Testimony began in earnest the second week of trial for former President Donald Trump in New York, where he has been charged with 34 counts of falsifying business records.
Same Facts, Different Stance on ‘Crime’
Former National Enquirer publisher David Pecker’s testimony spanned four days, during which he laid out the full timeline of events between an August 2015 meeting at Trump Tower which prosecutors allege was the beginning of a conspiracy, and his signing of a non-prosecution agreement in 2018.The prosecution and defense both questioned Mr. Pecker twice, and did not dispute the facts in Mr. Pecker’s recounting of events. However, prosecutors allege the events were acts of conspiracy and Mr. Pecker was a co-conspirator, while defense attorneys elicited testimony that Mr. Pecker believed his business practices to be standard procedure, and did not know what campaign law he could have violated.
Mr. Pecker affirmed several times that the purpose of his buying up the two stories in question—negative stories he had no intention of publishing, as often was the case—were so that these stories would not be used to damage Mr. Trump’s campaign.
Alerted of a federal investigation into campaign law violations, Mr. Pecker was “very worried.”
Gag Order Recurring Issue
The gag order on President Trump continues to be a topic of debate between attorneys the past two weeks. Prosecutors allege he has violated his gag order willfully in several statements, social media posts, and even campaign blasts. Defense attorneys have argued that the cited statements are not violations, but during an April 23 hearing backtracked on at least one post, acknowledging it may violate the order.
New York Supreme Court Justice Juan Merchan criticized the defense harshly during that hearing, saying they had not brought any evidence to back up their arguments. The burden of proof rests on the prosecution, which brought many printouts of statements they believe violate the gag order or show intent.
President Trump’s presence is required at the May 1 hearing over extrajudicial statements he made outside the courtroom, in an interview with Just the News, an interview on Action News, and during a campaign stop at a construction site early morning on April 25.
He faces arrest and imprisonment if he skips out on the meeting, and faces potential 30 days in jail or a $1,000 fine, or both, for each gag order violation.
Next Week
Friday marked the end of Mr. Pecker’s testimony. Rhona Graff, longtime assistant to President Trump, took the witness stand for a comparatively brief amount of time, acknowledging that she made contact entries for Dino Sajudin, Karen McDougal, and “Stormy” in the contacts system she maintained and oversaw for President Trump.Banker Gary Farro, who had Michael Cohen as a client at First Republic Bank, was the next to testify. He said that every communication from Mr. Cohen conveyed urgency, and confirmed he helped open Resolution Consultants LLC. No deposit was ever made in the account despite all the work to open it.
A second account, Essential Consultants LLC, was opened instead by a colleague of his as the request came in when Mr. Farro was on the golf course. That was the account used for the alleged “hush” payment.
The court will not be in session the coming Monday, and testimony will resume Tuesday morning. The court is also not in session every Wednesday, except the parties will be present for the gag order hearing on Wednesday afternoon, May 1, before testimonies resume Thursday and Friday.
