Former National Enquirer chief David Pecker has hit back after Donald Trump’s defense lawyers questioned whether he was telling the truth during his sensational secret trial.
During a tense cross-examination Friday, the tabloid’s editor, who is the first witness in the case, said he was “truthful.”
Trump’s lawyer, Emil Bove, appeared confrontational as he grew tired of showing the jury that secret deals were normal practice at the tabloid and poking holes in Pecker’s story.
Bove had been quite cordial with Pecker during his two days of cross-examination.
But he then questioned whether Pecker had an obligation to cooperate with prosecutors because of a non-prosecution agreement he made with investigators.
Pecker replied: “I have been honest, to the best of my recollection.”
David Pecker is questioned by prosecutor Joshua Steinglass during the criminal trial of former US President Donald Trump on charges of falsifying business records to hide money paid to silence porn star Stormy Daniels in 2016, in court of Manhattan in New York, United States, on April 26, 2024. in this sketch of the courtroom
Former U.S. President Donald Trump (L) sits in the courtroom during his hush money trial at Manhattan Criminal Court in New York, the United States, April 26, 2024.
He stands by the account he gave in court, adding: “I know what the truth is.”
Pecker’s testimony provided jurors with a stunning insight into the supermarket tabloid’s “catch-and-kill” practice of buying the rights to stories so they never see the light of day.
It’s a key part of prosecutors’ theory that Trump sought to illegally influence the 2016 race by suppressing negative stories about his personal life.
Trump has denied 34 counts of falsifying business records to conceal a $130,000 payment made by his “fixer” Michael Cohen to porn star Stormy Daniels.
Daniels claimed to have had an affair with Trump, which Trump denied.
Under questioning from Bove, Pecker acknowledged that there was no mention during the key meeting with Trump of the term “catch and kill.”
There was also no discussion at the meeting about any “financial dimension” such as the National Enquirer paying people on Trump’s behalf for the rights to their stories, Pecker said.
Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump’s lawyer Emil Bove appears before State Supreme Court in Manhattan, New York, U.S., April 25, 2024.
Arnold Schwarzenegger speaks during the 10X Growth Conference 2024 at Diplomat Beach Resort on April 4, 2024 in Hollywood, Florida.
Lawyers for former President Donald Trump, Alina Habba, speak in Manhattan Criminal Court during Trump’s trial for allegedly concealing secret money payments related to extramarital affairs in New York on April 22, 2024.
Bove also confronted Pecker about statements he made to federal prosecutors in 2018 that the defense attorney said were “inconsistent” with the former publisher’s testimony.
Pecker told jurors that Trump thanked him during a 2017 visit to the White House for his help in burying two stories.
But according to notes Bove read in court, Pecker told federal authorities that Trump expressed no gratitude to him during the meeting.
“Was that another mistake?” Bove asked Pecker. But Pecker stuck to the account he gave in court.
Earlier. Prosecutor Josh Steinglass questioned Pecker about the practice of “catch and kill” at the National Enquirer.
He said: “After Arnold Schwarzenegger announced his candidacy for governor (of California), 30 or 40 women came forward?”
David Pecker, Chairman and CEO of American Media, speaks at the Shape and Men’s Fitness Super Bowl Party in New York, the United States, January 31, 2014.
Adult film actress Stephanie Clifford, also known as Stormy Daniels, speaks as she leaves the Manhattan borough federal court in New York, New York, the United States, April 16, 2018.
Pecker confirmed the figure and that he had paid “hundreds of thousands of dollars to kill these stories.”
He said the largest payment was $20,000 and the others were “anywhere from $500 to $2,000.”
Meanwhile, Alina Habba, another Trump lawyer, told Fox News that the trial only shows that the former president did “absolutely nothing wrong.”
Habba added that if he was found guilty, the decision would “100%” be overturned on appeal.
“We have judges who are not allowing evidence that should be allowed,” she said. “All of these transcripts are under close scrutiny by the appeals court.”
This is a “long-term trial,” Habba said.
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