Judge smacks down Trump's 'presence-of-counsel' defense in hush money trial

New York state Supreme Court Judge Juan M. Merchan ruled Monday that former President Donald Trump cannot use a "presence-of-counsel" defense at his upcoming hush money trial.

Trump has asked the court for permission to claim he committed 34 felony counts during the "presence" of lawyers and believed the actions were legal. However, Trump did not intend to relinquish attorney-client privilege as required in a traditional advice-of-counsel defense.

"This Court now rules that Defendant may not offer, or even suggest, the defense of 'presence-of-counsel,'" Merchan wrote. "To allow said defense in this matter would effectively permit Defendant to invoke the very defense he has declared he will not rely upon, without the concomitant obligations that come with it."

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The judge also rejected the notion that the opinion of federal prosecutors at the Southern District of New York U.S. Attorneys Office could be used to impeach former Trump lawyer Michael Cohen.

"The People's motion is GRANTED to the extent that Defendant may not impeach witnesses through inadmissible hearsay such as the opinions of federal prosecutors," the ruling explained.

Trump is being prosecuted in New York for involvement in payments made to silence an adult film star, Stormy Daniels. These payments were allegedly made during the 2016 presidential campaign to prevent Daniels from publicly discussing an affair she says she had with Trump. Trump has denied the affair.

The case centers around $130,000 paid to Daniels. Cohen, Trump's former lawyer, has admitted to arranging this payment. He claimed he did so at Trump's direction and was later reimbursed. The charges suggest that the payment was improperly recorded as a legal expense by Trump's company.