The judge questioned his defense attorney’s credibility. Prosecutors accused him of orchestrating a criminal conspiracy to influence the 2016 presidential election. And his old friend corroborated that accusation, giving hours of compelling testimony. about their secret plot to protect his campaign.
Donald J. Trump’s criminal trial in Manhattan is off to an unsettling start for the former president, and things may not get any easier in the coming days.
The judge presiding over the case, Juan M. Merchan, is expected to rule soon on prosecutors’ request to hold Mr. Trump in contempt of court for attacking witnesses as well as the jury . And the first witness – David Pecker, longtime publisher of The National Enquirer – will return to the stand Thursday after the trial adjourns every Wednesday.
Mr. Pecker, who was once close to Mr. Trump, is expected to face many hours of additional questioning from prosecutors at the Manhattan district attorney’s office, before Mr. Trump’s lawyers have a chance interrogate him.
Now, Mr. Pecker has given some compelling testimony, taking jurors back to a pivotal 2015 meeting with Mr. Trump and his fixer at Trump Tower in Midtown Manhattan.
Prosecutors called it the “Trump Tower plot,” arguing that Mr. Pecker, Mr. Trump and Michael D. Cohen, then Mr. Trump’s personal lawyer and fixer, conspired at the meeting to concealing the sex scandals that are stalking Mr. Trump. Trump’s election campaign.
Their efforts led Mr. Pecker’s tabloids to buy and bury two damaging stories about Mr. Trump. Mr. Cohen bought a porn star’s silence, a deal at the heart of the case against the former president.
From the witness stand on Tuesday, Mr. Pecker recalled how Mr. Cohen and Mr. Trump asked what he and his magazines — which anchor checkout lanes in American supermarkets — could do “to support the campaign.” The account bolsters the prosecution’s argument that these men protected not only Mr. Trump’s personal reputation but also his political fortunes.
Mr. Pecker’s testimony came after a tense hearing for Mr. Trump and his legal team, as prosecutors argued that the trial was threatened by Mr. Trump’s repeated attacks on witnesses and jurors, mainly released on social media and his campaign website. They urged Judge Juan M. Merchan to hold Mr. Trump in contempt for what they said were 11 violations of a gag order prohibiting the former president from attacking witnesses, prosecutors, jurors and court staff, as well as their relatives.
When Mr. Trump’s lead lawyer, Todd Blanche, claimed that the former president was trying to comply, Judge Mercan reprimanded him, responding with words no lawyer wants to hear: “You are losing all credibility. trust with the court”.
The case against Mr. Trump, the first US president to face a criminal trial, focuses on the $130,000 payment Mr. Cohen paid to porn star Stormy Daniels. Prosecutors said he paid Ms. Daniels at Mr. Trump’s direction during the 2016 election campaign to keep her quiet about a sexual tryst she said she had with Mr. Trump. He denied ever having sex with her.
Mr. Trump, who faces up to four years in prison if convicted, was charged with 34 counts of falsifying business records in the way he accounted for a $130,000 refund to Mr. Cohen. Each amount reflects a different fake check, ledger and invoice that, according to prosecutors, Mr. Trump used to conceal the true purpose of the repayment.
Mr. Trump, 77, once again the presumptive Republican nominee, faces three other criminal cases in three different cities accusing him of plotting to overturn his election defeat. election in 2020 and mishandling confidential records when he was no longer president. But with cases delayed, the Manhattan case could be the only one to go to trial before Election Day.
The Manhattan case, in just its sixth day, has become a political and media spectacle as Mr. Trump’s campaign-style attacks on Mr. Cohen and the jury test the limits of the legal system and the patience of judges.
The gag order hearing, held with the jury outside the courtroom, demonstrated a jarring reality for Mr. Trump as he seeks to reclaim the White House while under indictment: Political reflex His politics and norm-breaking ethos have defined the Trump era, often at odds with the letter of the law.
Prosecutor Christopher Conroy told the judge that witnesses in the case “have good reason to fear” being criticized by the former president. He made statements that Manhattan prosecutors believed crossed the line, including calling Mr. Cohen and Ms. Daniels “sleazy people” and retweeting an attack on the jury pool . That happened the night before an already seated jury asked for exoneration.
“What happened here is exactly what this restraining order is about and the defendant doesn’t care,” Mr. Conroy said.
Mr. Trump’s lawyer, Todd Blanche, argued that Mr. Trump’s posts were not personal and did not violate the order, because he was simply responding to “a series of political attacks.”
But Judge Mercan firmly pleaded with Mr. Blanche to follow the facts and the law.
“I need to know what is true,” Judge Mercan said, highlighting Mr. Trump’s tendency to use social media to spread lies.
Then things got worse for Mr. Blanche, who appeared confused before the judge. At one point, Judge Mercan called one of his arguments “silly.”
Prosecutors asked Judge Merchan to fine Mr. Trump $1,000 for each statement, although Mr. Conroy wondered whether Mr. Trump, who sold campaign merchandise using his mug shots, actually Do you want to go to jail or not? The judge, whose daughter was among Mr. Trump’s targets, did not immediately rule.
The case against Mr. Trump began on Monday, when both sides gave opening statements outlining their competing views on Mr. Trump and the evidence. A prosecutor accused the former president of orchestrating a “criminal conspiracy and cover-up.” Mr. Trump’s lawyer declared: “President Trump is innocent.”
The prosecution then called its first witness, Mr. Pecker, who returned to court on Tuesday for a second day of testimony.
During about two and a half hours of questioning Mr. Pecker on Tuesday, the prosecution placed him firmly in Mr. Trump’s orbit, as a longtime fan and friend who became part of Trump’s 2016 election campaign. His closeness to Mr. Trump — and gentle, almost grandfatherly influence — appears to have bolstered his credibility.
“I will call him Donald,” Mr. Pecker recalled, adding that he had “a great relationship with Mr. Trump for many years” and that he launched a magazine with him called “Trump Style”.
Mr. Pecker described the symbiotic relationship between Mr. Trump and The National Enquirer during the former president’s transition to reality TV host on “The Apprentice.” Mr. Trump will reveal details about the show to the magazine, which will publish stories about the contestants.
The relationship assumed national importance after a pivotal 2015 meeting at Trump Tower.
“I got a call from Michael Cohen telling me the boss wanted to see me,” Mr. Pecker told the jury.
After that, Mr. Cohen was in regular contact with Mr. Pecker, checking in weekly, even daily. The purpose of their conversations was often to protect Mr. Trump from negative stories, including the doorman’s false claim that Mr. Trump had fathered an illegitimate child. Mr. Pecker, who bought the story, testified that Mr. Cohen told him “the boss would be very pleased” if the story was suppressed.
Mr. Pecker, who later also bought a story from a former Playboy model who said she had an affair with Mr. Trump, explained that Mr. Cohen “was physically present in every aspect of any campaign.” Which translation is in progress? However, in one detail that the defense was able to capture, he testified that Mr. Cohen, who was not a campaign staffer but Mr. Trump’s personal lawyer, may have at times “ “include yourself” in the election campaign.
Mr. Trump’s lawyers have not yet cross-examined Mr. Pecker, but when they do, they will likely pick up on that description of Mr. Cohen. A central theme in Mr. Trump’s defense has been to portray Mr. Cohen as a traitor and liar, and to exclude the former president from the most problematic evidence.
However, Mr. Pecker’s testimony placed Mr. Trump directly in the middle of their plot. And in a sign that Mr. Pecker at least knew that their arrangement was problematic, he noted that he wanted to keep it “secret.” When prosecutor Joshua Steinglass asked why, Mr. Pecker explained that he did not want to “leak” that he had helped the campaign.
When questioned, Mr. Pecker admitted that he not only featured harmful stories but also promoted helpful stories. Mr. Cohen, he explained, would provide him with information about Mr. Trump’s Republican primary opponents, and The National Enquirer would sometimes “glorify” them.
For example, the tabloid published stories about Mr. Trump’s primary opponents, including Ben Carson, Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio. Prosecutors illustrated the point to jurors by posting some gruesome headlines on the screen: “Donald Trump Beats Ted Cruz’s Dad for Taking Photos with JFK Assassin,” “Awkward Surgeon about Ben Carson leaving a sponge in a patient’s brain!” and, in a moment of ironic foreshadowing, “Ted Cruz embarrassed by porn star.”
At the meeting at Trump Tower, Mr. Pecker said, he indicated that he expected many women “will come to try to sell their stories” about Mr. Trump, because he is known as “an independent person.” the most qualified person and date the most beautiful person. women.”
In fact, Mr. Trump is not a bachelor. He married his third and current wife, Melania Trump, in 2005.
Kate Christobek, Alan Feuer, Wesley Parnell And Jesse McKinley Report contributions.
