On April 26, 2024, at the Manhattan State Court in New York City, the United States, David Pecker was cross-examined by Emil Bove during the criminal trial of former US President Donald Trump. Accused of falsifying business records to hide money paid to silence porn star Stormy Daniels in 2016 in this courtroom sketch.
Jane Rosenberg | Reuters
Editor’s note: This is dynamic news and will be updated throughout the day.
The jury in Donald Trump’s criminal hush-money trial will resume its second day of deliberations on Thursday, rehearing testimony in New York from David Pecker, the former supermarket tabloid publisher who helped suppress allegations of corruption during Trump’s presidency. Negative coverage of Republicans.
Jurors will also rehear testimony from Trump’s former personal lawyer and fixer Michael Cohen, who paid $130,000 to porn star Stormy Daniels shortly before the 2016 election. is the basis for criminal charges at trial.
The 12-member jury also asked to rehear instructions on the law from Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Juan Merchan before starting its first day of deliberations on Wednesday.
Jurors met behind closed doors to discuss possible verdicts for several hours before sending out two separate notes in the afternoon asking to reread portions of Peck and Cohen’s testimony and Merchant’s instructions. The judge said he would hear the pleas on Thursday and then send them home.
Trump is charged with 34 felonies in the case, including falsifying business records detailing how he and his companies repaid Daniels to Cohen, which prevented Cohen from telling the media about his relationship with Trump a decade before the election. Commonly suspected of sexual trysts.
The records claimed the reimbursement was for legal fees.
Prosecutors and Cohen said that obscured the fact that it was actually an attempt to prevent Daniels from harming Trump’s then-shaky campaign.
“Mother Teresa cannot overturn these charges,” Trump told reporters after jurors began deliberating on Tuesday. “These charges are rigged.”
The Republican presidential candidate claims the criminal case, along with three others he faces, is aimed at hurting his chances of defeating President Joe Biden in the November election.
Parts of Pecker’s testimony that jurors will hear again detail a phone conversation the former American Media Inc. publisher had with Trump during a June 2016 investor meeting, as well as his account of the August 2015 Trump attack in Manhattan. Testimony of meetings with Trump and Cohen at Trump Tower.
They will also rehear Pecker’s testimony that the US media never finalized the transfer of former Playboy model Karen McDougall’s alleged life rights to Trump.
Peck’s company purchased McDougal’s life rights in 2016 for $150,000 as part of a plan to prevent her from writing or telling reporters about her alleged time as Trump’s mistress.
Trump has denied having sex with McDougal or Daniels, but Cohen testified that he was directed by Trump to arrange the hush-money payments to both men.
In Pecker’s testimony about the Trump Tower meeting, he said Trump and Cohen “asked me what I could do and what my magazine could do to help the campaign.”
On April 25, 2024, in the Manhattan State Court in New York City, the United States, former US President Donald Trump watched David Pecker testify during Trump’s criminal trial. He was accused of falsifying business records and concealing a 2016 payment for the porn star Sri Lanka. Tommy Daniels paid for his silence.
Jane Rosenberg | Reuters
“What I said I would do is I would campaign or publish positive stories about Mr. Trump and I would publish negative stories about his opponents,” Pecker testified. “I said I would be the eyes and ears, Because I know the Trump Organization has very few employees.”
“Then I said, anything I hear in the market, if I hear anything negative about yourself, or if I hear anything about women selling stories, I’m going to notify Michael Cohen, like I As I had done over the past few years, I would inform Michael Cohen and he could have them killed in another magazine or have them not be published or someone would have to buy them,” Peck testified.
Cohen corroborated Peck’s account in testimony about the same meeting.
Cohen testified that Trump said he told Cohen and Pecker, “You two should work together. If anything negative comes up, let Michael know and we’ll handle it.”
Pecker followed through on that promise, reminding Cohen of salacious stories about Trump and publishing smears in the National Enquirer about his Republican primary rival and that year’s Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton.
Pecker testified that during a phone call with Trump in late June 2016, the then-presidential candidate said: “I talked to Michael. Karen is a good girl.”
Trump then asked: “Does a Mexican group really want to buy her story for $8 million?” Pecker testified.
“I said, ‘I absolutely don’t believe that a Mexican group would pay $8 million for a story,'” Pecker testified about his response to Trump.
“Then he said, ‘What do you think I should do?'” Peck testified. “I said: ‘I think you should buy this story and take it off the market.’ “
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