A few hours into deliberations, the jurors in former President Donald Trump’s criminal trial in New York asked to hear key parts of testimony read back and for legal instructions to be repeated.
The court began on Thursday morning with another request to hear instructions regarding how to consider evidence, and New York Supreme Court Justice Juan Merchan repeated instructions for about half an hour. New York jurors are not given written copies of instructions but can ask for the judge to repeat all or parts of them as many times as they require.
After the instructions, court clerks read back some 30 pages of testimony transcripts, seemingly focusing on testimony by former National Enquirer publisher David Pecker as to the extent of President Trump’s knowledge and involvement in an alleged conspiracy to influence the 2016 elections.
Justice Merchan had instructed jurors that under New York law, ex-lawyer Michael Cohen is considered an accomplice in the alleged conspiracy and therefore his testimony alone cannot be used to find defendant President Trump guilty. It must be corroborated by other evidence.
Trump Tower Meeting
Prosecutors have cast an August 2015 meeting at Trump Tower as the start of a conspiracy to influence the 2016 election. Jurors need to find that prosecutors have proven beyond a reasonable doubt that President Trump had the intent—or “conscious objective and purpose,” as the judge repeatedly instructed jurors—to conceal the alleged conspiracy by causing the creation of 34 allegedly falsified records, or they cannot return a guilty verdict. Jurors do not need to find that President Trump engaged in the alleged conspiracy.“I received a phone call from Michael Cohen telling me that the boss wanted to see me,” Mr. Pecker had testified. “Most of the time, I received a call from Michael Cohen; he wanted something. So, I assumed I was going to be asked for something. I didn’t know what it was before I got there.”
Mr. Pecker testified that he, Mr. Trump, and Mr. Cohen had been in the meeting, with Trump Campaign communications director Hope Hicks entering and leaving the room during the meeting but not participating. On cross-examination, Mr. Pecker affirmed that he had not initially told prosecutors Ms. Hicks was present but also clarified that she did not speak in the meeting.
Mr. Pecker said at the start of the meeting, he was asked what he and his magazines could do to “help the campaign.”
“I said I would run and publish positive stories about Donald Trump, and I would publish negative stories about his opponents. And I said I would be his eyes and ears because I know the Trump Organization had a very small staff,” Mr. Pecker said. “I would notify Michael Cohen, and he would then be able to have and kill the stories.”
Mr. Pecker was asked how the topic of women came up.
“During a presidential campaign, I was the person who thought there would be a number of them who would come out and try to tell their stories, because Mr. Trump was known as the most eligible bachelor,” Mr. Pecker said. “It was very common for these women to call up a national magazine like the Enquirer and try to sell their stories.”
He was asked if the topic of Bill and Hillary Clinton came up.
“Yes. Hillary running for president, Bill Clinton’s womanizing, was one of the biggest sales I had in the National Enquirer or any of the other tabloids,” Mr. Pecker said. “It was easy for me to say that I’m going to continue running those types of stories for the National Enquirer. I think it was a mutual benefit. It would help his campaign, and it would help me.”
The meeting lasted 20 to 25 minutes, Mr. Pecker testified. He said it was his understanding that any stories I heard in the marketplace that were going to be negative to Mr. Trump, his family, or his campaign, I was going to notify Michael Cohen immediately.”
He affirmed that no financial component was discussed at the meeting and that there was no written agreement. Having the tabloid purchase negative stories was not discussed.
Mr. Pecker said it had been his understanding that he would notify Mr. Cohen about negative stories when he found they were up for sale, and Mr. Cohen would have to buy them or another media outlet might.
Pecker Spoke to Trump About McDougal Deal
Mr. Pecker had testified about a June 2016 phone call with Mr. Trump, and he remembered he received the call while he was giving a presentation to investors.“I left and took the call,” he said.
Mr. Pecker testified that Mr. Trump said Mr. Cohen had told him about the Karen McDougal story, and a $8 million bid by a Mexican media company for it, and then asked for Mr. Pecker’s thoughts.
Mr. Pecker did not believe there was an $8 million bid. He testified he told Mr. Trump to buy the story and take it off the market and “Mr. Trump said I don’t normally buy stories because it always gets out.”
He urged Mr. Trump to purchase the story again, and Mr. Trump said he would speak with Mr. Cohen and then get back to Mr. Pecker.
“It’s my understanding that she doesn’t want her story published,” Mr. Pecker said he told Mr. Trump. “Mr. Trump said to me, ‘Don’t buy any stories.’ So I said, ‘I still believe that we should take the story off the market, and he said, let me think about it, and I’ll have Michael Cohen call you back in a few days.”
Pecker Rips Up Deal
Mr. Pecker ended up buying two stories not related to the allegedly falsified records in this case. Former Trump building doorman Dino Sajudin had shopped around a story about an illegitimate child, which turned out to be false, and former Playboy model Karen McDougal had shopped a story about an affair but wanted to restart her career and reportedly did not really want to tell that story.Mr. Pecker, via his publications, paid $30,000 and $150,000 for the stories, respectively, with the payment to Ms. McDougal tied to a column and magazine covers.
Mr. Pecker testified that he and Mr. Cohen discussed selling the life rights to Ms. McDougal’s story to Mr. Cohen, but in the first week of October 2016, Mr. Pecker told him the deal was off.
“It was a bad idea, and I want you to rip up the agreement,” Mr. Pecker said he told Mr. Cohen. “He was very upset, screaming at me. Michael Cohen said ’the boss is going to be very angry at you.‘ I said I’m sorry, I’m not going forward; the deal is off. He said ’I don’t understand, I’m a lawyer, I’m your friend, I don’t understand why you are so concerned.'”
Mr. Pecker testified that AMI was never reimbursed for purchasing the story.
He affirmed on cross-examination that an agreement was prepared and signed by Mr. Pecker and Mr. Cohen concerning the transfer of the life rights of the story, and before money changed hands, he conferred with counsel and decided the deal was off.
Mr. Pecker also testified that he refused to be involved in a deal to acquire a story from adult film performer Stephanie Clifford, better known by her stage name Stormy Daniels.
“I said to Michael Cohen that after paying for the doorman story and the Karen McDougal story that I wasn’t going to buy anything further, and I wasn’t a bank,” Mr. Pecker said. “I told Dylan Howard that there is no possible way I would buy the story for $120,000, and I didn’t want to have anything to do with a porn star.”
Jurors will need to weigh whether the deals Mr. Pecker testified about constitute a conspiracy to influence the 2016 election through unlawful means, and whether the payments made to Mr. Cohen in 2017 showed intent to conceal such a conspiracy.
