A New York judge on Friday rejected prosecutors’ attempts to enter a 1999 interview between Donald Trump and Larry King into evidence in the ex-president’s hush money trial.
State Supreme Court Judge Juan Merchan said the clip, which focused on Mr. Trump’s knowledge of campaign finance laws, was too inconsistent with the facts in the case and was taped decades before relevant events.
Prosecutors wanted to introduce the tape because they’re trying to prove that Mr. Trump quashed negative stories about him in 2016 in a way that could have violated election laws. The defense said playing the clip would be unfair, in part because election laws had changed.
Judge Merchan sided with the defense, giving them a boost one day after he rejected their bids for a mistrial and exemptions to a gag order on Mr. Trump.
Prosecutors allege Mr. Trump and his lawyer, Michael Cohen, paid $130,000 to suppress a story from porn star Stormy Daniels about an alleged sexual encounter in 2006 — then took illegal steps to conceal the payment.
Mr. Trump has pleaded not guilty to 34 counts of falsifying business records and denies the sex encounter with Ms. Daniels.
Prosecutors say Mr. Trump was a highly engaged boss who would have known about a series of checks to Mr. Cohen, allegedly reimbursements for the payment, at the heart of the charges.
They pointed to correspondence that shows Trump Organization employees seeking Mr. Trump’s approval to buy picture frames and to continue membership dues at a New York golf club during his presidency.
The defense pushed back through Madeleine Westerhout, an aide who managed Oval Office traffic early in Mr. Trump’s presidency.
She testified that he was often busy in the White House and would sign documents while multitasking.
“Would you see him signing things without reviewing them?” Trump attorney Susan Necheles asked.
“Yes,” Ms. Westerhout said.
Ms. Westerhout also emphasized a key line for the defense — that Mr. Trump was upset about Ms. Daniels’ story because his family would hear it.
“My understanding was that he knew it would be hurtful to his family,” Ms. Westerhout said regarding a 2018 Wall Street Journal story about Ms. Daniels and the hush payment.
• This story is based in part on wire service reports.