Former US President Donald Trump awaits the start of proceedings in Manhattan Criminal Court on April 23, 2024.
Yuki Iwamura | Reuters
Donald Trump’s criminal trial in New York resumed Thursday with more testimony from David Pecker, the former publisher of the National Enquirer and a key figure in the former president’s alleged hush-money scheme.
Pecker’s testimony comes as Trump’s lawyers will argue before the Supreme Court that he cannot be prosecuted in a federal election interference case in Washington, D.C., because he was president when the alleged crimes occurred.
The court conflict underscores how Republican presidential candidate Trump has been plagued by numerous legal disputes in his campaign against President Joe Biden.
Trump must face a criminal trial in Manhattan Supreme Court. Judge Juan Merchant rejected Trump’s request Thursday to skip at least part of his trial day for oral arguments before the Supreme Court.
The trial officially began with opening statements on Monday and is expected to last six weeks.
Trump has been accused of falsifying business records as part of a scheme to influence the 2016 presidential election and buying the silence of porn star Stormy Daniels, who Daniels said she married to Trump when he was married several years ago. Have had sexual relations.
In his testimony on Tuesday, Pecker detailed how he agreed to help Trump’s 2016 campaign, alerting the then-candidate of damaging messages and working to keep them from the public. He described his involvement in a deal to pay a former Trump Tower janitor $30,000 for telling a story about a child Trump fathered with a maid.
Peck argued that while he believed the story was untrue, he purchased the exclusive rights to the story in order to “remove it from the market.”
“I decided to buy the story because it might embarrass the campaign and Mr. Trump,” he testified.
Pecker also said that at the behest of Trump’s then-personal lawyer Michael Cohen, he and his tabloids would “embellished” negative stories about Trump’s political opponents.
This is developing news. Please check back for updates.
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