Former National Enquirer publisher David Pecker testified about his efforts to help Trump win in 2016.
This is a special weekend edition of our newsletter focusing on the first-ever criminal trial of a former president, Donald Trump. If you do not wish to receive this weekend update click here. |
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| The prosecution is setting up a story — while the defense is trying to rip it apart |
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At times dishing salacious details, former National Enquirer publisher David Pecker took to the witness stand over four days to lay out the case the prosecution plans to make in the coming weeks. For their purposes, he may have been the perfect witness to go first. Pecker was able to drop the names of many of the witnesses who will come after him — from Hope Hicks to Michael Cohen — giving the jury a complete image of what they will hear as prosecutors try to convince them that Donald Trump oversaw a scheme to influence the 2016 election by paying women who accused him of infidelity to keep their stories secret. But Pecker was also able to touch on the more mundane aspects of the case, the way that companies operate behind the scenes, the rote process to produce invoices and record expenses. Accounting practices are at the heart of Trump’s charges, meaning prosecutors can’t just focus on the alleged affairs and payments, but also need to dig into the record-keeping. Pecker talking about his anger over requests that he pay a porn actress Stormy Daniels provided the jury spice to keep them engaged and offset the doldrums of business ledgers. But the question of the week will be how effective the defense was on cross-examination. Trump’s lawyer Emil Bove didn’t try to push an alternative narrative or lay his questions out in a crescendo to an overarching point. Instead, it was a staccato drumbeat of pointed inquiries meant to punch holes in the story and discredit Pecker as a narrator. Some appeared to land with aplomb — like when Pecker seemed to confuse dates and times under questioning. Others were less apparently successful, leaving courtroom watchers to wonder if the defense will be able to tie the small threads together into enough reasonable doubt to acquit. Rhona Graff, Trump’s longtime assistant who handled his emails and meetings, took the stand next, on Friday, in testimony that concluded in less than 45 minutes. But that was enough time for her to testify that Daniels and Karen McDougal’s cellphone numbers were saved in Trump’s contacts — including multiple numbers and addresses for McDougal. |
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| Listen here to Laura Jarrett discuss the trial on WhatsApp: Listen here→ |
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The trial will not meet on Monday. Testimony will resume on Tuesday, with Farro expected to return to the witness stand. There is no trial on Wednesday, and Trump is holding campaign rallies that day. On Thursday, Judge Merchan will hear more arguments about possible gag order violations by Trump. He has not yet ruled on the violations that were debated this week. |
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What happened in Trump's other cases: |
The Supreme court heard arguments Thursday over whether Trump should have absolute immunity for his time in the White House. While the justices didn't indicate they were willing to side with Trump and toss out the charges he faces from special counsel Jack Smith, there were signs that most likely outcome is sending the case back to the trial court to do more fact finding. That means the case is unlikely to get to trial before Election Day. |
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Former National Enquirer editor-in-chief Dylan Howard to a relative after Trump was elected: "He’s just been named President-elect.” “At least if he wins I will be pardoned for electoral fraud." |
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| Trump's lawyers have swung between referring to him as "president" and trying to paint him as an average man. |
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| By Adam Reiss, Dareh Gregorian and Lisa Rubin |
The prosecution wants the judge to find that Trump has violated the gag order. |
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| Allies of Trump have been charged in connection to the "fake elector scheme" to overturn the 2020 election. |
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| Pecker testified that the publication made up a story about Texas Sen. Ted Cruz's father. |
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This is a special weekend edition of our newsletter focusing on the first-ever criminal trial of a former president, Donald Trump. If you do not wish to receive this weekend update click here. |
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