The first witness in Donald Trump’s Manhattan criminal trial, National Enquirer publisher David Packer, testified today that he made a “highly confidential” agreement with him to use his tabloid publication to help the tycoon campaign of, in the 2016 presidential elections.
Packer, 72, told the court that in a meeting in August 2015, he told Trump that the Enquirer would publish stories favorable to the billionaire Republican and “be on the lookout” for women who wanted to sell stories that might be against him .
“When someone is running for public office like this, it’s very common for these women to call magazines like the National Enquirer and try to sell their story,” she testified.
Peker told an editor to keep the deal secret. “I told him we were going to try to help the (Trump) campaign and to do that we wanted to keep it as low-key as possible,” he explained.
Prosecutors say Packer’s actions helped Trump deceive voters in the 2016 election by “burying” reports of the presidential candidate’s alleged extramarital affairs at a time when he was already under accusations of misconduct. Prosecutors have charged Trump with falsifying business documents to cover up a $130,000 payment to porn star Stormy Daniels to buy her silence. Trump has pleaded not guilty and denies having an affair with Daniels in 2006. His lawyers insist he committed no crime and acted in this way to protect his name.
Peker said he has known Trump since the 1980s and once collaborated with him on a magazine titled “Trump Style.” He said the National Enquirer has consistently featured stories about Trump on its front pages and a poll showed 80 percent of its readers would vote for him if he ran for the US presidency.
American Media, the company that owned the magazine, admitted in 2018 that it paid Karen McDougal, a former Playboy model, $150,000 to buy the story of her months-long affair with Trump in 2006-7. American Media, which it says acted this way with the knowledge of Trump’s campaign staff, never published the report.
Earlier, Judge Juan Mercan considered a request by prosecutors to fine Trump $10,000 for violating an order barring him from commenting on trial witnesses, court officials and their relatives. Merchan declined to rule on the request, but also rejected Trump’s lawyer Tony Blanch’s claim that his client was responding to “political attacks” he received and not intimidating witnesses.
“You presented nothing. I asked you eight or nine times, show me the post he was responding to. You failed to do it even once. I have to tell you that you are losing credibility in court,” Mercan said to the defense attorney.
After the proceedings concluded, Trump reiterated the claim that the “silence order” violated his constitutional right to free speech. “This is a travesty of a trial and the judge should recuse himself,” he wrote on his platform, Truth Social.
Prosecutor Christopher Conroy argued that Trump violated the court order because he called Daniels and his former lawyer (and current prosecution witness) Michael Cohen “sluts” in an April 10 post. He pointed out that there were other posts that prompted a juror to recuse herself, fearing her identity would be revealed.
“He knows he’s not allowed to do this, but he does it anyway. His disobedience is premeditated. It’s intentional,” Conroy emphasized. He explained that he is asking for Trump to be fined, not 30 days in jail, as state law dictates a judge can decide.
“The defendant seems to be going for it,” Conroy commented.
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Table of Contents
Donald Trump’s Manhattan Criminal Trial: David Pecker Testifies on Hush Money Payments
The Manhattan criminal trial of former President Donald Trump has taken a significant turn with the testimony of David Pecker, the former publisher of the National Enquirer. Pecker, 72, told the court that he made a “highly confidential” agreement with Trump to use his tabloid publication to help the tycoon’s campaign in the 2016 presidential elections [[1]][[2]].
According to Pecker, in a meeting in August 2015, he told Trump that the Enquirer would publish stories favorable to the billionaire Republican and “be on the lookout” for women who wanted to sell stories that might be damaging to Trump’s reputation [[1]]. Pecker explained that it was common for women to call magazines like the National Enquirer and try to sell their stories when someone is running for public office like Trump [[1]].
Prosecutors allege that Pecker’s actions helped Trump deceive voters in the 2016 election by “burying” reports of the presidential candidate’s alleged extramarital affairs at a time when he was already under accusations of misconduct [[1]]. Trump has been charged with falsifying business documents to cover up a $130,000 payment to porn star Stormy Daniels to buy her silence, which he denies [[1]].
Pecker’s testimony revealed that he had known Trump since the 1980s and had once collaborated with him on a magazine titled “Trump Style” [[1]]. He also stated that the National Enquirer had consistently featured stories about Trump on its front pages and a poll showed 80 percent of its readers would vote for him if he ran for the US presidency [[1]].
American Media, the company that owned the National Enquirer, admitted in 2018 that it paid Karen McDougal, a former Playboy model, $150,000 to buy the story of her months-long affair with Trump in 2006-7 [[1]]. American Media claimed that it acted with the knowledge of Trump’s campaign staff, but never published the report [[1]].
In a related development, Judge Juan Mercan considered a request by prosecutors to fine Trump $10,000 for violating an order barring him from commenting on trial witnesses, court officials, and their relatives [[1]]. Mercan declined to rule on the request, but rejected Trump’s lawyer Tony Blanch’s claim that his client was responding to “political attacks” and not intimidating witnesses [[1]].
After the proceedings concluded, Trump reiterated the claim that the “silence order” violated his constitutional right to free speech [[1]]. However, prosecutor Christopher Conroy argued that Trump violated the court order by calling Daniels and his former lawyer (and current prosecution witness) Michael Cohen “sluts” in an April 10 post [[1]]. Conroy emphasized that Trump’s disobedience was premeditated and intentional [[1]].
The trial has also taken a dramatic turn with the revelation that Pecker was targeted in a fake emergency, known as “swatting,” on the same day he testified at Trump’s trial [[3]]. The incident highlights the level of controversy and drama surrounding Trump’s legal troubles.
As the trial continues, the world watches with bated breath, awaiting the outcome of this high-stakes legal battle. Will Trump be found guilty of falsifying business records and covering up a hush money payment to Stormy Daniels? Only time will tell.
References:
[[1]]https://www.reuters.com/world/us/former-tabloid-publisher-face-more-questions-trump-hush-money-trial-2024-04-26/
[[2]]https://abcnews.go.com/US/david-pecker-testified-trump-stories-national-enquirer-gold/story?id=109708606
[[3]]https://www.reuters.com/world/us/ex-tabloid-publisher-david-pecker-witness-trump-trial-swatting-target-2024-05-06/
Title: Donald Trump’s Manhattan Criminal Trial: A Web of Deceit and Obstruction
Subtitle: National Enquirer Publisher David Packer Testifies, Trump Faces Accusations of Falsifying Business Documents and Intimidating Witnesses
The Manhattan criminal trial of former President Donald Trump took a dramatic turn as the first witness, National Enquirer publisher David Packer, testified about a “highly confidential” agreement to help Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign. Packer revealed that he told Trump he would publish stories favorable to the billionaire Republican and “be on the lookout” for women who wanted to sell stories that might be against him [[1]].
Prosecutors allege that Packer’s actions helped Trump deceive voters in the 2016 election by “burying” reports of the presidential candidate’s alleged extramarital affairs. Trump has been charged with falsifying business documents to cover up a $130,000 payment to porn star Stormy Daniels to buy her silence. He has pleaded not guilty and denies having an affair with Daniels in 2006 [[1]].
Packer’s testimony shed light on the extent of Trump’s efforts to suppress negative stories about him during the election. He told the court that he instructed an editor to keep the deal secret, saying, “I told him we were going to try to help the (Trump) campaign and to do that we wanted to keep it as low-key as possible” [[1]].
Meanwhile, Judge Juan Mercan is considering a request by prosecutors to fine Trump $10,000 for violating an order barring him from commenting on trial witnesses, court officials, and their relatives. Trump’s lawyer, Tony Blanch, claimed that his client was responding to “political attacks” and not intimidating witnesses, but Mercan rejected this argument, citing a lack of evidence [[1]].
Trump has been vocal about his disdain for the “silence order,” claiming it violates his constitutional right to free speech. He wrote on his platform, Truth Social, “This is a travesty of a trial and the judge should recuse himself” [[1]].
Prosecutor Christopher Conroy argued that Trump knowingly violated the court order by calling Daniels and his former lawyer, Michael Cohen, “sluts” in an April 10 post. Conroy emphasized that Trump’s disobedience was premeditated and intentional, and he is asking for Trump to be fined, not 30 days in jail, as state law dictates [[1]].
This developments come as Trump faces multiple legal battles, including a trial in the Southern District of Florida and several other cases [[2]] [[3]]. The former president is accused of fraud, election subversion, and obstruction, among other charges.
As the trial continues, one thing is clear: Donald Trump’s legal troubles are far from over. With multiple cases against him and accusations of deceit and obstruction, the former president’s reputation is on the line.
References:
