Donald Trump faced his former ally David Pecker in a hush-money trial in Manhattan on Monday, but the former president notably did not make eye contact while Pecker took the witness stand.
Pecker, a former publisher of the National Enquirer magazine, will testify against President Trump, 77, as the historic trial begins Monday morning, the first time a U.S. president faces a criminal case. He was the first person to do so.
Wearing a dark gray suit, yellow tie, and distinctive slicked-back silver hair and mustache, Pecker, 72, did not make eye contact with Trump as he entered and exited the stands.
He also avoided news cameras by entering through the side door of the courtroom normally used by the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office.
The former commander-in-chief appeared to be actively listening during Pecker’s testimony, chatting and passing notes to his lawyer.
Pecker’s brief time on the stand Monday lasted about 20 minutes, giving jurors enough time to attend an emergency dental appointment and giving the public enough time to prepare for the Jewish holiday of Passover, which begins Monday night. The court was dismissed early to allow for the hearing.
Pecker briefly nodded in the direction of the defense bench as he left the courtroom, but it was unclear to whom he was acknowledging.
He is scheduled to return to court Tuesday morning to continue testifying.
It was not immediately clear what the current status of Trump and Pecker’s relationship is and whether the two remain friends. Pecker acknowledged Monday that he had been subpoenaed to appear in court.
Prosecutors with the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office told jurors in their opening statement Monday morning that Pecker had committed President Trump’s so-called “catch-and-kill scheme” in which he bought exclusive rights to potentially harmful articles. , which he never made public). President Trump is hiding damaging information ahead of the 2016 presidential election.
Pecker has not yet been questioned about an alleged secret meeting at Trump Tower in 2015 with Trump and his former lawyer and “fixer” Michael Cohen, during which prosecutors said He claims to have come up with a plan to identify and silence harmful stories.
But Mr. Pecker gave jurors an insight into his time as CEO of parent company American Media Inc., when he ran a tabloid supermarket.
“After 40 years in the publishing industry, I realized early in my career that the only thing that matters is the magazine cover,” Pecker told the jury.
He explained that reporters in his organization could not spend more than $10,000 on a National Enquirer story without his approval.
Anything over that amount would have to be vetted for approval, he testified.
Pecker added, “I had the final say on the celebrity side of the magazine.”
Prosecutor Matthew Colangelo said during the opening session that Pecker paid former Trump Tower doorman Dino Sajudin $30,000 to avoid repeating claims that Trump had a child with a former housekeeper. Stated. The story turned out to be a complete lie.
Colangelo said Pecker also sought to prevent her story from becoming public about her alleged affair with Trump during their marriage to former Playboy Playmate Karen McDougal. He claimed to have paid $150,000.
Mr. Pecker will be furious about these two trade arrangements on Tuesday.
Trump is also accused of forcing Cohen to pay porn actress Stormy Daniels $130,000 to prevent her from publicly revealing claims that she once slept with a married Trump. .
Mr. Trump then allegedly recorded reimbursement payments to Mr. Cohen for advances made to Mr. Daniels as legal expenses, but Mr. Colangelo told jurors that this was an illegal concealment and that Mr. Trump He said this is why he was charged with falsifying business records.
Colangelo said the Big Apple real estate mogul orchestrated a “criminal scheme to corrupt the 2016 presidential election.” “He then lied about his business records in New York and lied again and again to cover up the plot.”
In his opening remarks, Trump’s lawyer, Todd Blanche, told jurors that his client was “shrouded in innocence.”
“President Trump did not commit any crime. The Manhattan District Attorney’s office should not have brought this case,” Blanche said.
“There’s nothing wrong with trying to influence elections. That’s called democracy,” he added.
Cohen is scheduled to testify as the prosecution’s star witness during the six-week trial. Daniels may also testify.
But Blanche painted them both as liars whose words cannot be trusted, calling Cohen an ex-convict who is “obsessed” with going after the former president and Daniels allegedly trying to “extort” Trump for himself. He called them hungry opportunists. payment.
As for Daniels, “her testimony, while despicable, is not important,” Blanche said.
At the end of Monday’s trial, Trump stood up and slowly walked out of the room, scanning the row of reporters but saying nothing.
He then spoke outside the courtroom and talked about how the court case he has to attend has prevented him from campaigning.
