David Pecker, the former publisher of the National Enquirer, did not look at Donald Trump while walking by him on his way back to the witness stand at the former president’s hush money trial Thursday in New York. Pecker testified that Trump invited him to a White House dinner in July 2017 to thank him for helping the campaign — and asked for an update on former Playboy model Karen McDougal. The Enquirer had paid McDougal for the rights to her story claiming an affair with Trump and then kept it under wraps, Pecker testified earlier.
Here’s the latest:
Quick Read
- Continued Testimony: Donald Trump returned to court as the trial resumed with further witness testimony. The focus remained on his interactions with David Pecker, the former publisher of the National Enquirer, regarding the suppression of potentially damaging stories during the 2016 presidential campaign.
- Pecker’s Detailed Testimony: David Pecker testified about various interactions with Trump, including a White House dinner where Trump expressed gratitude for Pecker’s role during the campaign. Pecker detailed discussions about Karen McDougal, whom the Enquirer paid to keep her story about an alleged affair with Trump out of the public eye.
- Prosecutors’ Allegations: Prosecutors claim that Trump engineered a “catch-and-kill” strategy through payments to silence stories from individuals like McDougal and Stormy Daniels, labeling these payments falsely as legal expenses. Trump faces 34 felony counts of falsifying business records.
- Simultaneous Supreme Court Hearing: As the trial progressed, the U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments over whether Trump should be immune from prosecution for his actions as president, highlighting the broader legal battles Trump is facing.
- Contentious Exhibits: The trial also saw debates over the admissibility of certain exhibits, including text messages from then-National Enquirer editor Dylan Howard, hinting at his involvement in the electoral process to favor Trump.
- Public and Judicial Responses: The trial continues to draw significant attention, with Trump publicly expressing his views on the proceedings and the judiciary taking steps to potentially initiate contempt proceedings against him for violating a gag order.
The Associated Press has the story:
Trump was furious over McDougal’s CNN interview, Pecker testifies
Newslooks- NEW YORK (AP) —
Donald Trump returned to court Thursday for the third day of witness testimony in his hush money trial. The trial resumed around the same time the U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments in Washington over whether he should be immune from prosecution for actions he took during his time as president.
At his trial in Manhattan, veteran tabloid publisher David Pecker took the stand again Thursday after testifying previously about his longtime friendship with the former president and a pledge he made to be the “eyes and ears” of Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign.
The testimony was sought to bolster prosecutors’ premise that Trump sought to illegally influence the 2016 election through a “catch-and-kill” strategy to buy up and then spike negative stories. Key to that premise are so-called hush money payments that were paid to porn actor Stormy Daniels and former Playboy model Karen McDougal, along with the doorman.
Prosecutors say Trump obscured the true nature of those payments and falsely recorded them as legal expenses. He has pleaded not guilty to 34 felony counts of falsifying business records.
The case is the first-ever criminal trial of a former U.S. president and the first of four prosecutions of Trump to reach a jury.
PECKER IS BACK ON THE WITNESS STAND
David Pecker, the former publisher of the National Enquirer, did not look at Donald Trump while walking by him on his way back to the witness stand at the former president’s hush money trial Thursday in New York.
Pecker testified that Trump invited him to a White House dinner in July 2017 to thank him for helping the campaign — and asked for an update on former Playboy model Karen McDougal. The Enquirer had paid McDougal for the rights to her story claiming an affair with Trump and then kept it under wraps, Pecker testified earlier.
Trump was furious when McDougal gave an interview to CNN’s Anderson Cooper in March 2018, Pecker testified.
“I thought you had and we had an agreement with Karen McDougal that she can’t give any interviews or be on any TV channels,” Pecker testified that Trump told him by phone.
He said he explained to Trump that the agreement had been changed to allow her to speak to the press after a 2016 Wall Street Journal article about his tabloid’s $150,000 payout to McDougal.
“Mr. Trump got very aggravated when he heard that I amended it, and he couldn’t understand why,” Pecker told jurors.
JUDGE SETS STAGE FOR ARGUMENTS ON CONTEMPT
Donald Trump waved his fist as he returned to the courtroom after a lunch break in his hush money trial in New York.
He did not respond to a shouted question about the U.S. Supreme Court, which heard arguments earlier Thursday in his bid to avoid prosecution over his efforts to overturn his 2020 election loss.
Meanwhile, the judge in the New York case signed an order setting in motion arguments, not necessarily immediately, over prosecutors’ request earlier in the day for more contempt findings against Trump.
Prosecutors had already asked the judge to fine Trump over 10 social media posts they say violate a gag order that bars him from making public statements about witnesses and jurors.
Thursday morning, they flagged four additional episodes, including comments at a press event earlier in the day about key witness David Pecker.
PECKER RECALLS MEETING WITH TRUMP BEFORE INAUGURATION
Former National Enquirer publisher David Pecker recalled Thursday a meeting with Donald Trump on Jan. 6, 2017, about two weeks before his inauguration, at which they discussed former Playboy model Karen McDougal.
The testimony came in Trump’s hush money trial in New York shortly before the court broke for lunch.
As Pecker recalled it, Trump introduced him to a group of top aides as the National Enquirer owner and joked: “He probably knows more than anyone in this room.”
After dismissing the aides, Trump asked Pecker for an update on “our girl,” meaning McDougal, according to Pecker. The Enquirer had paid McDougal for the rights to her story claiming an affair with Trump, Pecker testified earlier.
Pecker said he reassured Trump that McDougal was keeping quiet, and Trump thanked him for handling the matters with McDougal and Dino Sajudin, the former doorman at one of Trump’s buildings who was also paid for his claims.
“He said that the stories were very embarrassing,” Pecker recalled.
EX-PUBLISHER RECALLS TRUMP AS ‘VERY UPSET’
Former National Enquirer publisher David Pecker recalled an irate Donald Trump calling him a day after The Wall Street Journal published an article shortly before the 2016 election.
Pecker’s testimony came in his third day on the stand in Trump’s hush money trial in New York, and as arguments at the Supreme Court in Washington in a separate case over Trump’s presidential immunity were concluding.
The Journal article broke the news of the Enquirer’s $150,000 payment to Karen McDougal for the rights to the former Playboy model’s story claiming an affair with Trump.
“Donald Trump was very upset, saying, ‘How could this happen? I thought you had this under control. Either you or one of your people leaked the story,’” Pecker testified.
He said he told Trump that perhaps McDougal or someone connected with her had tipped off the Journal.
“Our call ended very abruptly. He didn’t say goodbye, which was very unusual,” Pecker testified.
Pecker testified that Enquirer owner American Media’s response to the Journal that the company had “not paid people to kill damaging stories about Mr. Trump” was a lie.
“I wanted to protect my company, I wanted to protect myself, and I wanted also to protect Donald Trump,” Pecker explained on the witness stand.
The court broke for lunch shortly afterward. Trump left the courtroom without addressing reporters in the hallway.
TESTIMONY TURNS TO STORMY DANIELS
Former National Enquirer publisher David Pecker was asked by a prosecutor Thursday in Donald Trump’s hush money trial in New York about porn actor Stormy Daniels and her claim of a 2006 sexual encounter with Trump. The former president denies it happened.
On the stand, Pecker recalled the night after the public learned of the infamous “Access Hollywood” tape in which Trump discussed grabbing women sexually without asking permission, when the Enquirer’s editor at the time called with an urgent matter.
The editor said he had heard from Daniels’ representatives that she was trying to sell her story and that the tabloid could acquire it for $120,000 if it decided right away, Pecker told jurors.
Pecker said he put his foot down, noting to the editor that the magazine was already $180,000 in the hole for Trump-related catch-and-kill transactions.
“I said we already paid $30,000 to the doorman, we already paid $150,000 to Karen McDougal,” Pecker recalled. “I am not a bank and we are not paying out any further disbursements or monies.”
At the same time, Pecker said, he told former Trump lawyer and fixer Michael Cohen that he should buy the story and “take it off the market” to avoid it getting out.
A DISPUTE OVER EXHIBITS
While jurors were on a break Thursday in Donald Trump’s hush money trial in New York, both sides debated disputed exhibits that prosecutors want jurors to see.
Some of the disputed evidence, which the judge is keeping out of the trial for now, involved text messages then-National Enquirer editor Dylan Howard exchanged with a relative around the time of Trump’s 2016 election.
“At least if he wins, I’ll be pardoned for electoral fraud,” Howard said in one of the messages, which was read aloud in court by a prosecutor.
In another message, Howard informed his relative that Trump has “just been named president elect.”
The relative’s response — “Oh dear” — elicited laughter from the gallery when it was read in the courtroom.
The messages were not shown in court.
Trump’s lawyers argued the messages were hearsay, not business records, and couldn’t be used as evidence.
The jury then returned to hear more from former National Enquirer publisher David Pecker.
Currently:
— No one is above the law. Supreme Court will decide if that includes Trump while he was president
— Investigator says Trump, allies were uncharged co-conspirators in plot to overturn Michigan election
— Trump trial highlights: David Pecker testifies on ‘catch-and-kill’ scheme
— Key players: Who’s who at Donald Trump’s hush money criminal trial
— The hush money case is just one of Trump’s legal cases. See the others here
— 8 years after the National Enquirer’s deal with Donald Trump, the iconic tabloid is limping badly
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