David Pecker, former head of the National Enquirer's parent company, testified about using the publication to write positive stories and prevent negative ones during Trump's campaign.
Former President Donald Trump is on trial for falsifying business records related to hush money payments during his 2016 presidential campaign.
Judge Juan Merchan reprimanded defense counsel Emil Bove for misleading the jury.
Pecker testified about a meeting at Trump Tower where a conspiracy to benefit the Trump campaign was allegedly formulated.
Former President Donald Trump is currently facing a criminal trial in Manhattan for falsifying business records related to hush money payments made during his 2016 presidential campaign. The trial, which is expected to last six to eight weeks, resumed on Tuesday after a break for the Jewish holiday of Passover. One of the key witnesses in the case is David Pecker, former head of the National Enquirer's parent company, who testified about how he used the publication to write positive stories about Trump and prevent negative stories from coming out during his campaign.
Pecker's testimony spanned three days and included details about a meeting at Trump Tower where a conspiracy to benefit the Trump campaign was allegedly formulated. The defense team, led by Todd Blanche, attempted to elicit admissions from Pecker that bolstered their theory of a routine nondisclosure arrangement with Stormy Daniels.
However, Judge Juan Merchan reprimanded defense counsel Emil Bove for misleading the jury and forced him to apologize to Pecker in front of the jury. The trial is significant as it might be the only criminal trial Trump faces in 2024 due to Supreme Court hearings on presidential immunity.
In related news, former Trump White House chief of staff Mark Meadows, along with attorneys Rudy Giuliani and Boris Epshteyn, are among those charged in Arizona with felony counts related to efforts to offer 'fake electors' from their state. The trial in New York is ongoing and will continue to be closely watched as it unfolds.
The defense team attempted to elicit admissions from Pecker that bolstered their theory of a routine nondisclosure arrangement with Stormy Daniels, but was this admitted as fact or just Pecker's testimony?
Were there any other witnesses present at the meeting in Trump Tower besides those mentioned in the trial?
Former President Donald Trump faces 34 counts of falsifying business records in his hush money trial.
"David Pecker testified about how he used the National Enquirer to write positive stories about Trump and prevent negative stories from coming out during his presidential campaign."
The trial of Donald Trump in New York is significant as it might be the only criminal trial he faces in 2024 due to Supreme Court hearing on presidential immunity.
Former publisher of the National Enquirer, David Pecker, testified about a meeting at Trump Tower where a conspiracy to benefit the Trump campaign was allegedly formulated.
Trump defense counsel Emil Bove elicited admissions from Pecker on Thursday that bolstered the defense theory of a routine nondisclosure arrangement with Stormy Daniels.
Judge Juan Merchan reprimanded Bove for misleading the jury and forced him to apologize to Pecker in front of the jury.
Accuracy
No Contradictions at Time
Of
Publication
Deception
(30%)
The article contains editorializing and selective reporting. The author, Norman Eisen, is an opinion writer for CNN and the article is labeled as an opinion piece. He expresses his opinions throughout the article about the Trump trial and the behavior of Trump's attorney Emil Bove during cross-examination of witness David Pecker. The author also selectively reports on certain aspects of the trial, focusing on Bove's mistakes and Pecker's testimony, while omitting other important details that could provide context or counterbalance to his narrative.
Bove was forced to apologize to Pecker in front of the jury to open the day. That is never a good start for a lawyer.
The buzz in the line Friday morning as we waited to enter the Manhattan courtroom was that, given the way the oral arguments in Washington went, this might well be the only criminal trial that Trump faces in 2024.
Bove's stumble came when he insinuated Pecker was changing his story about the key August 2015 Trump Tower meeting...Pecker asked to refresh his recollection by seeing the document on which Bove seemed to be relying for his insinuation about Pecker...To the jury, it looked like Pecker might have been caught in a lie, or at least selective memory, without Bove having properly backed it up with what he showed the witness.
Fallacies
(100%)
None Found At Time Of
Publication
Bias
(95%)
The author expresses a clear bias towards Trump and his legal team in their handling of the case. The author also makes derogatory comments about Trump's recognition of him, implying a personal dislike or animosity towards the former president.
As for Trump’s recognition of yours truly, it happened again as he left the courtroom Friday for the mid-day break. This time it was a scowl, a head tilt and a grimace as he met my eye.
Bove's stumble came when he insinuated Pecker was changing his story about the key August 2015 Trump Tower meeting – where the alleged conspiracy to benefit the Trump campaign was formulated – that ultimately led to Daniels getting the payments to bury her story of her alleged affair with Trump.(Trump has denied the affair.)
Bove's tone in questioning was initially less aggressive, and so less effective in suggesting skepticism about the witness, than it had been the day before. And I counted about 10 objections by the prosecution that the judge sustained in the morning alone, blunting Bove’s attempt to get momentum – and answers from Pecker!
Every day has felt consequential here, but Friday was even more so after Thursday’s Supreme Court hearing on whether Trump can avoid other federal criminal trials by claiming presidential immunity (Trump has denied all wrongdoing in the cases).
Pecker had testified on direct examination Thursday that former White House Communications Director Hope Hicks, then Trump’s campaign press secretary, was in and out of the meeting. Bove asked a series of questions implying that Pecker was making that up after the fact because he had not said anything about her presence when the feds first questioned him.
Thanks to his own mistake, Boves lost momentum and likely has not shaken Peckers standing before the jury as a very effective witness for the prosecution.
The Trump Trials newsletter covers the ongoing criminal trial of Donald Trump in Manhattan and the high-stakes Supreme Court presidential immunity arguments in D.C.
Trump’s lead attorney in Florida, Todd Blanche, also represents him in New York and wants to push back the deadline for disclosing classified information to be discussed at trial.
Former Trump White House chief of staff Mark Meadows, attorneys Rudy Giuliani and Boris Epshteyn are among those charged in Arizona with felony counts related to efforts to offer ‘fake electors’ from their state.
Accuracy
No Contradictions at Time
Of
Publication
Deception
(30%)
The article contains selective reporting as it only reports details that support the authors' position and ignores contradictory information. For example, they mention Trump's alleged violations of a gag order but do not mention that the judge has not yet ruled on whether these statements are in violation of the order. They also report on Trump's criminal trials but do not provide any context or details about the charges against him or the evidence presented in court. Additionally, they use emotional manipulation by implying that Trump is trying to 'escape' his trials and that he is a 'former president of the United States who spread false claims of election fraud following the 2020 election.'
Trump keeps talking – at campaign events, outside the courtroom, in interviews and on social media. And state prosecutors in New York keep claiming his speech is violating the court-imposed gag order, which bars him from attacking witnesses, prosecutors or family members of the judge and the Manhattan district attorney.
The focus this week will mostly be on New York, where the trial resumes Tuesday with more witness testimony.
Unlike in Georgia, Trump was not charged in Arizona, but is an unindicted co-conspirator.
