Trump trial: Pecker says deal to bury Trump stories was 'agreement between friends'

Summary

David Pecker, former publisher of the tabloid National Enquirer, has testified at Donald Trump's hush-money trial in New York
He details a "catch-and-kill" strategy, where damaging news was bought and buried ahead of the 2016 election, calling it an "agreement between friends"
Trump is accused of trying to cover up a $130,000 (£104,500) payment to porn star Stormy Daniels before he won the 2016 election
He has pleaded not guilty to 34 counts of falsifying business records and also denies having an alleged sexual encounter with Daniels
Earlier on Tuesday, the judge held a fiery hearing to determine if Trump violated a gag order imposed to stop verbal attacks on witnesses
The prosecution says Trump "knows about the order... but he he does it anyway." They want him fined $1,000 for each of 10 violations
The defence says Trump is merely defending himself from political attacks - but judge warns lawyer he is "losing all credibility with the court"

Live Reporting

Edited by Brandon Livesay and Tiffany Wertheimer

How The Apprentice linked up Trump and Peckerpublished at 16:46 British Summer Time 23 April
Kayla Epstein
Reporting from court
This line of questioning takes us back in time to the peak of Trump’s non-political celebrity: when he was the star of the business reality show The Apprentice in the 2000s.
David Pecker talks about the media relationship with Trump during this time.
The National Enquirer tabloid magazine - to which Pecker was the CEO of the publishing company - was able to publish positive details about The Apprentice’s success, like ratings and content, Pecker explains.
When producers later launched Celebrity Apprentice, that relationship became even more fruitful for the Enquirer, Pecker adds.
Image source, Getty Images
Image caption,
The expression "you're fired" was Trump's signature line in The Apprentice - here a huge banner advertises it prominently on Trump Tower in 2004
Pecker talks about 'beneficial relationship'published at 16:36 British Summer Time 23 April
Madeline Halpert
Reporting from court
Pecker is complimentary of Donald Trump, claiming the two have a "beneficial relationship" and that Trump's reality TV show, The Apprentice, was an "instant success".
Donald Trump is looking at Pecker as he speaks on the stand, occasionally glancing down at the table in front of him.
David Pecker takes the standpublished at 16:29 British Summer Time 23 April
Madeline Halpert
Reporting from court
We're back where we left off yesterday, with David Pecker starting his testimony.
He got through about 30 minutes yesterday as the first witness, before the day came to an end.
Prosecutors are asking Pecker about his relationship to Donald Trump. He says he's known Trump since the late 1980s.
He says he met Trump at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida when a client introduced them.
The court sketch below was from yesterday, and shows Pecker speaking to the court.
- Who is David Pecker, and what is 'catch and kill'?
Image source, Reuters
Trump blasts judge on Truth Social during court breakpublished at 16:27 British Summer Time 23 April
Madeline Halpert
Reporting from court
Trump may be quiet in court, but online, he's as fiery as ever.
In a post on his social media site Truth Social just now, he claims Justice Merchan has "taken away my constitutional right to free speech".
This is in reference to the gag order, which was fiercely debated in court earlier today.
"Everybody is allowed to talk and lie about me, but I am not allowed to defend myself," he says.
Trump adds that Justice Merchan should "recuse himself" from the hush-money trial.
Trump's team sit in a row, ready for next phasepublished at 16:18 British Summer Time 23 April
Kayla Epstein
Reporting from court
Trump is seated between attorney Emil Bove on his right, and Todd Blanche to his left.
He's whispering to Blanche and examining papers at his table.
At one point, Trump turns around, appearing to look at the press seated behind him and the prosecution side.
Alvin Bragg, who brought the case, is not yet back in the courtroom.
Image source, Reuters
Trump returns to the courtroompublished at 16:09 British Summer Time 23 April
Kayla Epstein
Reporting from court
After a short break, Donald Trump is back in court.
He had spent the first half of the morning watching his lawyer stumble through his contempt hearing.
Now, we will resume the trial itself, picking up where we left off on Monday.
David Pecker, former publisher of the National Enquirer, will face questioning from prosecutors about an alleged plan between Trump, his then-lawyer Michael Cohen, and the tabloid to keep negative stories about Trump out of the press in the lead up to the 2016 election.
Image source, Reuters
Protest fatigue?published at 16:05 British Summer Time 23 April
Pratiksha Ghildial
Reporting from outside court
After one or two protesters gathered in the designated area this morning, the area seems to have cleared out for now.
I can’t see a single one at the moment.
Just a few police and members of the media milling around. That could well change as the day progresses, though.
And we're back... with the hush-money trialpublished at 16:02 British Summer Time 23 April
After a short break, court is back in session for the hush-money trial.
There have already been some tense moments in court this morning - stick with us as we bring you all the latest lines from court.
Today's session is expected to close at 14:00ET (19:00BST) to allow everyone to leave early for the Jewish holiday Passover.
Cut through the noise with our US election newsletterpublished at 15:56 British Summer Time 23 April
Donald Trump’s hush-money case is only part of the legal and political drama playing out in a very busy election year.
Sign up for our weekly newsletter, where our North America correspondent Anthony Zurcher will set out what you really need to know from the campaign trail, and help you see the bigger global picture.
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And if you're anywhere else, sign up here.
Who is David Pecker and what was 'catch-and-kill'?published at 15:52 British Summer Time 23 April
Image source, Getty Images
Image caption,
David Pecker in 2012
David Pecker's testimony was cut short yesterday when the court day came to an end, so he will continue it this morning.
Pecker was the CEO of American Media Inc (AMI), which published the National Enquirer tabloid in the period before the 2016 election.
Prosecutors have claimed that, in August 2015, Pecker met with Trump and his then-personal fixer Michael Cohen at Trump Tower in Manhattan to discuss using the tabloid to suppress negative stories that might damage Trump's presidential run.
The practice - known in media circles as "catch-and-kill" - involves buying the exclusive rights to stories but never publishing them.
One such instance of this campaign - porn star Stormy Daniels' claim that she had had sex with Trump - is what now sits at the heart of this criminal case against the presumptive Republican nominee for 2024. Trump denies having any sexual encounter with Daniels.
Pecker was previously subpoenaed in 2018 by federal investigators to provide testimony about Trump's knowledge of the hush money payments he made to Cohen, but it is unclear if he has been compelled to testify in this trial or is doing so voluntarily.
Court breaks after fiery gag order hearingpublished at 15:49 British Summer Time 23 April
Kayla Epstein
Reporting from court
We are taking a recess until 11:00 local time (16:00BST), when the hush-money trial will resume and the jury will return.
Then we will continue to hear from the first witness, David Pecker.
Judge won't rule on gag order yetpublished at 15:46 British Summer Time 23 April
Kayla Epstein
Reporting from court
After a contentious back-and-forth with Todd Blanche, Justice Merchan prepares to end this contempt hearing.
He says he will reserve judgement on the matter - so probably no decision today.
The prosecution is now following up on some of the things that Trump's lawyers said.
Judge says Trump's lawyer is 'losing all credibility'published at 15:43 British Summer Time 23 April
Kayla Epstein
Reporting from court
Justice Merchan is growing increasingly frustrated with Blanche after he failed to provide the judge with precedent or specifics.
As he wraps up, Blanche claims Trump is being "very careful" not to violate the gag order.
“You’re losing all credibility with the court," Justice Merchan says.
Blanche is left speechlesspublished at 15:39 British Summer Time 23 April
Madeline Halpert
Reporting from court
Todd Blanche, one of Trump's lawyers, is becoming increasingly aggravated.
His argument with Justice Merchan over Trump's social media activity continues.
At one point, Merchan asks him if he is claiming that when Trump made the social media posts in question, the former president did not believe he was violating the gag order.
Blanche stands before the judge in silence for several seconds before moving onto something else.
Trump is 'extremely frustrated', and it appears the judge is toopublished at 15:36 British Summer Time 23 April
Kayla Epstein
Reporting from court
Image source, Reuters
Things aren’t getting any better for Blanche.
After struggling to provide specific answers to Justice Merchan’s inquiry, Blanche seems to give an answer that is more tailored to his client than the judge.
Blanche says that in general, Trump is “extremely frustrated with the two systems of justice in this courtroom”.
Justice Merchan is not amused.
“There’s two systems of justice in this courtroom, that’s what you’re saying?” he says.
Judge gets terse with Trump's lawyerpublished at 15:33 British Summer Time 23 April
Kayla Epstein
Reporting from court
Trump’s attorney Todd Blanche is having a rough time.
He's arguing that Trump is responding to political attacks, and is not trying to violate the gag order.
The judge repeatedly asks Blanche to give specific examples of attacks that Trump is responding to.
In one instance, Blanche struggles to come up with a precise post or comment that Stormy Daniels would have made that Trump reacted to.
Blanche then makes a blunder, phrasing one of his responses as a question to the judge.
Justice Merchan is not amused, and reminds him that the judge is the one who asks questions.
“I keep asking you over and over again for a specific example and I’m not getting an answer,” Justice Merchan said.
He points out that the jury must come in soon, but Blanche has gone through only two exhibits.
Juror quit because of Trump's social media post, prosecutor sayspublished at 15:27 British Summer Time 23 April
Kayla Epstein
Reporting from court
The prosecution's Christopher Conroy blamed Trump’s posts for causing the court to lose a seated juror during jury selection last week.
Trump had shared an article on 17 April, in the heat of jury selection, that claimed “liberal activists” were trying to get onto the jury.
Last week, a seated juror was excused after saying family and friends were able to identify her because of details in the media, and then bombarded her with opinions and articles. She said because of this, she was concerned about her privacy, and also could not be impartial.
The jury was ultimately filled, but the pressure of sitting on a jury in such a high profile case has not eased.
Trump sits quietly as lawyers arguepublished at 15:23 British Summer Time 23 April
Madeline Halpert
Reporting from court
Trump seems relatively disengaged as his lawyers argue on his behalf.
He briefly glances up at his lawyer, Todd Blanche, as he speaks to Justice Merchan, but also closes his eyes from time to time as his colourful social media posts are read aloud.
Attacks not specifically about the trial, Trump's lawyer sayspublished at 15:17 British Summer Time 23 April
Madeline Halpert
Reporting from court
Trump's defence lawyer, Todd Blanche is now arguing his case to the judge.
He claims Trump is fully aware of the gag order, and did not violate it because he was not attacking witnesses in relation to the trial specifically, just in general.
Blanche adds that Trump was simply responding to attacks from the witnesses, including Cohen.
"He's allowed to respond to political attacks, your honour," Blanche says.
Trump faces a $10,000 finepublished at 15:14 British Summer Time 23 April
Madeline Halpert
Reporting from court
Prosecutors are going over their demands for Trump's punishment for allegedly violating the gag order.
They want a $1,000 fine for each of the 10 alleged breaches.
They also want Trump to take down the posts from Truth Social and his campaign website.
And lastly, he should be warned not to violate the order again, and “reminded that incarceration is an option”, Conroy tells the court.