On Friday, April 26, the defense team of former U.S. President Donald Trump attempted to undermine the credibility of the first witness in the case involving hush money payments to adult film star Stormy Daniels, trying to discredit detailed testimonies that describe a scheme of concealing negative stories during the Republican’s 2016 presidential campaign. The initial hearings lasted a week.
The case is based on allegations that the former president falsified records of his company to hide the true purpose of the $130,000 payments to Daniels during the 2016 presidential campaign in order to prevent her from disclosing her past relationship with Trump.
The main objective was to disgrace
Former National Enquirer publisher David Pecker testified in the case, while Trump’s attorneys tried to find inaccuracies in his statements.
Pecker’s testimony provided jurors with an inside look at the tabloid’s practice of burying negative stories by buying rights to certain stories not for public consumption, but to keep them from ever seeing the light of day. Pecker is considered a key witness corroborating prosecutors’ theory that Trump sought to unlawfully influence the 2016 presidential election by suppressing negative stories about his personal life.
Trump, who denies any wrongdoing, in turn criticized the accusations and left the courthouse on Friday after spending most of the week there as the defendant.
During cross-examination, Republican’s lawyers seemed to lay the groundwork for the argument that any agreements between the former president and Pecker were aimed at protecting Trump, his reputation, and family rather than the election campaign. They also emphasized that the National Enquirer published negative materials about Trump’s 2016 election opponent, Hillary Clinton, long before the August 2015 meeting which is central to this case.
During this meeting, Pecker promised Trump and his then-Republican lawyer Michael Cohen that he would be the “eyes and ears” of the campaign and would inform Cohen of any negative stories about Trump so they could be “killed.”
“Catch and Kill”
Responding to questions from Trump’s lawyer Emily Bove, Pecker admitted that there was no mention of the term “catch and kill” at that meeting—a known tabloid practice involving buying rights to a negative story, then effectively burying it. Pecker stated that financial aspects were also not discussed, such as National Enquirer paying people on behalf of Trump for rights to their stories.
Bove also reminded Pecker of statements he made to federal prosecutors in 2018, which, according to the lawyer, contradict the testimony of the former publisher.
And that’s not all the contradictions in this case. Pecker told the jury that Trump thanked him during a White House visit in 2017 for helping to bury two stories. But according to Bove’s records read in court, Pecker informed federal authorities that Trump did not thank him during the meeting.
Loyal Aide
The second witness called to court was Trump’s assistant Rhona Graff. She started working for Trump in 1987, worked for him for 34 years, and left the Trump Organization in April 2021. She is referred to as a “gatekeeper” and the right hand of the former president.
Graff explained that she likely added the contact information of Stormy Daniels and former Playboy model Karen McDougal to the Trump Organization’s computer system. Later, Graff noted that Trump never used these computers.
The hearings in the case will continue today, April 30, with the participation of the third witness accusing banker Gary Farro. On Friday, April 26, Farro testified that he helped Cohen open a bank account for a limited liability company, which he used to make a payment to Daniels. Farro said that Cohen convinced him that the company, Essential Consultants LLC, would be engaged in real estate consulting, which turned out to be untrue.
What Matters Most to Americans
The session last Friday marked another week in the criminal cases involving the former President of the United States as he seeks to return to the White House.
In addition to the hush money case, Trump faces 54 criminal charges and multimillion-dollar fines in two civil cases.
Despite all the accusations, Trump maintains strong support among Republicans, inching towards a rematch with the current US President Joe Biden in the November elections. It seems that the moral aspect of a potential President has become unimportant to Americans lately. However, a final judgment on this can only be made after the conclusion of the case, the sentencing, and the elections themselves.
