During cross-examination on the second day of Donald Trump’s criminal trial, his attorney, Emil Bove, attempted to discredit David Pecker, former publisher of the National Enquirer. Pecker’s previous testimony detailed his publication’s involvement in suppressing damaging stories that could have jeopardised Trump’s run for president in 2016.
Amid claims of sexual misconduct directed at the at-the-time presidential candidate, Pecker claimed to have worked with Trump’s campaign to prevent allegations of infidelity from surfacing. Bove raised questions over inconsistencies in Pecker’s account, including his claim that Trump expressed gratitude to him at the White House for managing these adverse reports. This was in direct conflict with an FBI report based on a prior interview with Pecker, which stated Trump offered no such thanks.
Pecker, aged 72, questioned the accuracy of the FBI report and stood by his testimony. He stated to the court’s jurors and alternates that he was confident in his memory and the truth of what he had stated under oath.
Additionally, Bove questioned if Pecker’s statements were consistent with the facts listed in an agreement by the Enquirer’s parent company to assist legal authorities and avoid legal proceedings. Pecker disputed any significant inconsistency.
Central to the case, Pecker’s testimony suggests Trump falsified business documents to disguise hush-money payments to porn actor Stormy Daniels shortly before the 2016 election. Pecker claims his tabloid paid to purchase and suppress two stories and also informed Trump that Daniels was looking to monetise her account of a sexual encounter with Trump.
Trump faces charges in New York for allegedly falsifying business records to hide the payout to Daniels. The former president maintains his innocence and refutes that the claimed encounter ever occurred.
On Thursday, Bove aimed to demonstrate to the jury that Pecker’s tabloid frequently paid for exclusive rights to controversial stories that involved other celebrities and politicians, not just Trump. Pecker confirmed, while responding to Bove’s questions, that it was commonplace for public figures to attempt to manipulate their publicity through the Enquirer and dismiss damaging headlines, giving examples of Arnold Schwarzenegger and Tiger Woods.
The Enquirer reportedly spent substantial sums to acquire stories from women who alleged affairs with Arnold Schwarzenegger during his 2003 campaign for California governorship, according to what he said. Trump was first alerted by Mr. Pecker about an adverse story concerning his then-wife, Marla Maples, back in 1998.
The prosecutor’s office argues that the 2016 election was tampered with due to Mr. Pecker’s dealings with Mr. Trump. To circumvent criminal charges, Mr. Pecker agreed to cooperate. In an unprecedented move, Mr. Trump, a past US president, now faces criminal accusations. The trial, anticipated to extend till May, may be his single completed criminal process out of the four before his November 5th re-election bid against the Democratic President, Joe Biden.
Mr. Trump’s case – which accuses him of attempting to reverse his 2020 defeat to Mr. Biden has been postponed by the US supreme court. This delay stems from considering Mr. Trump’s argument advocating presidential immunity for actions undertaken while in office. On appeal, the predominantly conservative court on Thursday appeared to be leaning in support of offering Mr. Trump a degree of immunity from criminal charges.
In the “hush-money” case, Justice Juan Merchan has yet to pass his ruling on a prosecutor’s request to penalise Mr. Trump for allegedly breaching a gag order. This order restricts him from public criticism of witnesses, several court officials, and their relatives. Justice Merchan has scheduled a hearing next Thursday to study what the prosecution terms as additional violations of the gag order. Each violation could result in Mr. Trump being liable to a $1,000 (€935) penalty or jail term, although at this stage the prosecution is not pressing for incarceration. (Reuters)