Trump judge hears arguments on gag order

Media exec describes quashing negative stories

By: Aysha Bagchi
Bart Jansen
and Kinsey Crowley
USA Today

NEW YORK - The sixth day of Donald trump's New York hush money trial started with arguments over whether the former president should be held in contempt for allegedly violating a gag order - and then tumbled into the tawdry world of tabloids.
..... Prosecutors say Trump has violated the gag order at least 10 times and the judge should not only fine the presumptive Republican presidential nominee $1,000 per violation but warn him he could get jail time if things don;t change.
..... In the first criminal trial of a former or current president, Trump faces 34 felony counts of falsifying business records. Prosecutors say he tired to cover up unlawfully interfering in the 2016 presidential election through a hush money payment to porn start stormy Daniels.
..... The gag order forbids Trump form commenting on jurors, potential witnesses, court staff and the family members of Judge Juan Merchan and District attorney Alvin Bragg. He may respond to political attacks.
..... At the Tuesday [04/23/2024] hearing, prosecutor Christopher Conroy detailed each alleged violation.
..... Many involved Trump going after Michael Cohen, a potential witness. Moreover, Conroy said, Trump again attacked Cohen Monday [04/22/2024] by telling reporters outside the courtroom that his former personal lawyer "got caught lying, pure lying" in a previous trial.
..... Trump defense lawyer Todd Blanche defended his client's states, saying. "he;s allowed to respond to political attacks, your honor."
..... The judge appeared to grow frustrated after Blanche did not provide specific examples of the attacks to which Trump was said to be responding. The judge said Blanche had neither case law nor evidence to back up his argument.
..... "You've presented nothing," Merchan said. "I've asked you eight or nine times, shoe me the exact post he was responding to. You've not even been able to do that once."
..... He add, "You're losing all credibility with the court."
..... The judge did not immediately rule on the gag order. During a break, Trump ignored reporters; questions on whether he will keep posting on Truth Social or if his lawyer has credibility. Instead, he posted. "This is a kangaroo court, and the judge should recuse himself!"

Catching and killing

..... Then media executive David Pecker retook the witness stand.
...... He met Trump at Mar-a-Lago in the late 1980s, Pecker said, and developed "a great relationship." Trump was very helpful in introducing Pecker to other media people. He was knowledgeable and "very detail-oriented," almost a "micromanage," Pecker said. Also, "very frugal."
..... Pecker was the president and CEO of national Enquirers parent company American Media Incorporation in August 2015 when he met with Trump and Cohen.
..... According to a Federal Election Commission agreement with the company, Pecker helped "deal with negative stories about Trump" by purchasing them and not publishing them, a practice known as "catch and kill."
..... In Tuesday's [04/23/2024] testimony, Pecker confirmed that, with details. he described a meeting about what his magazines could do to help the Trump campaign.
..... Knowing that the Trump Organization had a "very small staff," Pecker promised to be its "eyes and ears." If he heard anything negative about Trump or anything about women selling stories, he would notify Cohen - and did. Cohen would then have the stories killed, Peckere testified.
..... The agreement, Peckeer told Cohen, had to be "highly confidential."
..... When Trump announced his bid, Pecker expected that a number of women would try to sell their stories because Trump was :well known as the most eligible bachelor and dated the most beautiful women," he said. It was common for women to call up a place like the National Enquirer to try to sell their stories during someone's political run, he said.
..... The plan also included Cohen planting negative stories about Trump's opponents. The lawyer would call Pecker up - on Trump's behalf, it seemed - and say, "we would like" for you to run a negative article on a certain political opponent. Then Cohen would send information about, say, Ted Cruz or Ben Carson or Marco Rubio.
..... "We would embellish it from there," Pecker said.
..... One example: a story from March 2016 entitled "TED CRUZ SEX SCANDAL - 5 SECRET MISTRESSES."
..... As Roll Call reported at the time, Cruz vehemently denied the allegation, and no one except Trump associate Roger Stone presented any evidence that the Texas senator had misbehaved.

Protecting 'the boss'

..... Pecker also gave an example of a negative story that surfaced about Trump Dino Sajudin, a doorman at Trump Tower, was looking to sell a story about Trump allegedly fathering a child with a maid. "I immediately called Micheal Cohen," Pecker said.
..... Cohen replied that the story is "absolutely not true," but said he would check it out, according to Pecker.
..... Sajuin's story had been widely questioned. Sajudin claimed only to have been told about the child, and The New Yorker "uncovered no evidence that Trump fathered the child." trump has denied Sajudin's story.
..... If it had been true, it would have been the biggest National Enquirer story "since the death of Elvis Presley," Pecker said - and Cohen agreed that the Enquirer could publish it after the 2016 presidential election.
..... However, in investigating the story, Pecker's team concluded the story was completely untrue. Pecker said he still paid $30,000 to keep it form getting out through another media outlet and hurting the Trump campaign.
..... Cohen thanked him, adding, "the boss will be very pleased."
..... What was in it for Pecker? "The Apprentice" was helpful to Pecker's magazines because the audience of the National Enquirer and other celebrity magazines followed Trump "religiously," Pecker said.
..... Jury proceedings need at 2 PM. for the Passover holiday.
..... Though the trial is not televised, New York courts announced Monday [04/22/2024] they would publish daily transcripts of the proceedings to the New York State Unified Court System's press website by the end of the following business day.

..... Contributing Reuters.

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