no less), fake wire transfers, and endless panicked texts, calls and emails between Cohen (Trump's lawyer) Keith Davidson (Stormy Daniels' lawyer), Dylan Howard (National Enquirer boss who was working with Trump to BURY news - not report it) AND Trump himself (and even his staff, like Hope Hicks). Who does crazy stuff like this except criminals?
It will be incredible if Trump takes the stand to get cross-examined on all this. He'd have to be batshift nuts to do so. I don't think he can still deny he had (extra-marital) sex with both Stormy Daniels and the other porn star at this point, so he will have to admit on cross-examination that he had sex and the whole charade orchestrated by Cohen at Trump's direction actually happened and that it was to shut up the porn stars with $$$$$. I think his only defense will be that Cohen told him it was all legal. I don't know how strong "advice of counsel" defenses are, but I'm sure Cohen is going to say that they ALL knew what they were doing was illegal, which is why they conjured up all the fake shell companies and fake wire transfers and fake cover documents and fake public statements. Even the "settlement agreement" between Trump and Stormy Daniels was with fake names (Trump is "David Dennison" and Stormy Daniels is "Peggy Peterson"). What a sham clusterfock. It's hilarious stuff.