Donald Trump returned to his criminal trial in New York on Thursday, confronted with the colorful testimony of a former tabloid boss who put himself at his service in 2016 to “kill” possible scandals, including an affair with a Playboy model.
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Already sentenced twice since 2023 by New York civil justice to hundreds of millions of dollars in fines, Donald Trump is playing big during this trial, the debates of which began Monday in Manhattan court: this criminal case could be the only one , among the four targeting him, to be judged before the presidential election in November.
The 77-year-old Republican billionaire is the first former president of the United States to appear in criminal court, seven months before his almost certain duel with Democratic President Joe Biden, 81.
Pink tie, mustache, receding hairline and slicked back hair, David Pecker, 72, who owned The National Enquirer, a magazine with shocking front pages found in supermarkets, continued on Thursday what he had started to say on Tuesday to the 12 jurors on the underside of the November 2016 conquest of the White House by his friend “Donald”.
Mr. Pecker’s testimony is crucial for the prosecution, which wants to see the Republican Party candidate convicted for hiding in “legal fees” the payment of $130,000 to a former porn star, Stormy Daniels.
The money, paid just before the November 2016 election that Mr. Trump narrowly won against former Foreign Minister Hillary Clinton, was used to buy the silence of pornographic actress Stephanie Clifford of her real name, who claims to have had a sexual relationship in 2006 with him.
Mr. Trump, then already married to Melania Trump, denies it.
“Catch and kill”
David Pecker has been telling the stand since Tuesday how he served the Trump campaign in 2016 by hunting down salacious stories and claiming to have discussed this plan in front of him.
The maneuver is known by the American expression “catch and kill”.
Mr. Trump and Mr. Pecker have appreciated each other for 25 years, according to the press boss who bought The National Enquirer in 1999 and benefited from the success of the reality TV show during the real estate mogul’s era, “The Apprentice.”
In the summer of 2015, after the announcement in New York of Donald Trump’s candidacy for the presidency, “I saw him more frequently, maybe once a month,” Mr. Pecker explained to jurors in front of the court on Tuesday. former tenant of the White House.
On Thursday, Mr. Trump listens to him looking tired, he who has silently attended the trial every day since April 15, when jury selection week began.
During a meeting in August 2015 at Trump Tower in Manhattan with Donald Trump and his personal lawyer at the time Michael Cohen — now his sworn enemy — David Pecker was questioned by the two men about what he could “do (…) to help his campaign”.
In addition to the $130,000 paid to Stormy Daniels, $30,000 was paid to a doorman at Trump Tower who wanted to reveal “a story about an illegitimate child” of the future president at the time.
And $150,000 for a former Playboy magazine model, Karen McDougal, to keep quiet about a ten-month relationship with Mr. Trump, before the Stormy Daniels scandal.
According to Mr. Pecker’s account on Thursday, Donald Trump told him at the time: “I spoke to Michael (Cohen) (…) Karen (McDougal) is a nice girl.” Shortly after, Michael Cohen allegedly called him asking him to “buy the story” to “kill” the potential scandal.
While serving Donald Trump in 2015-2016, David Pecker explained that he would “publish positive articles about Trump and negative articles about his adversaries,” and that he “will be eyes and ears “, to monitor any scandal ready to come out – in particular “women (…) trying to sell their story” and “bury” it.
Fundamental elements for the prosecution which wants to prove that there was a stratagem to cover up any scandal.
Donald Trump is being prosecuted for 34 counts of falsifying accounting documents from his real estate group, the Trump Organization, to conceal payments to Stormy Daniels.
Donald Trump’s defense invokes the legality of the payments and denies any “plot” to “rig” the 2016 election.
Finally, the Manhattan court judge must separately decide on possible sanctions against Donald Trump for contempt, because of his attacks on the internet and social networks against witnesses and jurors.
The former president may be fined ($1,000 per incriminated publication) but incarceration remains “an option if necessary,” according to the courts.
