Thread by @innercitypress

OK - now at #TrumpTrial April 25, National Enquirer's David Pecker direct examination will continue - but Justice Merchan's gag order contempt ruling before that? Inner City Press wrote the 1st booklet and will live tweet, thread belowamazon.com/dp/B0D2FJBVJB

Trump has arrived, now sits whispering into ear of his lawyer Emil Bove. Poses for pool photographers. Blue suit, red tie. Still awaiting Justice Merchan, 9:34 am

All rise!
Clerk: People versus Donald J. Trump!
Justice Merchan: Would you like to go over what went over yesterday, Mr. Bove?
Trump's lawyer Emil Bove: We received Your Honor's email about embedded hearsay. We conferred with the Government, it was helpful.

Prosecutor Steinglass: I think we can start with the jury. In the first two hours, there's only one document that's disputed.
Trump's lawyer Bove: On that one, our position is that a redaction will be necessary.
Justice Merchan: We'll deal with this in the break

Prosecutor Conroy: We have another order to show cause, video clips including of what the defendant said just outside this courtroom in his press conferences or whatever they are... He said, Cohen got caught lying. When are they coming to look at that?

Prosecutor Conroy: Defendant said, the judge picked the jury so quickly, 95% Democrats... Then an interview on a Pennsylvania TV station, "David Pecker, I don't know exactly what he'll be testifying about." He's talking about witnesses.

Prosecutor Conroy: This morning the defendant did a press event on 49th Street and Park Avenue, he said David Pecker is a nice guy - this just before his testimony, it's a message to him and other witnesses, Be nice. Find him in contempt.

Justice Merchan: Please bring in the witness. [It's done] Mr. Pecker, I remind you you're still under oath. Bring in the jury.
[Jury enters]
Prosecutor: Let's resume on Ms. McDougal.
Pecker: She was 47 years old, and said she had sexual relationship with Mr Trump

Prosecutor: Did you have a three-way call with Dylan Howard and Michael Cohen that day?
Pecker: Yes. Immediately Michael Cohen, It's not true. Which is something that he always said. Then he said, I'll check it out and get back to you.

Prosecutor: Did Michael Cohen say to buy the story?
Pecker: Yes. Dylan said ABC wanted to buy the story, they offered her a slot on Dancing with the Stars, and a Mexican group wanted to buy it for $1 million.

Pecker: Dylan said Ms. McDougal didn't want to be the next Monica Lewinsky. She wanted to restart her career. She'd had a cover with us, and Dylan said she'd like to bring to story to us, American Media. Her attorney was Keith Davidson. I thought, we should buy it

Prosecutor: You had a conversation with Donald Trump about this?
Pecker: Yes. I was an an investors' meeting in New Jersey. The assistant said, There's a call for you from Donald Trump. I took it. Mr. Trump said to me, I spoke to Michael, Karen is a nice girl

Pecker: Mr. Trump asked, Is there a Mexican group out there to buy the story for $8 million? I said no, but I thought we should buy the story.
Prosecutor: The defendant called Ms. McDougal a nice girl?
Pecker: Yes. I believe he knew who she was.

Pecker: Mr. Trump told me he doesn't buy stories because it always gets out.
Prosecution: Did Michael Cohen then call you?
Pecker: The next day. He said, You should go ahead and buy this story. I said, I'll have Dylan Howard negotiate, but who's going to pay?

Pecker: Michael Cohen told me, The boss will take care of it.
Prosecutor: Who did you understand the Boss to be?
Pecker: Donald Trump. I told Dylan Howard to go negotiate to buy the story.
Prosecutor: Did you discuss terms?
Pecker: $150,000 for lifetime rights

Pecker: She also wanted to appear in our magazine. She had a problem with her breast implants and wanted to write about it in Shape magazine, and to anchor red carpet events for Radar.
Prosecutor: How often did you speak with Michael Cohen?
Pecker: Daily.

Pecker: I told Michael Cohen, Why should I pay? I just paid $30,000 for the doorman story. But who is going to reimburse me $150,000? He said, The Boss will take care of it.
Prosecutor: People's 173A, start with page 1. Texts with Dylan Howard.

Prosecutor: Here Dylan Howard texted that he'd spoken with MC about that other issue. What did you understand that to mean?
Pecker: Can you clarify?
Prosecutor: I can't testify, but... Was a contract signed with Karen McDougal?
Pecker: Yes, 1st week of August 2016

Prosecutor: Were you concerned about buying a story?
Pecker: Yes. I'd bought a story before for Arnold Schwarzenegger. I was buying Flex, I was told I had to meet Arnold, who said he wanted our tabloids to not run anything against me, he was running for Governor

Pecker: There were women selling stories about relationships with Arnold, or sexual harassment by him. I would buy them up. But one, we didn't buy and she sold it to the LA Times. It was very embarrassing for me

Pecker: So I became sensitive about buying any stories in the future.
Prosecutor: What did you take away from this?
Pecker: I wanted to be comfortable that the agreement with Karen McDougal met all the obligations with respect to a campaign contribution

Pecker: I told Michael Cohen that we consulted with a campaign attorney.
Prosecutor: People's 156.
Pecker: The Karen McDougal contract. I wanted to substantiate the $150,000 payment with the campaign finance laws - that the money was for services to AMI

Prosecutor: Were the provisions about work for AMI meant to disguise the payment for the life rights to the story?
Pecker: Uh, yes.
Prosecutor: Did you have any intention of publishing the story?
Pecker: No I did not.

Prosecutor: Who was aware on the Trump side?
Pecker: Michael Cohen.
Prosecutor: What about Donald Trump?
Trump's lawyer Bove: Objection! Leading!
Justice Merchan: Sustained...

Prosecutor: What about AMI's general ledger, & this invoices?
Pecker: From Keith Davidson. We wired $150,000 into his escrow account.
Prosecutor: Is this the payment voucher?
Pecker: Yes.
Prosecutor: Were you aware the coordinated contributions-
Bove: Objection

[Sidebar on Trump's lawyer Bove's objection]
Justice Merchan: Objection's overruled.
Prosecutor: ... made in coordination are unlawful? Did you report to the FEC?
Pecker: No we did not.
Prosecutor: Why did AMI make this purchase?
Pecker: So it wouldn't run

Prosecutor: Why?
Pecker: We didn't want it to embarrass Mr. Trump or the campaign.
Prosecutor: Who is we?
Pecker: Michael Cohen.
Prosecutor: Did you walk about Mr. Trump actually acquiring the right?
Pecker: Yes. Cohen said I should assign the contract to him

Pecker: Michael Cohen called me constantly, to get all the files, the boxes from Florida.
Prosecutor: Did he say why Donald Trump wanted them?
Pecker: That if I got hit by a bus, or the company was acquired, he didn't want the material published

Pecker: I told Michael Cohen, what Karen McDougal was going to do for us, I valued at $25,000, so I would sell the lifetime rights for $125,000. Michael Cohen wanted it done yesterday.
Prosecutor: Here is the invoice, People's 161.

Pecker: This is from a company owned by Daniel Rothstein. He lives in Plantation, Florida. He would write check for us, for example, for paparazzi photographers. So I wanted the Trump Organization check to go through him. Michael created Resolution Consultants

Justice Merchan: Jurors, this is not offered for the truth, only that it existed.
Prosecutor: Can you give us a shorter answer of why you used Daniel Rothstein?
Pecker: I did not want a payment in AMI from Donald Trump or Michael Cohen.

Prosecutor: Why not?
Pecker: Other editors would find out about it and I did not want that.
Prosecutor: What was the name of Daniel Rothstein's company?
Pecker: Investor Advisory Services Inc... I assumed Michael Cohen was being reimbursed.

Pecker: Then I decided to reverse it. Michael Cohen said, The Boss is going to be very upset with you. I told him, I'm not going forward.
Prosecutor: Did AMI ever get reimbursed?
Pecker: No
Prosecutor: Let's break.
Justice Merchan: 20 minutes
[Thread will continue

[Before the jury comes back in]
Justice Merchan: This document in which AMI's general counsel released Sajudin, you may need another witness to bring it into evidence
Trump's lawyer Bove: This next one is from Dylan Howard, who is not testifying. Please redact it

Justice Merchan: I think there are details that could be redacted.
Prosecutor: We'll send around some proposed redactions to [defense] counsel
Trump's lawyer Bove: This is a text message between Dylan Howard and
Prosecutor: WOAH!
Bove: Sorry, I didn't mean that

Trump's lawyer Bove: I didn't mean to mention a name.
Prosecutor: It's a first degree relative of Mr. Howard. But it was on an AMI device.
Justice Merchan: You're saying they're business records?
Prosecutor: I'm saying they're authenticated

Prosecutor: Dylan Howard texted [to his relative] Candidate denies but I'm going to interview. Relative: Why are you going if you're not going to publish it?
Dylan Howard wrote, Information is powerful and I'm collecting a lot. Only DP knows. Burner phones

Prosecutor: So we think all of that shows Dylan Howard's state of mind. Then there are the election night texts. Dylan Howard texted his relative, At least if he wins I'll be pardoned for electoral fraud

Justice Merchan: I will consider this again over lunch, but that they come off an AMI device is not enough for me... Are we going to be done with Mr. Pecker today, direct and cross?
Prosecutor: I have a good two to three hours left.

Trump's lawyer Bove: We're not going to finish today
Justice Merchan: Let's get the witness and the jury... Mr. Pecker, you remain under oath...
[Jury re-enters]
Prosecutor: After the election you released Dino Sajudin?
Pecker: Yes, in December 2016.

Prosecutor: And the Access Hollywood tape?
Pecker: A conversation between Mr. Trump and Billy Bush, Mr. Trump said you can grab a woman by the genitals. It was damaging for the campaign...
Prosecutor: What's this email?
Pecker: About a post on Radar, take it down

Prosecutor: Please read it.
Pecker: Howard wrote to Michael Cohen that the Playboy Man story was on Radar before we bought the site. It was also sent to Hope Hicks.
Prosecutor: Did you ever email with Donald Trump?
Pecker: Never.

Prosecutor: When did you hear about Stormy Daniels?
Pecker: I was having dinner with my wife and I got a call from Dylan Howard - he said Keith Davidson and Ms. Rodriguez, an agent for those type of celebrities, that Stormy was selling a story about sex with Trump

Prosecutor: Can you read from your texts with Dylan Howard?
Pecker: He wrote to me, the price is $120,000, there is also interest from the Mail and GMA. I responded, I don't want AMI linked to a porn star, it would be bad with Walmart, our biggest distributor

Pecker: I told him, We already paid the doorman $30,000, and $150,000 to Karen McDougal. I'm not a bank. So Dylan Howard contacted Michael Cohen. I spoke with Michael too. He asked me to pay for the story. I said, No, I am not going to be involved with a porn star

Pecker: Dylan came to my office near the end of October. Michael Cohen was supposed to wire the money to Keith Davidson but didn't. Dylan was worried he'd lose the sources. Michael Cohen says, David you should pay. I said, No, you buy it or the Boss will be angry

Prosecutor: Is this a record of your interview with the FBI?
Pecker: Yes.
Prosecutor: 302b, page 5. Why did you make the calls on Signal?
Pecker: Michael Cohen said to use it, things are deleted after a time.

Prosecutor: Did there come a time the Keith Schiller told you that Karen McDougal was going on ABC?
Pecker: Yes. I checked with Dylan Howard who said, It's not true. I told Keith and he said, The boss is very pleased. But then the Journal was calling our spox

Pecker: Mr. Trump was very mad. He told me we must have been leaking. I said no. I must have been Karen McDougal. But Mr. Trump was agitated. Our call ended abuptly.
Prosecutor: What do you mean?
Pecker: He didn't say goodbye. Which was very rare.

Prosecutor: Why did you put out a statement that AMI does not pay to kill stories?
Pecker: I wanted to protect my company, and myself, and Donald Trump. I asked Dylan to call Keith Davidson, who said Karen was in Arizona, not taking calls

Pecker: Karen has another lawyer approach us, asking for the agreement to be amended. I thought it should be, now that the WSJ was out. I thought she should have a media consultant reporting to us... Then Michael told me he wasn't reimbursed for Stormy Daniels

Pecker: Michael told me he didn't yet get his bonus, he asked me to speak to Donald Trump to help get him his bonus. And I did that: I told Mr. Trump that I believed Michael Cohen would go in front of a bus for me. Mr. Trump said, Cohen owes 50 taxi medallions

Pecker: Mr. Trump said Michael has apartments in my building, I'll take care of it. Then I was invited to Trump Tower. But there was more security than I had every seen. Jared Kushner saw me and took me upstairs to Mr. Trump's office, or the waiting room.

Pecker: In the waiting room, Keith Schiller said, How's our girl? Meaning Karen McDougal. Then I was summoned in. Mike Pompeo and others there, telling him about the Fort Lauderdale shooting that day. Mr. Trump introduced me as the head of the National Enquirer

Pecker: Mr. Trump told them that I knew more than anyone in the room. It was a joke but they didn't get it. They left and Mr. Trump asked me, How's my girl. Or, how's our girl. He thanked me for the doorman story.
Prosecutor: Meaning what?
Pecker: For buying them

Prosecutor: Do you think he wanted the stories about for his family, or for the campaign?
Pecker: The campaign. He did not mention his family. So I assumed, the campaign.
Prosecutor: Did he mention what Melania or Ivanka would think?
Pecker: No

Pecker: He invited me to the inauguration. I asked, How will we speak? He said he'd get a phone only for friends. But it never transpired. We left it like that.
Justice Merchan: This is a good time to break.
[Jurors leave
Voir dire book: amazon.com/dp/B0D2FJBVJB

[Pecker leaves]
Justice Merchan to the parties: Come back so we can start up at 2:15.
Stories coming on , and then thread resumes at 2:15 pmInnerCityPress.com
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[OK they're back]
Justice Merchan: I've signed the order to show cause. Now, the texts?
Prosecutor: We are introducing them as business records. It was part of the regular business of AMI. These are discussions between co-conspirator Dylan Howard and Ms. Rodriguez

Justice Merchan: So I'm looking through 15 pages of text?
Prosecutor Steinglass: You don't necessarily have to do it today. We could bring them in later with a summary witness.
Justice Merchan: I'll appreciate that. Bring in the witness...

[Jury enters]
Prosecutor Steinglass: Let's turn to July 2017. Did you visit the White House?
Pecker: I did. I received a call from President Trump's assistant, Madeline, I don't remember her last name. President Trump invited my wife and me for a thank-you dinner

Pecker: My wife didn't want to go. President Trump told me I could bring friends and associates, it was my thank-you dinner.
Prosecutor: Did you take Dylan Howard and Daniel Rothstein?
Pecker: Yes.
Prosecutor: Did Karen McDouglas come up?
Pecker: Yes

Pecker: President Trump asked me, How's Karen doing? I told him, She quiet, it's good.
Prosecutor: Did you and Dylan Howard take photos?
Pecker: Yes.
Prosecutor: What's this photo?
[Jury is shown black and white photo of Dylan Howard, then one of Trump and Pecker

Prosecutor: In August 2017 did you meet with Karen McDougal?
Pecker: Yes, at Il Postino, with Dylan and Keith Davidson. Karen talked about the article she was preparing with the ghost writers, Dylan had had to change them to work better with her

Pecker: My purpose was to make sure we were complying with our agreement, keep her in our, ah, family, that she not go speak to the press
Prosecutor Steinglass: Now to January 2018. Did another article come out, that Michael Cohen paid Stormy Daniels?
Pecker: Yes

Prosecutor: Now to March 2018 - did you learn Karen McDougal was interviewed by Anderson Cooper.
Pecker: Yes. I watched it. The next day President Trump called me. Donald, he says to me, di you see it, the Stormy Daniels?
Prosecutor: I'm only asking about Karen

Pecker: He said, Did you see the interview with Anderson Cooper and Karen McDougal - I thought we had an agreement. I told him, I amended it. He got aggravated. He couldn't understand why.
Prosecutor: Did you speak with him and the White House staff?
Pecker: Yes

Pecker: Hope Hicks was on the call. Sanders, Huckabee. I said I would extend her contract. He thought that was a bad idea, but said, It's your business, do what you think.
Prosecutor: Did Ms. McDougal sue AMI?
Pecker: Yes. She wanted back her lifetime rights.

Pecker: I told Michael Cohen I am not going to litigate this, I am going to give her back her lifetime rights.
Prosecutor: Now what about Stormy Daniels.
Pecker: Mr. Trump asks if I'd seen it, that she was violating the agreement, $1 million per use of name.

Prosecutor: Did you receive a letter from the Federal Elections Commission and call Michael Cohen?
Pecker: I did. I told Michael I've worried. He said, Why? Jeff Sessions is the Attorney General and Donald Trump has him in his back pocket.

Prosecutor: Did you enter a non prosecution agreement with the SDNY?
Pecker; Yes.
Prosecutor: Did the agreement-
Trump's lawyer: Objection!
Merchan: Overruled.
Prosecutor: Is this the agreement?
Pecker: Yes.
Prosecutor: Who is "the candidate"
Pecker: Mr. Trump

[Pecker reads from the non-prosecution agreement]
Prosecutor: Who was "the model"?
Pecker: Karen McDougal.
[More from non-prosecution agreement]
Pecker (reading) "AMI has also agreed to implement several improvements to ensure compliance"

Prosecutor: Did you sign a cooperation agreement with my office, DANY?
Pecker: Yes.
[Reads from DANY agreement]
Prosecutor: Were you given immunity at the grand jury?
Pecker: I was.
Prosecutor: Did AMI reach a conciliation agreement with the FEC?
Pecker: Yes

Pecker: It was after I left the company, but I think they paid a fine of $180,000.
Prosecution: Did you learn of FBI searches of Michael Cohen's home?
Pecker: Yes. They came for my home, and I learned of the search of Michael Cohen's apartment.

Prosecutor: When was the last time you spoke with the defendant?
Pecker: 2019.
Prosecutor: Did Mr. Trump reach out to you?
Pecker: Not directly. Friends would go to Mar-a-Lago and Mr. Trump would send his regards.

Prosecutor: Do you have bad feeling toward him?
Pecker: No. Let me give you an example. After 9/11 anthrax was sent to our offices in Boca Raton, an employee died. I was down - and the first person who called me was Donald Trump. He introduced me to insurers

Prosecutor Steinglass: Thank you, Mr. Pecker. No further questions. Your witness.
Trump's lawyer Bove: May we approach, Your Honor?
[Whispered sidebar]
Bove: You were an executive at AMI 1999 to 2020, right?
Pecker: Yes.
Bove: You had a board and investors?
Yes.

Trump's lawyer Bove: You had a duty to make money for investors, and you engaged in checkbook journalism, right?
Pecker: Yes.
Bove: You only published about half of the stories you bought, right?
Pecker: Sounds about right.

Trump's lawyer Bove: Give me examples of why you wouldn't publish.
Pecker: We'd vet, we're see if there was interest, we might trade it for another story.
Bove: You might buy a story to gain leverage over a celebrity, to give an interview or their likeness
A: Yes

Trump's lawyer Bove: From 2015 to 2017, Dylan Howard was chief content officer?
Pecker: Yes.
Bove: And Daniel Rothstein, he had the company - call up the People's exhibit, the invoice. He used him to take care of large sensitive payments, right?
Pecker: Yes.

Trump's lawyer Bove: What was the circulation of the National Enquirer then?
Pecker: 350,000.
Bove: 70% from newsstand sales?
Pecker: Yes.
Bove: You had researchers and a model to maximize profit. And President was the top selling celebrity, right?
Packer: Yes

Trump's lawyer Bove: You had the launch of George Magazine at Mar-a-Lago, right?
Pecker: Yes.
Bove: And Trump Style magazine. For a long time, then, you had a strategy of not publishing negative stories about President Trump, right?
Pecker: Correct.

Trump's lawyer Bove: All the way back in 1998, you let President Trump know about a negative story, about Marla Maples?
Pecker: I did
Bove: You didn't stop it but you tried, right?
Pecker: Right.
Bove: And you ran positive Trump stories, to make money?
Pecker: Yes

Trump's lawyer Bove: Before this case, you'd never heard the phrase catch and kill, right?
Pecker: Right
Bove: It was the *prosecutors* who taught you the phrase, right?
Pecker: Yes
Bove: You have similar relationships with other politicians too, right?
A: Yes.

Trump's lawyer Bove: You did this for Ron Perlman of Revlon too, right? You stopped a story against an opening of Planet Hollywood, in which he owned a stake, right?
Pecker: I did.
Bove: And Arnold Schwarzenegger, you needed his blessing and reached an agreement

Trump's lawyer Bove: He was given an equity stake and positions in the company - then woman came out of the woodwork- 30 or 40 of them?
Pecker: Yes. We spent hundreds of thousands of dollars to purchase stories.
Bove: You sent Gigi Goyette to Hawai'i?
A: Yes

Trump's lawyer Bove: You purchased a story concerning Tiger Wood, yes?
Pecker: Yes, a source agreement.
Bove: And photos of a woman meeting with Tiger Woods with a parking lot in Florida - you used them to force him to appear on the cover of Men's Fitness?
A: Yes

Trump's lawyer Bove: You've suppressed negative stories for Ari Emanuel too, right?
Pecker: Him or one of his celebrities.
Bove: Who?
Pecker: Mark Wahlberg. He had an argument with his wife, story was goin to come out. I told him where to buy the rights

Trump's lawyer Bove: And you did it for Rahm Emanuel, who worked in the Obama White House, right?
Pecker: Yes.
Bove: An affair after he left the White House. You did this while pursuing a business venture in Chicago, right?
Pecker: Wasserstein Perella...

Trump's lawyer Bove: You told the grand jury a meeting with Mr. Trump took place in early August - but then you changed to mid August, right?
Pecker: I don't recall
Bove: You were under oath at the grand jury, right?
Pecker: Yes.
Bove: But now you've changed it

Prosecutor: Objection!
Justice Merchan: Sustained.
Trump's lawyer Bove: It's had to remember, right?
Pecker: Yes.
Bove: Your mind fills in gaps, correct?
Pecker: Yes...
Bove: How many meeting with prosecutors this year?
Pecker: Four, maybe five

Trump's lawyer Bove: You met Federal prosecutors too, how many times?
Pecker: Five or six times.
Bove: Then the DA's office. They practiced with you - not a script but you knew what was coming, right?
Pecker: Yes

Trump's lawyer Bove: And Michael Cohen, he asked you for help that had nothing to do with President Trump, right?
Pecker: Yes.
Bove: To help with his daughter's rock climbing company, right.
A: Yes.
Bove: Cohen told you he was not working for the campaign?
A: Yes

Trump's lawyer Bove: Soon the FBI came to your house, you were subject to an FEC inquiry - it was important for you to get everything out, right?
Pecker: Yes.
Bove: But you didn't tell anyone Hope Hicks participated in the meeting, right?
Prosecutor: Objection!

Justice Merchan: Please approach.
[Sidebar. Then:]
Justice Merchan: Sustained.
Bove: Before that break, when asked, you did not mention Hope Hicks, right?
Pecker: Can I see what you are referring to?
Bove: I'll bring it up. Only for Mr. Pecker and the parties

Trump's lawyer Bove: This is a report on the meeting we're talking about. You did not tell the government that Hope Hicks was there, in the Trump Tower meeting...
Pecker: I don't know what page you're referring to.
Bove: That's why I gave you the document.

Trump's lawyer Bove: And on August 2, 2028 you met again with the prosecutors about the August 2105 meeting
Pecker: I need to see the report...
Bove: You need to see a report to remember?
Pecker: Yes.
Bove: At no point did you mention Hope Hicks
Gov't: Objection!

Trump's lawyer Bove: You also testified to the grand jury-
Prosecutor: Objection! May we approach, judge?
[Whispered sidebar]
Justice Merchan: Jurors, we'll break now. Don't read about the case.
[Jury selection book: amazon.com/dp/B0D2FJBVJB

Jury leaves.
Prosecutor Steinglass: To show the witness A102, which has nothing about the August 2015 meeting - Mr. Pecker wasn't given an opportunity. There was no indication he was asked, or that it would be a notable omission. It was improper impeachment!

Trump's lawyer Bove: He asked me for the document.
Justice Merchan: He didn't ask for A102.
Bove: I don't know what's behind the redactions.
Justice Merchan: Sit down. I'm going to instruct the jury about it tomorrow. You should be careful about this

Prosecutor: We will apply tomorrow to subpoena the Trump Organization. They are available
Justice Merchan: Tomorrow late morning. See you at 9:30. Adjourned.
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