Former National Enquirer publisher David Pecker described the very first story he 'caught and killed' pursuant to his agreement with Donald Trump and his then-attorney Michael Cohen: a false story from a Trump Tower doorman in 2015.
Information from Eyewitness News, ABC News and the Associated Press"Karen McDougal was a Playboy model," former National Enquirer publisher David Pecker said, recalling how he learned in June 2016 "that there's a Playboy model who is trying to sell a story about a relationship that she had with Donald Trump for a year."
"Did you ever come to believe that Michael Cohen had spoken with Mr. Trump about McDougal's claims?" prosecutor Josh Steinglass asked. Trump, sitting at the defense table, shook his head when Pecker laid out the allegation: that "Donald Trump fathered an illegitimate girl with a maid at Trump Tower." Pecker testified that Cohen later called back to say the story is "absolutely not true" and that Trump "would take a DNA test" -- an apparently new revelation -- but Pecker said it wouldn't be necessary.
The former National Enquirer publisher recalled calling Michael Cohen and explaining that they could purchase the doorman's silence for $30,000 by buying the exclusive rights to his story. He added that it would "probably be the biggest sale of the National Enquirer since the death of Elvis Presley," but noted he would've held it until after the election, citing his agreement with Cohen.
The articles were timed to run just as Trump's rivals were climbing in polls, and some of the allegations - such as articles falsely tying Ted Cruz's father to the assassination of President John F. Kennedy - entered the mainstream via cable news and conservative-leaning talk programs. Merchan on Tuesday reserved decision after a contentious hearing. Prosecutors said at this point they are seeking a fine.
Trump's lawyers had reiterated their argument that his posts about witnesses such as his former personal lawyer Michael Cohen were merely responses to political speech.Last year, Trump was fined $15,000 for twice violating a gag order imposed at his New York civil fraud trial after he made a disparaging social media post about the judge's chief law clerk.
When the judge asked for citations to cases to back that supposition up, Blanche said he didn't have any, but "it's just common sense." David Pecker, the former National Enquirer publisher who prosecutors say worked with Trump and Trump's lawyer, Michael Cohen, on a so-called "catch-and-kill" strategy to buy up and then spike negative stories during the campaign, testified briefly Monday and will be back on the stand Tuesday in the Manhattan trial.
A defense lawyer countered by attacking the integrity of the onetime Trump confidant who's now the government's star witness. During his brief testimony, Pecker suggested that former National Enquirer chief content officer Dylan Howard - an alleged participant in the catch-and-kill scheme - will be unable to testify due to a medical condition.David Pecker, the National Enquirer's former publisher and a longtime friend of Donald Trump, was the first witness to take the stand in the former president's hush money trial on Monday.
Pecker cackled loudly into the microphone, jolting the room, when prosecutor Josh Steinglass, asked him about his various phone numbers that he struggled to remember. "He has a goal, an obsession, with getting Trump. I submit to you he cannot be trusted," Blanche said. Amid frequent objections from prosecutors, Blanche argued that the Manhattan district attorney has attempted to make the payments and non-disclosure agreements between Trump and Stormy Daniels "sinister" to the jury.
Todd Blanche portrayed the business ledger entries at issue in the case as pro forma actions performed by a Trump Organization functionary. "President Trump had nothing to do with any of the 34 pieces of paper, the 34 counts, except that he signed the checks, in the White House, while he was running the country."
Colangelo added that the evidence would show that while Trump is a "very frugal businessman," when it came to reimbursing Cohen, Trump paid him double. Colangelo told jurors that prominent Trump allies withdrew their endorsements and condemned his language. The prosecutor said evidence would show the Republican National Committee even considered whether it was possible to replace Trump with another candidate.Prosecutors in Donald Trump's criminal trial honed in on what they called a "catch-and-kill" operation at the center of the allegations in the hush money case.
"The defendant, Donald Trump, orchestrated a criminal scheme to corrupt the 2016 presidential election. Then he covered up that criminal conspiracy by lying in his New York business records over and over and over again," prosecutor Matthew Colangelo told jurors. Merchan limited the scope of the cases and the extent to which prosecutors can question him about the facts of those cases.
According to Bragg, Trump engaged in a scheme with his then-lawyer Michael Cohen and others to influence the 2016 election by suppressing negative information about Trump, including a $130,000 hush-money payment to suppress information about Trump's alleged sexual encounter with porn actress Stephanie Clifford a.k.a. Stormy Daniels.
Defense lawyers have not yet clearly articulated a contrasting theory of the case, but recent filings suggest they plan to target the credibility of important witnesses, suggest the case was politically motivated, and argue that Trump did not intend to commit a crime. He lives in Harlem and said he normally gets his news from the New York Times, Daily Mail, Fox News and MSNBC. In his spare time, he said he enjoys doing "anything outdoorsy."When asked if he was aware of Trump's other criminal cases, he responded, "I've heard of some of them.
Asked by ADA Steinglass if he could keep an open mind, he responded, "I'd have to wait to hear everything and see if it's compelling or not."Juror 3 is a corporate attorney who moved to New York from Oregon. He has worked at two major white-shoe law firms in New York. He was replaced Thursday with a security engineer who has lived in New York for more than a decade. He once served on a grand jury and a criminal trial jury. He is originally from California and listed his hobbies as his "children," metalworking, and carpentry.
She normally gets her news from Google and TikTok, listens to inspirational podcasts, and sometimes listens to the Breakfast Club radio show. She said that she "doesn't really care for the news."She grew up in New York City and lives in Chelsea. She said she gets her news from the New York Times and TikTok. In her spare time, she enjoys plays, restaurants, dancing and watching TV.
"I fully believe that I can follow the judge's instructions," she said when asked about her ability to apply common sense to the case. "I don't like some of my co-workers but I don't try to sabotage their work," she said, drawing an outburst of laughter from the jury box."I don't like some of my coworkers," she replied awkwardly, drawing more laughter.
Trump's lawyers will likely attack the case by trying to undermine the credibility of prosecution witnesses like Cohen and Daniels. Trump has described the two as liars, testing the limits of a gag order that the judge imposed. It seeks to curtail the president's inflammatory rhetoric about the case.
If Trump is convicted, Merchan could also weigh his "history and character" when determining the former president's sentence.
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