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#TrumpTrial 🧵starts HERE. #Trump #legal 1/…
Via Klasfeld:
Trump entered the courtroom in his usual slow stroll and perturbed disposition.
He let out a slight exhale as he reached the defense table before sitting down.
Present in the gallery again today:
Trump advisor Boris Epshteyn.
The Trump Tower meeting also included #JamesComey, then the #FBI dir, #ReincePriebus, who was chair of the RNC, #SeanSpicer the WH press sec & #MikePompeo the dir of the CIA.
Totally normal.
At that meeting #Pecker reassured #Trump that everything was fine.
Trump then told the group that Pecker probably “knows more than anyone else in this room.”
“It was a joke,” Pecker testified, adding, “They didn’t laugh.”
#criminal #law #TrumpTrial #CatchAndKill #conspiracy #ElectionInterference
“I wanted to protect my company, I wanted to protect myself & I wanted also to protect Donald Trump,” #Pecker said.
Pecker was asked whether he believed #Trump was concerned that his wife or family would find out. But Pecker suggested that Trump’s concerns were electoral, not personal.
Pecker testified to at least 2X when Trump asked after #KarenMcDougal, referring to her at a Trump Tower meeting as “our girl.” He also asked about her during a meeting at the #WhiteHouse.
#Pecker suggested that #MichaelCohen buy #StormyDaniels's story, leading to the #HushMoney deal, repayments & records at issue.
The prosecution’s discussion of the deal w/ #KarenMcDougal —brokered in summer 2016— demonstrated that the payment was part of a #conspiracy to #influence that year’s #election.
Pecker said that McDougal’s payment was disguised as a contract for services, to avoid violating #CampaignFinance #laws.
#criminal #law #Trump #TrumpTrial #ElectionInterference #CatchAndKill
#Pecker testified that as part of the #CatchAndKill #conspiracy #AMI paid #KarenMcDougal $150k for her story, w/no intention of ever publishing it.
Pecker expected repayment from #Trump. He asked #MichaelCohen who would handle it, & Cohen responded, “The boss will take care of it.”
Because Pecker had such a hard time getting Trump to pay, he was unwilling to buy the 3rd story: #StormyDaniels’s.
“I am not a bank,” Pecker recalled saying.
#Trump is charged w/falsifying 34 business records to cover up a $130k payment to #StormyDaniels, who has said they had a sexual encounter in 2006 & was shopping that story in the weeks before the 2016 presidential election.
Trump denies the charges & ever having had sex w/ either woman.
He could face probation or prison if convicted.
On his 3rd day of testimony, #Pecker, the fmr #NationalEnquirer publisher, described his involvement in the #CatchAndKill of the stories of 2 women who claimed to have had sex w/ #Trump: #KarenMcDougal, a Playboy model, & #StormyDaniels, the porn star whose 2016 #HushMoney payoff forms the basis of the #criminal case.
#TrumpTrial Day 4 🧵 starts here.
Yesterday came to an abrupt end when the dishwasher leaked all over the floor. It’s fixed now, but what a mess.
Linus, Ramone & I are all doing well.
Yesterday’s 🧵 start:
https://masto.ai/@Nonilex/112332007257451711
#criminal #law #Trump #CatchAndKill #conspiracy #ElectionInterference #HushMoney #MobTactics #NodFarter #GagOrder
Start of #TrumpTrial testimony day3 (I’m not counting jury selection or off days) 🧵#Tabloid Publisher #DavidPecker to Resume Testimony
#Pecker, the longtime publisher of The #NationalEnquirer, is expected to return to the stand & describe the #HushMoney deal w/ #StormyDaniels at the heart of the case, in which #Trump is charged w/ 34 #felonies.
#criminal #law #CatchAndKill #FakeNews #ElectionInterference
#Pecker said on Tues he had agreed to be the “eyes & ears” of the #TrumpCampaign & used #AMI to deal w/threats to #Trump’s reputation.
After the #AccessHollywood tape came out in Oct 2016, where Trump’s boasts about groping women, one of Pecker’s editors scrubbed an AMI publication’s website of a 2008 article describing Trump as a “playboy man.”
#criminal #law #TrumpTrial #CatchAndKill #conspiracy #ElectionInterference #HushMoney
Via CNN's Kristen Holmes:
#Trump spent Wednesday playing golf at his Bedminster club, sources told CNN. Wednesday's the only weekday court isn't in for his NY criminal trial. Trump has lamented that trial has kept him off campaign trail: “Im not in GA or FL or NC campaigning like I should be" he said Mon.
#Republicans — 3 who went on to work in the #Trump admin, while the 4th, #Comey, would eventually become one of Trump's chief adversaries. #Pecker, escorted by #Kushner, walked into that #shitshow & was then asked about #KarenMcDougal by the then president-elect.
Pecker testifies that in front of Comey [#WITNESSES!], the head of the #FBI, Trump thanked him for purchasing the stories - & likely committing AT LEAST 1 #CRIME in the process, as Pecker well knew.
One of #Trump's hallmarks, even before he became president, was his tendency to treat everyone other than himself as not just beneath him [#narcissist] but unworthy of distinction & therefore equal in their subservience.
Meaning, he did not differentiate between the Director of the #FBI & the head of a supermarket #tabloid. In his mind they were just people who he thought owed him.
#criminal #law #TrumpTrial #CatchAndKill #conspiracy #ElectionInterference #HushMoney #MobTactics #NodFarter
#Pecker just gave us a very detailed description of #JaredKushner walking him into Trump Tower, & then into #Trump's office, shortly before Trump's inauguration as president. In the office were 4 noteworthy people: #JamesComey, #SeanSpicer, #ReincePriebus & #MikePompeo.
[umm, holy hell, please charge those mfers]
.
#criminal #law #DeadBeat #TrumpTrial #CatchAndKill #conspiracy #ElectionInterference #HushMoney #MobTactics #NodFarter #GagOrder
In the first mention of #JaredKushner, #Trump's son-in-law & adviser, #Pecker says he was walking outside Trump Tower when #Kushner "tapped me on the shoulder."
[not at all creepy]
Pecker adds that Kushner said: "I'll get you upstairs."
[I can only imagine Pecker suddenly feared defenestration]
#criminal #law #Trump #DeadBeat #TrumpTrial #CatchAndKill #conspiracy #ElectionInterference #HushMoney #MobTactics #NodFarter #GagOrder
#Pecker is now describing a post-election meeting he had w/ #MichaelCohen at #Trump Tower. Pecker said Cohen told him he had not been reimbursed for his payment to #StormyDaniels. Cohen, who also wanted to be paid a bonus for the year, asked Pecker “if I [Pecker] would talk to the boss on his behalf.”
#criminal #law #DeadBeat #TrumpTrial #CatchAndKill #conspiracy #ElectionInterference #HushMoney #MobTactics #NodFarter
#Pecker has at least 3X described #MichaelCohen as warning him that “the boss” — meaning #Trump — would be “angry” if Pecker didn’t do whatever was being asked of him in that moment.
Prosecutors, who have focused on Trump’s tendency to #intimidate people in asking for a #GagOrder, know what they’re after in this line of questioning [#MobTactics #StochasticTerrorism].
#criminal #law #Trump #TrumpTrial #CatchAndKill #conspiracy #ElectionInterference #HushMoney
"I wanted to protect my company, I wanted to protect myself & I wanted also to protect Donald Trump,” Pecker testifies.
#Pecker reiterates the importance of keeping #KarenMcDougal's story quiet, in a comment that relates directly to the prosecution's argument that he & #Trump conspired to aid his #election.
#criminal #law #TrumpTrial #CatchAndKill #conspiracy #ElectionInterference #HushMoney
#Pecker, before a tense & focused courtroom, is recounting Trump calling him directly 3 days before that year’s #election day, 1 day after the WSJ article was published.
He was “very upset, saying how could this happen, I thought you had this under control, either you or one of your people have leaked the story," Pecker says.
The call ended with no goodbye from #Trump.
#criminal #law #TrumpTrial #CatchAndKill #conspiracy #ElectionInterference #HushMoney
#Pecker, #MichaelCohen & others frequently contacted each other on the encrypted messaging app #Signal.
Prosecution showed #jurors this article, which 1st revealed #NationalEnquirer's $150k payment to #KarenMcDougal. It was published 4 days before the 2016 #election & introduced the term #CatchAndKill.
#criminal #law #Trump #TrumpTrial #conspiracy #ElectionInterference #HushMoney
http://www.wsj.com/articles/national-enquirer-shielded-donald-trump-from-playboy-models-affair-allegation-1478309380
Testimony about #StormyDaniels picks up, & #Trump is getting more animated.
The #jury seems rapt as the Daniels tale starts to unspool.
As #Pecker testifies about conversations he & #MichaelCohen had about Daniels, he keeps his eyes glued to the exhibit & to the prosecutors. Reportedly he has not glanced at Trump once.
#criminal #law #TrumpTrial #CatchAndKill #conspiracy #ElectionInterference #HushMoney
#Steinglass has seemed at ease during this direct examination of #Pecker. He is the most recent addition to this prosecution team but he is a veteran prosecutor at the Manhattan DA's office. He previously led the effort to convict the #TrumpOrganization in 2022 & also secured a conviction against 2 #ProudBoys #extremists for a violent brawl in 2019.
#criminal #law #Trump #TrumpTrial #CatchAndKill #conspiracy #ElectionInterference #HushMoney
#Pecker says he didn’t want The #NationalEnquirer associated w/a porn star [puhlease, what it might soil their stellar journalistic reputation?], meaning #StormyDaniels, because one of the tabloid's biggest distributors was Walmart, where a lot of families shop.
#criminal #law #Trump #TrumpTrial #GagOrder #CatchAndKill #conspiracy #ElectionInterference #HushMoney
#Pecker describes an urgent call from The #NationalEnquirer's editor, #DylanHoward, in Oct 2016, in which he was informed that #StormyDaniels was shopping a story of a sexual affair w/ #Trump for $120k.
Trump is subdued & not exhibiting much emotion as Stormy Daniels comes up. But the stress of the moment is more apparent on his lead lawyer, Todd #Blanche, who crossed his arms over his chest after she was brought up.
#Trump muttered something out loud when #Pecker offered this analysis.
#Steinglass just brought up #HopeHicks, Trump’s fmr comms aide, asking about an email chain that was forwarded to her the day after the #AccessHollywood tape came out. Steinglass asks Pecker if he’s ever known Trump to use email. The answer was no (tho in the last ~18 mos, Trump started texting w/people for the 1st time).
#criminal #law #TrumpTrial #GagOrder #CatchAndKill #conspiracy #ElectionInterference #HushMoney
#Pecker has just returned to the stand, prosecution & defense have made clear he'll be back tomorrow.
With Pecker back, we turn to the infamous #AccessHollywood tape.
The tape, which Pecker is describing, features Trump boasting about grabbing women's genitals.
Pecker describes it as "very embarrassing, very damaging" to the #TrumpCampaign.
It was released on Oct 7, 2016.
#criminal #law #Trump #TrumpTrial #GagOrder #CatchAndKill #conspiracy #ElectionInterference #HushMoney
While #jurors were on break, the #lawyers argued about a complex #legal matter involving #hearsay in certain exhibits. Defense succeeded in not allowing in texts between #DylanHoward, editor of The #NationalEnquirer in 2016, & a family member about Trump's election. But Justice #Merchan also endorsed prosecution's interpretation of #Pecker's arrangement w/ #Trump & #MichaelCohen as a #conspiracy.
#criminal #law #TrumpTrial #ElectionInterference #CatchAndKill
Prosecutor #Steinglass wrapped up questions about #KarenMcDougal by asking #Pecker about a contentious exchange w/ #MichaelCohen, in which Pecker got concerned about the potentially #unlawful implications of the deal.
Cohen was upset & screamed: "The boss is going to be very angry at you."
Pecker — thoroughly anxious then - was firm.
“The deal is off," Pecker recalled telling him. Pecker concluded by saying that he was never paid for the McDougal deal & there was a 20-min break.
#MichaelCohen, who was then #Trump's #fixer, would later set up a similarly named company, #EssentialConsultants, to #payoff #StormyDaniels.
Lots of evidence per the disguised monetary transactions related to the #KarenMcDougal deal. But most of the #jurors are still paying close attention, turning their heads from the prosecutor, Joshua #Steinglass, to the #witness, #Pecker, & back again.
#criminal #law #TrumpTrial #GagOrder #CatchAndKill #conspiracy #ElectionInterference #HushMoney
#DanielRotstein, the man #Pecker used in an ultimately failed effort to secretly obtain reimbursement for the #KarenMcDougal deal, was his own #fixer of sorts. Pecker had long used him to deliver the news that employees would be fired, to the point that Rotstein became known at Pecker's company as "Dr.
Death."
David Pecker is describing #MichaelCohen's creation of a #ShellCompany, #ResolutionConsultants, to reimburse Pecker for his #payoff to McDougal.
#criminal #law #Trump #TrumpTrial
We still haven't reached the payment from which the #criminal charges themselves ultimately stem. But #Pecker's testimony about the #KarenMcDougal deal is important for the prosecution's argument about #Trump's intent: They argue that he was seeking to win the election through illegal means & the specifics of the McDougal deal help to bolster that argument.
#law #TrumpTrial #GagOrder #CatchAndKill #conspiracy #ElectionInterference #HushMoney
Because #Pecker had such a hard time getting #Trump to reimburse him, he was later unwilling to buy a third story, #StormyDaniels's story of having had sex w/Trump. Thus, #MichaelCohen bought her story instead, leading us straight to the #criminal charges at issue.
#law #TrumpTrial #GagOrder #CatchAndKill #conspiracy #ElectionInterference #HushMoney
#Pecker is now describing Trump's interest in obtaining boxes of material regarding #KarenMcDougal, saying that #Trump was worried about what would happen if Pecker got "hit by a bus" or his company was sold. Trump "did not want someone else to potentially publish those stories."
Pecker testifies that he was expecting to be paid back for the $150k he sent to Karen McDougal. This is a very important bridge to the third & final #HushMoney deal.
#Steinglass drills into a critical element of the prosecution's case: that these payments to #KarenMcDougal were made to #influence the #election.
#Pecker confidently identifies exhibits that corroborate his story about McDougal.
Pecker admits straightforwardly that he didn't "want this story to embarrass Mr. Trump or embarrass or hurt the campaign."
The testimony neatly establishes that #Trump knowingly violated #CampaignFinance laws.
"This is a very, very large purchase," #Pecker says of paying $150k to #KarenMcDougal.
Prosecution introduces invoices & vouchers showing the payments to McDougal.
#Steinglass, prosecutor, is walking Pecker through a pretty extensive set of exchanges w/ #MichaelCohen & then transactions to create a payment voucher for McDougal's lawyer.
There's a sense of anxiety around all that was taking place to try to justify this payment internally & to placate #Trump's team.
Despite #Pecker's assertions that he structured the deal w/ #KarenMcDougal to avoid violating #CampaignFinance #law, his company later admitted doing just that in its 2018 non-prosecution agreement w/ federal prosecutors.
The #jurors are carefully looking at screens on which the evidence - the contract, text exchanges - is being displayed.
#criminal #law #Trump #TrumpTrial #GagOrder #CatchAndKill #conspiracy #ElectionInterference #HushMoney
#Pecker's last few minutes of testimony were key. He said that his company had disguised the #HushMoney payment to #KarenMcDougal as a deal for services she would perform for #AMI.
This is important for the prosecution's case:
They have to show that the #conspiracy that they accuse #Trump of participating in to win the 2016 election was conducted through "unlawful means." Pecker just indicated that it was.
#criminal #law #TrumpTrial #CatchAndKill #ElectionInterference
The deal went above & beyond for #KarenMcDougal & included the hiring of ghostwriters to pen her stories.
#Pecker says that the contract was intended to stipulate that McDougal would perform "services" for #AMI, that there was a basis for the $150k she was receiving.
Pecker is asked if The #NationalEnquirer had any intention to publish McDougal's story. Pecker is blunt: "No, we did not."
This is pure #CatchAndKill.
#criminal #law #Trump #TrumpTrial #conspiracy #ElectionInterference #HushMoney
#Pecker is openly admitting to his involvement in the #CatchAndKill scheme & is doing so quite candidly.
Pecker is now detailing the agreement #AMI, #Nationa Enquirer's parent company, struck w/ #KarenMcDougal. The contract guaranteed she would be put on 2 magazine covers & that the company would have the right to publish fitness columns by her. It's worth noting how bizarre this set-up was. It wasn't just buying her story — it was also giving her work w/AMI.
#criminal #law #Trump #TrumpTrial
#Pecker talked about #ArnoldSchwarzenegger for a long time, coming off as meandering as he described doing #CatchAndKill deals for Schwarzenegger once he entered politics. But Joshua #Steinglass, the prosecutor, then helped him link those deals to the matter at hand, asking: "Did you come to appreciate the legalities surrounding such an arrangement w/a political candidate?"
Pecker says he did.
The LA Times’ story about Schwarzenegger was very damaging.
#criminal #law #Trump #TrumpTrial
#Pecker is now describing a 2002 conversation w/ #ArnoldSchwarzenegger where he asked Pecker not to run negative stories about him before his run for governor of California. He was ultimately elected & served from 2003-2011.
Pecker says that women did come forward about relationships that they had w/Schwarzenegger & he did not publish stories on them. One that Pecker passed on ended up in The Los Angeles Times.
#criminal #law #Trump #TrumpTrial #CatchAndKill #ElectionInterference #HushMoney