NEW YORK (AP) — Donald Trump’s legal team calls for presidential election hush money case On Friday, it called for testimony from the prosecution’s chief witness and his explanation that helping tabloids bury embarrassing stories about Trump was part of a plan to aid the 2016 Republican campaign. Ta.
Former National Enquirer publisher David Pecker returned to the stand for the fourth day as the defense sought to poke holes in testimony that could be important to prosecutors in the former U.S. president’s first criminal trial. , furious about his own memory and past statements.
Mr. Pecker’s testimony gave jurors a shocking inside look at the supermarket tabloid’s “catch-and-kill” practice of buying the rights to stories before they ever see the light of day. This is a key component to prosecutors’ theory that President Trump illegally tried to influence the 2016 campaign by suppressing negative stories about his personal life.
Under cross-examination, Trump’s lawyers laid out the basis for their argument that Trump’s dealings with Pecker were meant to protect Trump, his reputation and his family, not his campaign. It seemed like it was being built.
The defense also argued that long before the August 2015 meeting between Trump, Pecker and then-Trump attorney Michael Cohen, the tabloids published negative comments about Trump’s rival Hillary Clinton in 2016. I tried to prove that I had published an article. Pecker said he agreed to help the Trump campaign at the time.
Under questioning from Trump’s lawyer Emile Bove, Pecker acknowledged that the term “catch-and-kill” was not mentioned at the meeting. Pecker said the meeting also didn’t discuss “economic aspects,” such as the National Enquirer paying people for the rights to articles on Trump’s behalf.
Bove also confronted Pecker about statements Pecker made to federal prosecutors in 2018 that defense attorneys said were “inconsistent” with testimony from his former publisher.
Pecker told jurors that President Trump thanked him for helping bury both stories during a visit to the White House in 2017. But according to a memo read by Bove in court, Pecker told federal authorities that Trump did not express any gratitude to him during the meeting.
“Was that a mistake again?” Beauvais asked Pecker.
Pecker stuck to the explanation he gave in court, adding: “I know what the truth is.”
“For as long as I can remember, I have told the truth,” Pecker told jurors at the end of Bove’s cross-examination on Friday afternoon.
His testimony caps a critical week in the criminal case facing the former president as he seeks to retake the White House in November.
At the same time, jurors heard testimony Thursday in Manhattan Supreme Court. indicated a high probability of rejection Trump has widely claimed immunity from prosecution in the 2020 election interference scandal in Washington. However, the high court, which has a majority of conservatives, appears to be moving toward limiting the timing of prosecutions of former presidents. Ruling that could favor Trump That trial could be postponed until after the November election.
In New York — President Trump’s first Four criminal cases go to trial — Presumptive Republican presidential candidate He faces 34 felony counts of falsifying business records. It was aimed at curbing negative stories surfacing in the final days of the 2016 election campaign related to hush money payments.
Trump denies any wrongdoing. Before entering court Friday, he told reporters he believed Thursday’s hearing went “very well” for the defense, adding: “The case should be over.”
The charges center on a $130,000 payment made by Mr. Trump’s company to Mr. Cohen.He paid that amount on Trump’s behalf to keep porn actor stormy daniels She also never went public with her claims about sexual encounters with Trump a decade ago. President Trump has denied that any such contact occurred.
On the witness stand, Mr. Pecker spent several days talking about how tabloid newspapers use rumor-mongering techniques to craft flashy articles slandering President Trump’s opponents and, just as importantly, shady stories about Mr. Trump. He explained how he used his personal connections to suppress the article.
Trump’s lawyers focused on a 2018 non-prosecution agreement between the federal government and American Media, the parent company of the National Enquirer.
The company admitted to engaging in a “catch-and-kill” practice to aid the Trump campaign, and prosecutors awarded Playboy model Karen McDougal $150,000 for the rights to her article about her alleged affair with Trump. They agreed not to prosecute the company for paying the amount. He denies her affair.
Mr. Trump’s lawyers said Mr. Pecker may have felt pressured to accept a deal offered to newsstand operator Hudson News Group to sell his company for $100 million. suggested repeatedly.
“We knew we had to clear the investigation in order to get that deal done,” Bove said.
After a few seconds of silence, Mr. Pecker answered in the affirmative. But Pecker also said he was “not under any pressure” to reach a non-prosecution agreement to complete his deal.
In the end, the deal fell through.
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Richer reported from Washington.
