Donald Trump's criminal trial involving the purchase of a porn star's silence had my first witness testify this Tuesday (23). First to speak was the former editor-in-chief of the American tabloid National Enquirer, David Pecker, who acknowledged that he used the popular newspaper to suppress stories that could have harmed Trump's 2016 presidential campaign.
In testimony in a New York court, Pecker, 72, said the National Enquirer paid two people who were selling stories about Trump's sexual misconduct, but never published them — a practice known as “catch and kill.” to kill).
“When someone is running for office like this, it's very common for these women to call a magazine like National Enquirer trying to sell their stories,” Pecker said in the statement.
Pecker said the decision to bury the stories was made after a 2015 meeting in which he told Trump that the Enquirer would publish favorable stories about the billionaire candidate and would be wary of people selling stories that could harm him. Pecker said he directed an editor to keep the deal secret.
Prosecutors say Pecker's actions helped Trump mislead voters in the 2016 election by burying stories about alleged extramarital affairs at a time when he was already the target of multiple allegations of sexual misconduct.
They accused Trump of having criminally falsified business records to cover up a $130,000 payment to buy the silence of porn star Stormy Daniels, who claims to have had a sexual encounter with him ten years ago.
Trump has pleaded not guilty and denies having had a meeting with Daniels. His lawyers argued that Trump committed no crimes and only acted to protect his reputation.
The case could be the only one of the four criminal cases against Trump to come to trial before the Republican's rematch against Democratic President Joe Biden in the November 5 election.
A guilty verdict would not prevent Trump from being inaugurated, but it could hurt his candidacy.
Breach of silence
A little earlier, a hearing was held to consider whether Trump should pay a $10,000 fine for violating a gag order that prohibits him from criticizing witnesses, court officials and their relatives.
Judge Juan Merchan said he would not immediately rule on the request, but appeared indifferent to arguments from Trump defense lawyer Todd Blanche that Trump was responding to political attacks and not intimidating witnesses.
The $10,000 fine requested by New York prosecutor Christopher Conroy would be relatively small for Trump, who has posted $266.6 million in bonds while he appeals civil judgments in two other cases.
Source: CNN Brasil
Bruce Belcher is a seasoned author with over 5 years of experience in world news. He writes for online news websites and provides in-depth analysis on the world stock market. Bruce is known for his insightful perspectives and commitment to keeping the public informed.
