On a typical Thursday morning in Manhattan, Donald Trump ventured off to connect with construction workers on a Park Avenue mission, prior to being escorted by his security team to another challenging day in court. The ex-president signed his distinguished signature on red ‘Make America Great Again’ baseball caps and basked in the cheers and chants of his fans. In high spirits, he informed media crews of a potential surprise in the upcoming presidential election in his own city and state.
Meanwhile, the nine Supreme Court justices in Washington were presumably concluding their morning meal and getting ready for discussions concerning Trump’s assertion that sitting presidents are exempt from prosecution for actions carried out during their tenure. Before 7am on a cloudless Manhattan morning, Trump was the center of attention.
“I believe we’re quite close in New York,” he informed the media. “We’re planning to target New York. In my view, we could win in New York, and we’re going to try.”
Bob Bartels, the manager of the Steamlifters Local Union 638, relayed to media channels Trump’s overwhelming lead of 3:1 against Biden in the union’s poll conducted among its 9,000 members. Not all of New York state’s 19.6 million inhabitants are Steamlifters Local Union members, but it was easy to see why Trump took solace in the early morning morale boost.
The Manhattan Criminal Court is tucked away in one of the less busy corners of lower Manhattan. It’s an unenthusiastic building only visited by people when their life has hit a rough patch. The first day of Trump’s trial had seen a throng of spectators, banner holders, and supporters occupied a small nearby park, but now it was solely inhabited by pigeons. Media presence was minimal. A long queue of media personnel and a smaller line of locals awaited the opening of the court on the brisk April morning.
The life of former president Trump since his term ended has been anything but dull. To the regulars at the Manhattan Criminal Court – law enforcement officers, administrative staff, security personnel – this spectacle has turned into another regular day at work.
The stark, mundane architecture inside the courtroom, characterised by marble walls, rectangular ceiling lights reflecting off tiled floors and long pathways of stark functionality, seemed to dilute the sensational, tabloid-like narrative of this trial, involving the president, a porn actress, a facilitator and election interference allegations. The interior of the court on the 15th floor stood in complete contrast to the extravagant decor of Mar-a-Lago, representing the other end of design extremity.
The proceedings on the morning began with the former president being referred to as “Candidate Trump” by the prosecution, who then observed lead prosecutor Joshua Steinglass lead the initial witness, previous National Enquirer editor David Pecker, through the documents and bills of an agreement established with former Playboy model Karen McDougal. This brings us back to the serene summer of 2016 when Trump was on an improbable campaign trail while the Clinton team failed to acknowledge their impending collision with disaster.
Evidence was presented that Dylan Howard, chief content officer for AMI, which operates the National Enquirer, had had a meeting with McDougal who alleged a year-long affair with Trump. The court became aware of ABC considering airing the story and floating rumours of a Mexican consortium wanting to purchase the story for $8 million.
From the witness stand, Pecker stated, “Karen McDougal insisted on not having the story published. She didn’t want to be a repeat of Monica Lewinski.”
He further added, “Dylan believed she would prefer having AMI buy the story rather than anyone else.”
Over a continuous hour, Pecker was guided through the negotiations that transpired that summer. He remembered a phone conversation where Trump asked him, “Karen is a good girl…Is it true a Mexican group wants to buy the story?”
Importantly, during a three-party call, it was agreed that Pecker’s company would acquire the story and he would be compensated. Quoting Michael Cohen, he said, “Don’t stress,” “The boss will handle it.”
The acquisition, for $150,000, was for the limited life rights and included specifics of “any intimate, personal and/or physical relationship McDougal has ever had with any then-married man” which Pecker understood to refer to Donald Trump. After the invoice was finalised, Cohen informed Pecker that his client wished to retain all files regarding him.
While listening to the detailed and laborious discussions about past exchanges and documents, Trump’s interest seemed to wane. An old gossip involving Arnold Schwarzenegger’s gubernatorial campaign was mentioned, leading Trump to stifle a yawn, and then abandoning even that pretence of interest. Trump appeared resigned, much like a football coach witnessing yet another dismal performance in the middle of a losing season. He crossed his arms and bided his time, sitting still and silent, devoid of any control. Even restroom breaks were subject to the orders of Judge Juan Merchan.
David Pecker, exuding more of an old-fashioned tailor vibe than that of the publisher of America’s leading celebrity gossip publication, came across as soft-spoken, excruciatingly courteous and captured the essence of someone who intended to provide a truthful portrayal of the past without bearing any resentment towards the former president. It seemed favourable that he was a patient man.
Steinglass informed the court post the initial break, “We have a good two to three hours left. There’s a lot more material to cover. We won’t conclude today.”
Or possibly even the next day. Around noon, Pecker was questioned about his introduction to the name, Stormy Daniels. A memory of stepping out of a dinner with his wife to attend an emergent call from Dylan Howard came to him. A new story was in the making. On this occasion, Pecker clearly told Michael Cohen that he wouldn’t be a part of it. The sting of being burned earlier still fresh.
“I won’t buy this story,” he remembered declaring.
“I refuse to be connected with a porn star. His response was of frustration. He warned me that the boss would be angry. He insisted that I should proceed with the purchase.”
However, Pecker advised Cohen to strike a deal with Stormy Daniels directly. As it turned out, Cohen heed his suggestion — a presidential election was indeed at stake. But who would even find out about it?