On Tuesday, testimony resumed in the case of Donald Trump's money hiding. The court heard the testimony of the first witness, tabloid publisher David Packer, who spoke in detail about the "catch and kill" scheme, a method used by Trump to bury articles that compromised him during his 2016 presidential campaign. UNN writes about the trial with a link to the court broadcast.
Details
The first witness in Donald Trump's hush money case, former National Enquirer publisher David Packer, testified on Tuesday that he used his tabloid to cover up stories that could have harmed Trump's 2016 presidential bid.
Packer said that the Enquirer paid two people who spread stories about Trump's sexual misconduct to never publish them. This is a practice known in the media as "catch and kill.
When someone runs for a public office like this, these women very often call a magazine like the National Enquirer to try to sell their stories.
Packer, 72, testified in a New York court that the Enquirer had bought a story by Trump Tower doorman Dino Sajudin, who claimed that Trump had a child with a maid who worked for him. The journalists later learned that the story was false.
Prosecutors showed a note in court showing that the Enquirer's company, American Media, paid $30,000 for the story. This amount is much more than the company would normally pay.
I decided to buy this story because of the potential embarrassment to the campaign and Mr. Trump.
Packer said the decision followed a meeting in 2015 in which he told Trump that the Enquirer would publish favorable stories about the billionaire candidate and keep an eye out for people selling stories that could harm him.
Packer also said that the Enquirer paid former Playboy model Karen McDougal for her story about sexual relations with Trump in 2006 and 2007. He said he bought the story after Trump refused to do so himself.
The Enquirer's parent company, American Media, indicated that it paid $150,000 for the story in 2018. Trump himself denies having an affair with McDougal.
Pecker will give additional testimony on Thursday, when the court resumes hearings in the case.
Prosecutors allege that Pecker's actions helped Trump mislead voters in the 2016 election by hiding stories of alleged extramarital affairs at a time when he was already facing several sexual misconduct allegations.
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Context
Trump is facing charges of criminal falsification of business records to hide a $130,000 payment. The money was paid to porn star Stormy Daniels, who claimed to have had sexual contact with Trump 10 years ago.
Trump pleads not guilty and denies meeting with Daniels. His lawyers claim that Trump did not commit any crimes and acted only to protect his reputation.
This case may be the only one of the four criminal prosecutions of Trump to go to trial before the presidential election in November.
It should be noted that the guilty verdict will not prohibit Trump from taking office if elected, but it may harm his candidacy.
Trump himself has tried to downplay the charges. Leaving the courtroom on Monday, he called the trial an "accounting" matter and a "very minor thing." He also said that it was all about the electionsto be held in November this year.
Trump has repeatedly stated that this case is part of a large-scale attempt by the Democrats to damage his chances of returning to the presidency.