An NYU law professor believes David Pecker, the former publisher of the National Enquirer, will provide “dynamite evidence” against Donald Trump when he takes the stand Monday morning.
Over the weekend, a New York Times report revealed that Pecker would be the first witness called against the ex-president during his historic trial in Manhattan over allegations that he participated in a hush-money scheme ahead of the 2016 election.
“Pecker could be a key witness – in ways more devastating than Michael Cohen. This also indicates that the DA is bringing unlawful election influence to the forefront of jurors,” tweeted Professor Ron Goodman.
“Pecker’s testimony should provide strong evidence of the core allegation that the hush money program was designed to influence the outcome of the presidential election,” he added.
A 12-person jury in Manhattan will hear opening statements from prosecutors and defense attorneys in the first of four criminal cases against the presumptive Republican nominee to go to trial.
The statements are expected to give jurors and the voting public the clearest picture yet of the allegations at the heart of the case, as well as insight into Trump’s expected defense.
Donald Trump’s historic hush money trial in New York will feature a colorful cast of witnesses
David Pecker, the publisher of the National Enquirer tabloid newspaper, is expected to be the prosecution’s first witness Monday morning
An NYU law professor believes Pecker will be able to provide even more damning testimony than Trump’s former lawyer, Michael Cohen
Stormy Daniels, an adult film actress whose real name is Stephanie Clifford, claims she had a sexual encounter with Trump in 2006 and was paid $130,000 by Trump’s former lawyer Cohen for her silence
At the end of day three, twelve jurors were seated in the hush money trial against Trump
Lawyers will also introduce a colorful cast of characters expected to testify about the made-for-tabloids saga, including a porn actor who says she had a sexual encounter with Trump and the lawyer who prosecutors say paid her to keep quiet about it.
Trump is charged with 34 felonies for falsifying company records and faces up to four years in prison if convicted, although it is not clear whether the judge will try to put him behind bars.
A conviction would not prevent Trump from running for president again, but because it is a matter of state, he would not be able to try to pardon himself if found guilty. He has repeatedly denied all allegations.
In 2018, The Wall Street Journal reports this that Pecker attended a meeting at Trump Tower in August 2015 where Trump asked him, “What can you do to help my campaign?”
The indictment states that Pecker agreed to help the campaign by becoming “eyes and ears” and staying alert to any negative stories about Trump.
Pecker makes an agreement with Michael Cohen to buy any negative stories and never publish them.
Pecker will also likely be asked about his involvement in the campaign following the release of the infamous Access Hollywood tape.
In December 2016, Cohen asked Pecker to push Trump to pay him back for buying the Stormy Daniels story, the indictment said. Something Trump was reluctant to do.
Trump has denied the meeting with Daniels, saying the payment was personal and not related to the campaign
“David Pecker’s likely dynamite evidence linking the hush money program to efforts to influence the election includes: “In the summer of 2017, Defendant invited AMI’s CEO to the White House for dinner to thank him for his help during the campaign,” reads part of the complaint.
As Trump battles to win back the White House, the trial will require him to spend his days in court rather than on the campaign trail.
He will have to listen as witnesses tell salacious and possibly unflattering details about his private life.
Still, Trump has tried to turn his status as a criminal defendant into an asset for his campaign, raising money for his legal peril and repeatedly railing against a legal system that he has claimed for years is being weaponized against him.
The case will be heard by a jury, which includes several lawyers, a sales professional, an investment banker and an English teacher.
The case will test jurors’ ability to set aside any biases, as well as Trump’s ability to adhere to the court’s restrictions, such as a gag order banning him from attacking witnesses. Prosecutors are seeking fines against him for alleged violations of that order.
Prosecutors say Trump covered up the true nature of the payments to Stormy Daniels in internal documents when his company reimbursed Cohen, who pleaded guilty to federal charges in 2018 and is expected to be a key witness for the prosecution.
Trump has denied having a sexual encounter with Daniels, and his lawyers argue that the payments to Cohen were legitimate legal fees.
To convict Trump of a crime, prosecutors must show that he not only falsified business records or caused him to enter false documents, which would be a crime, but that he did so to conceal another crime.
The charges do not accuse Trump of blatant abuse of power, like the federal case in Washington, in which he is accused of plotting to overturn the 2020 presidential election, or of ignoring national security protocols, like the federal case in Florida, in which he is accused of hoarding secret documents.
But the New York prosecutor has gained importance because it may be the only one of the four cases against Trump to go to trial before the November election. Appeals and legal wrangling have postponed the other three cases.