Karen McDougal Not Testifying Signals ‘Bad News’ for Trump—Legal Analyst

Ex-President Donald Trump received “bad news” in his New York criminal trial when prosecutors announced that former Playboy model Karen McDougal will not take the stand, according to legal analyst Glenn Kirschner.

The prosecution contends that before the 2016 presidential election, Trump paid, or discussed paying adult film star Stormy Daniels and McDougal to not disclose his alleged affairs with them. Trump was charged with 34 felony counts of falsifying business records to allegedly conceal payments to Daniels. He has pleaded not guilty and denies that the affairs took place.

Trump lawyer Todd Blanche told Justice Juan Merchan in court on Thursday that the prosecution “no longer intend to call Ms. McDougal,” prompting prosecutor Joshua Steinglass to say that it was”never affirmatively indicated” that McDougal would be a witness, despite her being “on the witness list.”

Kirschner, a former federal prosecutor and a frequent critic of the former president, argued that the decision to not use McDougal “spells bad news for Trump” while sharing a related video on Friday to X, formerly Twitter.

“After Stormy Daniels completed her testimony, NY prosecutors decided they didn’t need to call Karen McDougal as a trial witness,” wrote Kirschner. “This spells bad news for Trump.”

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After Stormy Daniels completed her testimony, NY prosecutors decided they didn’t need to call Karen McDougal as a trial witness. This spells bad news for Trump. pic.twitter.com/qC0sLRTF29

— Glenn Kirschner (@glennkirschner2) May 10, 2024

In the video, which consists of clips taken from a recent episode of Kirschner’s podcast Justice Matters, the legal analyst said that the prosecution likely decided they no longer “need” McDougal due to her not being directly tied to the criminal charges and because of successful testimony from Daniels.

“There are no criminal charges, no falsifying business records, involving Karen McDougal,” Kirschner said. “So, the charged offenses—the 34 felony charges of falsifying business records—deal exclusively with the records that Trump and Cohen and [former Trump Organization CFO Allen] Weisselberg falsified to cover up the Stormy Daniels payments.”

“The prosecutors almost certainly believe the evidence is coming in well, the witnesses are withstanding cross-examination,” he continued. “Heck, it sounds like Stormy Daniels was getting the better of Donald Trump’s defense attorney…The prosecutors, very likely for that reason, decided, ‘We don’t need Karen McDougal.'”

Newsweek reached out for comment to Blanche via email on Friday night.

In a statement to Newsweek, Trump spokesperson Steven Cheung previously called Kirschner “a notorious trafficker of wild conspiracy theories and dubious legal analysis” who “has been shunned by the legal community at large.”

New York University law professor Stephen Gillers told Newsweek that the prosecution may have decided against using McDougal because her alleged year-long affair with Trump, which took place while Melania Trump was pregnant with the couple’s son Barron, might “reflect well on” the ex-president.

Gillers also suggested that McDougal allegedly being paid off by former National Enquirer publisher David Pecker instead of Cohen or Trump may have played a role in her not being called to the stand.

“I think it may be a combination of the fact that Daniels held up pretty well, McDougal wasn’t paid by Trump or Cohen, not wishing to inflict another salacious witness on the jury, and perhaps some of McDougal’s testimony will reflect well on Trump with whom she had a long-term affair,” said Gillers.