Thread by @Z_Everson

Keith Davidson, Stormy Daniels’ ex-lawyer who took the stand on Tuesday in Trump's criminal trial, also filed a sexual assault case against the estranged son of Don Hankey, the billionaire who recently bailed Trump out.

Let's unpack all that.

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forbes.com/sites/zachever…

Keith Davidson represented Stormy Daniels and Karen McDougal when they separately approached Trump for hush-money payments in 2016.

Yesterday he described how the arrangements came about. Davidson also testified that it was his belief Trump was behind the deals.

2/

Daniels later sued Davidson, alleging that after she signed the NDA, Davidson breached his obligations as an attorney by colluding with Cohen to take actions that benefited Trump. They settled.

McDougal made similar claims against Davidson.

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forbes.com/sites/zachever…

Keith Davidson entered Don Hankey’s orbit, meanwhile, in April 2020, when the attorney filed a civil lawsuit in Los Angeles on behalf of three Jane Does against Hankey’s son, Don Rufus Hankey.

4/

forbes.com/sites/zachever…

The suit accuses Rufus Hankey of
-sexual assault
-false imprisonment
-forced trafficked sex acts
-spreading “dreaded STDs,” including HPV, herpes, gonorrhea & chlamydia

Hankey has denied the allegations & filed a cross-complaint alleging extortion

5/

documentcloud.org/documents/2453…

When one of the women confronted Rufus Hankey after she tested positive for an STD, according to the complaint Davidson filed, Hankey replied, “Fuck off you whore–that is what you get! Plus, you probably got it from your mom.”

6/

documentcloud.org/documents/2453…

After 2.5 years of pretrial proceedings, two of the Jane Does agreed to a stipulated judgment with Rufus Hankey, resolving all allegations. According to the court filing and a person with knowledge of the arrangement, no money changed hands.

7/

forbes.com/sites/zachever…

Jane Doe No. 1, however, has continued to pursue her claims.

She has been doing it w/out an attorney though: days after two of his three clients agreed to the stipulated judgment, with the potential for a big payday diminished, Davidson filed a motion to quit the case.

8/

In August 2023, the judge denied Rufus Hankey’s motions for a summary judgment in the case.

A trial is scheduled to begin later in May, without Davidson involved.

9/

forbes.com/sites/zachever…

Don Hankey said he was not aware of the case. Rufus left the family biz more than 10 years ago & they only see each other once every 2 years.

“Now I see why insurance companies and banks are afraid to do business with Trump,” Hankey said in response to Forbes’ inquiries.

10/

Bunch more info in the article, so please give it a read.

And, yes, it's behind a paywall. At least six people worked on that article (thank you!). Our work has value, and we deserve to be paid for it. Ad revenue alone doesn't do the trick.

11/11

forbes.com/sites/zachever…