The first witness against the case of the prosecution Donald Trump Defense attorneys are back on the stand Friday as they try to fight the former president’s story about how he participated in the impeachment effort.”embarrassingStories that could hurt him during the 2016 campaign.
Former publisher of the National Enquirer David Peckermarking the end of the second week of Trump’s silence trial.
After taking the stand Monday, Packer told jurors that Trump and his then-attorney Michael Cohen He asked him to be their “eyes and ears” when it came to sordid stories that could damage Trump’s candidacy.
As cross-examination began Thursday, Trump’s lawyer, Emil Bove, immediately began poking holes in Peker’s credibility, acknowledging the times he mixed up dates and the passage of time could affect his memory.
“There are some loopholes, right? Because it’s been a long time?” Bove asked.
“Yes,” Peker replied.
Bove also acknowledged to Peker, 72, that it’s not unusual for the paper to get stories from sources it won’t print. Peker said about half of the stories he received were not published, although some about celebrities were used as a vehicle to get other stories from those celebrities.
Pecker testified this week that he participated in the effort kill three stories it could have hurt Trump’s 2016 campaign. The first involved a bouncer claiming Trump fathered an illegitimate child. The newspaper paid the gatekeeper $30,000 to keep quiet, although Packer later told the court that the claim was “absolutely 1,000% untrue.”
The second story involved a former Playboy model Karen McDougal, claimed to have had an affair with Trump that began in 2006 and lasted for months. Packer said he believed her account, in part because Trump told her she was a “good girl.” Pecker paid him $150,000 for the rights to his story, which he said he wanted Trump to pay back before Trump decided it would cause legal problems if he did so.
Trump has denied McDougal’s allegations of an affair.
Packer added that in 2017, Trump invited him to the White House, where he thanked him for his help, saying the stories of the goalkeeper and McDougal would be “embarrassing.”
Packer testified that he had little involvement in the third story, which featured an adult film actor Stormy Daniels. Daniels claims she had sex with Trump in 2006, which Trump denies. Peker said he refused to pay him for his story but encouraged Cohen to do so.
Packer told the court that one of his employees, Enquirer editor-in-chief Dylan Howard, helped them negotiate the terms of the $130,000 deal. Trump later paid Cohen in payments that prosecutors said were listed as legal expenses.
Trump begged not guilty 34 counts of falsifying business records.