Trump trial witness tells of alleged affair cover-up

By: Ausha Bagchi
and Kinsey Crowley
USA Today

..... The seventh day of Donald Trump's New York hush money trial resumed Thursday [04/25/2024] with the continuation of testimony from the prosecution's first witness, David Pecker, the former chief executive of American Media Incorporated, the parent company of National enquirer.
..... Pecker was called to testify about an alleged scheme involving Pecker, Trump, and former Trump layer Micheal Cohen to "catch and kill" stores that could harm Trump ahead of the 2016 presidential election. Trump faces 34 charges of falsifying business records to cover up hush money payments intend to bolster his 2016 campaign.
..... On Thursday, [04/25/2024] Pecker was questioned about Karen McDougal's story of having an affair with Trump, and his communications with Trump and Cohen about it. McDougal has claimed they had an affair that overlapped with Melania Trump's pregnancy. Trump denies the claim.
..... Asked by prosecutor Joshua Steinglass why Pecker thought Trump should by McDougal's story, Pecker testified he thought it would have been very embarrassing for Trump personally as well as for Trump's campaign.
..... Pecker testified about a discussion with Cohen regarding who would ultimately pay $150,000 in hush money to McDougal. Cohen allegedly told Pecker not to worry, because "the boss will take care of it." Pecker testified he understood that to mean he would be reimbursed by the Trump Organization or Donald Trump.
..... Steinglass walked Pecker through a contract with McDougal, where McDougal would also get a monthly column in two American Media Incorporated in addition to the $105.000. But Pecker testified that after the purchase, he never planned to publish McDougal's story. Pecker said his main reason for buying the story was to prevent it from influencing the 2016 presidential election.
..... Steinglass asked Pecker whether the hush money to McDougal was reported as a campaign finance contribution. Pecker said it was not.
..... Pecker testified that after speaking with a lawyer, he decided not to pursue from Cohen reimbursement for the $150,000 American Media Incorporated paid to acquire McDougal's story. "the boss is going to be very angry." Cohen allegedly told Pecker. "I can't believe it. I'm a lawyer. I'm your friend. I didn't understand why you're so concerned," Cohen added, according to Pecker.
..... Stormy Daniels claims she had an affair with Trump in 2006, and that Cohen paid her $130,000 to stay quiet about it ahead of the 2016 election.
..... Although only the $130,000 payment to Daniels is specifically tied to the records falsification charges Trump faces, this testimony could still be important. A key part of the prosecution;s case is that the payment to Daniels violated federal campaign finance laws. That makes it unlawful interference in the 2016 election, and makes Trump's alleged records falsification a cover-up for that unlawful interference. They say.
..... For Trump to be convicted of a felony, prosecutors must show not only that he falsified business records, but also that he did so to commit or conceal another crime. The federal campaign finance tie-in is one theory prosecutors have advanced to prove a felony.

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