The trial of former United States President Donald Trump in New York continues as the defence team proceeds with the cross-examination of tabloid publisher David Pecker. Witness testimony enters its fourth day, focusing on hush-money payments made to adult film star Stormy Daniels during Trump’s 2016 White House campaign.
Pecker, who has spent three days on the stand, has provided detailed accounts of his involvement in a deal with Trump to suppress negative stories, commonly referred to as “catch and kill” tactics. Prosecutors have been striving to establish a broader pattern of Trump’s attempts to unlawfully influence the 2016 election. Trump faces 34 felony charges related to falsifying business documents concerning payments made to Stormy Daniels.
The charges revolve around allegations of mislabeling reimbursements made by Trump to his lawyer, Michael Cohen, who had paid $130,000 to Daniels in exchange for her silence regarding an alleged sexual encounter with the former president. Trump vehemently denies the affair ever occurred. To secure the felony charges, prosecutors must convince the jury that the misrepresentations were made with the intent to commit or conceal another crime, with a primary focus on what they describe as “election fraud, pure and simple.”
Trump’s defence team maintains that no illegal actions were taken to warrant the felony charges. During the initial phase of cross-examination, Trump’s lawyer sought to portray agreements to “catch and kill” negative stories about prominent individuals as standard practice. Pecker revealed that similar arrangements had been made with Rahm Emanuel, former Chief of Staff to President Barack Obama, and Arnold Schwarzenegger, former Governor of California.
Earlier in the trial, prosecutors emphasized Pecker’s role as the Trump campaign’s “eyes and ears.” Under questioning, Pecker stated that Trump never expressed concerns about his family when discussing efforts to suppress allegations of an affair with model Karen McDougal and Stormy Daniels. This testimony aims to undermine a central aspect of Trump’s defence, which asserts that he sought to prevent personally damaging claims from becoming public but did not intend to influence the election.
Meanwhile, prosecutors await a decision from Judge Juan Merchan regarding potential violations of a partial gag order by Trump. The order prohibits him from publicly discussing individuals involved in the legal proceedings. Prosecutors have presented ten alleged violations on Tuesday and claimed that Trump committed an additional four since then. They are calling for reprimand in response to these violations.
