The prosecution’s first witness in the case against Donald Trump will be back on the stand Friday, as defense lawyers try to combat the story he exposed about how the former president was involved in efforts to suppress “embarrassing” stories that could having harmed him during the 2016 campaign.
Former National Enquirer editor David Pecker’s testimony marks the end of the second week of Trump’s secret trial.
Since taking the stand on Monday, Pecker has told jurors that Trump and his then-lawyer Michael Cohen asked him to be their “eyes and ears” when it came to salacious stories that could undermine Trump’s candidacy.
When the questioning began on Thursday, Trump’s lawyer, Emil Bove, immediately began poking holes in Pecker’s credibility, making him acknowledge occasions when he had confused dates and that the passage of time could affect his memory.
“There are some gaps, correct? Because it was so long ago? Bove asked.
“Yes,” replied Pecker.
Bove also got Pecker, 72, to acknowledge that it was not uncommon for the newspaper to buy stories from sources it did not publish. Pecker said about half of the stories he bought didn’t make it into print, although some about celebrities were used as leverage to get other stories from those celebrities.
Pecker testified this week that he was involved in efforts to eliminate three stories that could have been damaging to Trump’s 2016 campaign. The first involved a doorman who alleged that Trump fathered an illegitimate child. The newspaper paid the doorman $30,000 for his silence, although, Pecker told the court, the claim was later determined to be “absolutely 1,000% false.”
The second story involved former Playboy model Karen McDougal, who claimed to have had a months-long affair with Trump that began in 2006. Pecker said he believed her account, in part because, he said, Trump told him she was ” a nice girl”. “Pecker ended up paying her $150,000 for the rights to her story, money he said he initially wanted Trump to return before deciding it could get him into legal trouble if Trump did.
Trump denied McDougal’s claims of an affair.
Pecker added that in 2017 Trump invited him to the White House, where he thanked him for his help, saying the doorman and McDougal’s stories would have been “embarrassing.”
Pecker testified that he was less involved in the third story, which involved adult film actor Stormy Daniels. Daniels claims he had a sexual encounter with Trump in 2006, which Trump denies. Pecker said he refused to pay her for her story, but encouraged Cohen to do so.
Pecker told the court that one of his employees, Enquirer editor-in-chief Dylan Howard, helped negotiate the terms of his eventual $130,000 settlement. Trump later reimbursed Cohen for payments that were listed as legal expenses, which prosecutors say was a sham.
Trump has pleaded not guilty to 34 counts of falsifying business records.
This story originally appeared on NBCNews.com read the full story
