Magazine publisher David Pecker will be the first witness in former President Trump’s criminal trial, The New York Times reported Sundaysetting the stage for the start of the first criminal trial of a former president on Monday.
The case against Trump centers on payments made to adult film star Stormy Daniels, with prosecutors alleging the former president illegally covered up the payments in the days before the 2016 election, trying to silence stories of an alleged past affair.
Pecker, then editor of the National Enquirer, admitted to running a “catch and kill” scheme to help Trump get elected in 2016. The scheme consists of the unethical practice of paying sources not to tell negative stories about an issue. , in this case Trump.
Pecker’s media company paid $150,000 to actress Karen McDougal, who also claimed to have an affair with Trump, at about the same time as Daniels’ payments. The company then intentionally suppressed McDougal’s story until after the election.
Citing a person familiar with prosecutors’ planned arguments, the Times reported that Pecker’s testimony is expected to focus on his conversations with Trump about hush money payments.
Other notable witnesses in the case expected to be called include Trump’s former personal lawyer Michael Cohen, who made the payments to Daniels, Daniels herself and aide Hope Hicks, among others.
It is not known whether the former president will speak out in his defense.
Trump denounced the case as a political distraction from the 2024 elections. He pleaded not guilty to charges of falsifying business records.
The trial is expected to last about six weeks.
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