Donald Trump trial hears David Pecker testimony about 'catch and kill' scheme

The White House has steered clear of talking about Donald Trump’s trial, but spokesperson Andrew Bates appeared to make a sly reference to the courtroom on Tuesday.

While speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One en route to Florida, Bates began his briefing by asking that “nobody fall asleep while we talk.”

Trump has been spotted seemingly dozing off during his first criminal trial, drawing mockery because he had once described Joe Biden as “Sleepy Joe.”

Trump ended his day in court by once again railing against the gag order that he’s already been accused of violating multiple times.

“I’m not allowed to defend myself and yet other people are allowed to say whatever they want about me,” Trump complained to reporters, holding a stack of articles he said were critical of the case but that he says he’s not allowed to share.

Trump also complained again about the temperature in the courtroom, calling it “freezing,” and said he’s been “sitting up as straight as I can all day long” while Biden is campaigning.

“It’s a very unfair situation,” he says.

Merchan sent the jury home for the day, with court adjourning early for the Passover holiday. Jurors must pass directly by Trump at the defense table as they exit but none appeared to look over in his direction.

Leaving the bench, Judge Merchan said, “Have a good night everyone.”

The trial is not being held on Wednesday and is set to resume on Thursday.

Pecker said that he ultimately encouraged Cohen to let Sajudin out of the agreement, which at one point bound him never to sell the story anywhere else.

Pecker reasoned that “we shouldn’t really have any concerns here, since the story is not true anyway,” he said.

But Cohen was reluctant to release the former doorman from the agreement at any point, and told Pecker definitely not to do so before the 2016 presidential election, the publisher said.

The release eventually did happen — after Trump won.

“I made the decision to purchase the story because of the potential embarrassment it had to the campaign and to Mr. Trump,” Pecker said regarding Sajudin’s allegation that Trump had fathered a child with an employee at Trump World Tower.

The publisher recalled calling Cohen and explaining that they could purchase the doorman’s silence for $30,000 by purchasing the exclusive rights to his story.

“He said, ‘Who’s going to pay for it?’ I said, ‘I’ll pay for it,’” Pecker testified, later noting that he was told Trump would be “very pleased.”

Pecker testified that it was “important that this story be removed from the marketplace” due to the story’s potentially outsized impact.

He explained that Sajudin submitted to a polygraph test, a “normal” practice at the National Enquirer, to determine if his tip was legitimate — though prosecutor Joshua Steinglass stopped him before he could reveal the results, which isn’t allowed in court.

Pecker said the publication hired a private investigator, sent reporters to a location where the supposed child was living and used other verification methods — ultimately determining the story was “1,000% untrue.”

“Had you ever paid a story to kill a story about Donald Trump?” Steinglass asked.

“No I had not,” Pecker said.

The doorman, Dino Sajudin, received $30,000 from the National Enquirer in 2015 for the rights to a rumor that Trump had fathered a child with an employee at Trump World Tower.

The tabloid concluded the story was not true, and the woman and Trump have denied the allegations.

As Pecker described receiving the tip in court, Trump shook his head.

Pecker said upon hearing the rumor, he immediately called Cohen, who said it was “absolutely not true” but that he would look into whether the people involved had indeed worked for Trump’s company.

Pecker’s testimony provided a seamy backstory to Trump’s rise from political novice to president of the United States. With Cohen acting as a shadow editor of sorts, Pecker said he and the National Enquirer parlayed trashy rumor-mongering into splashy tabloid stories that tarred Trump’s opponents while also running pieces that boosted his image.

The articles were timed to run just as Trump’s rivals were climbing in polls, and some of the allegations — such as articles falsely tying Cruz’s father to the assassination of President John F. Kennedy — entered the mainstream via cable news and conservative-leaning talk programs.

Trump himself amplified the National Enquirer’s absurd allegations about Cruz’s father in May 2016, telling Fox News in one interview that, “His father was with Lee Harvey Oswald prior to Oswald’s being, you know, shot.”

“Nobody even brings it up, I mean they don’t even talk about that. That was reported and nobody talks about it,” he went on.

Trump had a history in 2016 of repeating unproven and unsubstantiated stories, many from the National Enquirer, which had endorsed his candidacy.

After the tabloid printed a story without evidence that claimed Cruz was having an extramarital affair, Trump praised the publication for having a “very good” record of accuracy.

Jurors and Pecker were sent out on a break so Trump’s lawyers could tell the judge about their objections to some questions that Steinglass, the prosecutor, asked Pecker regarding comments he says former high-ranking Trump campaign aide Steve Bannon made to him.

“He would send me information about Ted Cruz or about Ben Carson or Marco Rubio, and that was the basis of our story, and then we (the National Enquirer) would embellish it a little,” he said.

The court was shown examples of the resulting headlines relating to Carson, a surgeon who ran against Trump in the 2016 GOP primary opponent and later became his secretary of housing.

“Bungling surgeon Ben Carson left sponge in patient’s brain” reads one relaying allegations from a former patient.

Pecker said he would send Cohen drafts of these stories, to which Cohen would provide feedback.

Asked if he knew whether Cohen ever shared those stories with Trump, Pecker said: “I don’t recollect that, no.”

Steinglass, the prosecutor, is using visuals to drill deeper into the components of Pecker’s arrangement with Trump and Cohen.

At one point, he displayed a screenshot of various flattering headlines the National Enquirer published about Trump, including: “Donald Dominates!’ and “World Exclusive: The Donald Trump Nobody Knows.”

Pecker said he then met with the National Enquirer’s editor at the time, Dylan Howard, and underscored that the agreement he’d just made at Trump Tower was “highly, highly confidential.”

He said he wanted the tabloid’s bureau chiefs to be on the lookout for any stories involving Trump and said he wanted them to verify the stories before alerting Cohen.

“I told him that we are going to try to help the campaign and to do that I want to keep this as quiet as possible,” Pecker testified.

“I did not want anyone else to know this agreement I had and what I wanted to do.”

While Pecker had many personal interactions with Trump over the years, the former National Enquirer publisher said that he also worked closely with Michael Cohen, then Trump’s lawyer.

Describing an August 2015 meeting with Trump, Cohen and then-Trump aide Hope Hicks at Trump Tower, Pecker explained how he might be an asset to Trump.

He explained that he could “publish positive stories about Mr. Trump, and I would publish negative stories about his opponents, and I said I would also be the eyes and ears.”

If he heard “anything negative” about Trump, or instances of “women selling stories,” Pecker said he “would notify Michael Cohen.” From there, Pecker said stories could be purchased and “killed,” meaning they would go unpublished.

“Prior to that August 2015 meeting, had you ever purchased a story in order to not print it, about Mr. Trump?” Steinglass, the prosecutor, asked.

“Uh, no,” Pecker said.

Pecker testified that his relationship with Trump grew with the success of Trump’s TV show, “The Apprentice.”

He said Trump would share content with him from the show that he could publish in his magazines free of charge, noting that stories about Trump and the show would do very well.

“Our relationship started to grow even further” when Trump launched a celebrity version of “The Apprentice,” citing widespread interest in the show and the notable names whom Trump eliminated each week using his catchphrase: “You’re fired!”

Pecker testified he was also impressed at how the show portrayed Trump “as a national figure on TV as the boss,” a nod to the way the show laid the groundwork for Trump’s political career.

Pecker recalled that the “Celebrity Apprentice” started in 2003 or 2004, but it actually began in 2008.

Trump has proudly referred to his role on the show on the campaign trail, often repeating the show's famous catchphrase, "you're fired!"

Pecker testified that he met Trump in the 1980s at Mar-a-Lago while there as a guest of a client.

Prosecutors then asked Pecker to point to Trump in court and to describe an item of his clothing, a standard part of criminal trials.

As he acknowledged the former President and his “dark blue suit,” Trump grinned widely at his longtime friend, AP reports.

When he bought the National Enquirer in 1985, Pecker said one of the first calls he got was from Trump, who said, “You bought a great magazine.”

The trial day was broken into two parts Tuesday: a morning hearing on Trump’s alleged gag order violations and then, until 2 p.m. ET, the resumption of witness testimony.

Former National Enquirer publisher David Pecker has returned to the witness stand. He began his testimony on Monday.

The former president is blasting the judge and the gag order he is under as Merchan weighs whether the former president’s posts and comments count as violations.

“HIGHLY CONFLICTED, TO PUT IT MILDLY, JUDGE JUAN MERCHAN, HAS TAKEN AWAY MY CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHT TO FREE SPEECH,” Trump wrote on his social media site during a brief court break.

“EVERYBODY IS ALLOWED TO TALK AND LIE ABOUT ME, BUT I AM NOT ALLOWED TO DEFEND MYSELF. THIS IS A KANGAROO COURT.”

The former President has returned to the chamber, carrying his sheaf of papers, some paper-clipped together.

He did not stop to speak with the media.

Merchan suggested that instead of begging for forgiveness, Trump should’ve asked the judge for clarity when considering posts or reposts that might cross the line.

Trump headed out of the courtroom after the court went on break and did not stop to speak.

A video split screen of the defense and prosecution tables offered a sense of how things are going so far. As the judge grew increasingly frustrated with Todd Blanche, prosecutor Joshua Steinglass smiled, rolled his eyes and appeared to stifle a laugh. On the opposite side, Trump sat slumped in his chair, scowling.

Blanche insisted that Trump “is being very careful to comply” with the gag order. Judge Merchan shot back: “You’re losing all credibility.”

Blanche, Trump’s lawyer, peeled back the curtain on the ex-president’s Truth Social operation, revealing that people working with Trump will pick out articles they think his followers would like to see and then repost them under his name.

Blanche had argued that reposting a news article, as in some of the posts at issue, doesn’t violate the gag order.

When the judge asked for citations to cases to back that up, Blanche said he didn’t have any, but “it’s just common sense.”

Fighting the fines proposed by the prosecution, Todd Blanche argued that Trump was merely responding to others’ comments in the course of political speech.

“There is no dispute that President Trump is facing a barrage of political attacks,” including from Cohen and Daniels, Blanche said.

He again argued it’s unfair for them to be unfettered in their comments — but for Trump to be muzzled.

Even as the hearing began about prosecutors’ claims that Trump violated the gag order 10 times in recent weeks, one of the prosecutors, Christopher Conroy, accused the ex-president of violating it again Monday in remarks outside the courtroom door about his ex-lawyer Michael Cohen.

Conroy pointed to Trump’s comments about Cohen’s representation of him and characterization of Cohen as a liar.

Before testimony resumed Tuesday, Judge Merchan is holding a hearing on the prosecution’s request that Trump be held in contempt of court and fined at least $3,000 for allegedly violating his gag order.

Prosecutors cited 10 posts on Trump’s social media account and campaign website that they said breached the order, which bars him from making public statements about witnesses in the case.

They called the posts a “deliberate flouting” of the court’s order. In one post, from April 10, Trump described his former lawyer-turned-foe Michael Cohen and porn actor Stormy Daniels as “two sleaze bags who have, with their lies and misrepresentations, cost our Country dearly!”

Prosecutors are seeking a $1,000 fine — the maximum allowed by law — for each of the first three alleged violations.

They did not specify the punishment they are seeking for the seven other posts, which date to the morning jury selection began in the trial last week.

Just after court resumed Tuesday, Trump sat at the defense table alone as his lawyers and prosecutors left the courtroom with Judge Juan M. Merchan for a closed-door conference, AP reports.

There was no indication as to what the conference was about.

One of the lawyers had asked the judge if they could all approach the bench, to which the judge agreed.

Then, after a moment, the group walked out of the courtroom to a side room out of view and earshot of reporters.

“It’s a big day in Pennsylvania,” Trump says in the courthouse’s hallway, urging people to vote in the state’s GOP primary happening today.

Trump, in a red tie, says the pro-Palestinian protests happening at local colleges are “a disgrace. And it’s really on Biden.” He says the president has the wrong tone and the wrong words. “What’s going on is a disgrace to our country and it’s all Biden’s fault.”

He did not mention the trial itself.

The presumptive GOP nominee will be meeting with former Japanese prime minister Taro Aso after court today at Trump Tower.

That’s according to two people familiar with the plans who spoke on condition of anonymity because they had not been formally announced, AP reports.

Several foreign leaders have met with Trump in recent weeks as U.S. allies prepare for the possibility that he could re-take the White House.

“Leaders from around the world know that with President Trump we had a safer, more peaceful world,” said Trump spokesperson Brian Hughes.’

“Meetings and calls from world leaders reflect the recognition of what we already know here at home. Joe Biden is weak, and when President Trump is sworn in as the 47th President of the United States, the world will be more secure and America will be more prosperous.”

Trump was close with Shinzo Abe, the former Japanese prime minister who was assassinated in 2022.

Aso is vice president of the Japanese Liberal Democratic Party and also served as deputy prime minister and finance minister under Abe.

Trump met last week with Polish President Andrzej Duda at Trump Tower and has also met recently with British Foreign Secretary David Cameron and Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán.

Melania Trump was absent from Donald Trump’s first appearances during his criminal hush money trial, as opening statements were exchanged between the prosecution and defense.

An expert has broken down the potential implications of her presence, while the former president faces accusations that he paid hush money to adult film actress Stormy Daniels to stop her from disclosing an alleged affair during his 2016 presidential campaign.

Mark Bederow, a criminal defense attorney and former prosecutor for the Manhattan district attorney's office, told Business Insider: “There's no doubt that Melania is the most crucial family member to be present."

Bederow elaborated that Melania Trump's presence in the courtroom could be "potentially very powerful,” especially considering the scandalous nature of the hush-money case against Trump.

Presenting Trump as a devoted husband and father could potentially bolster his image and sway perceptions in his favor, he argued.

Two journalists covering the hush money trial have been removed and expelled for breaking rules prohibiting recording and photography in the overflow room, where reporters who can’t get into the main courtroom watch the proceedings on large screens, court officials have said.

One of the banned journalists had previously been warned for violating the rules during jury selection.

Uniformed court officers have been making daily announcements reminding reporters of the rules.

Signs posted in the overflow room and around the courthouse make clear that photography and recording are not allowed.

Donald Trump could face 10 months in prison and be fined around £80,000 ($100,000) for flouting a gag order at his "hush money" trial, a retired judge has said.

The gag order, issued by Judge Juan Merchan, was meant to prevent Trump from launching public attacks against witnesses, court personnel, jurors, and even Judge Merchan's own family during the trial.

Despite this, Trump is accused of violating the order on 10 separate occasions, potentially resulting in a 30-day jail term and fines of up to £8,000 ($10,000) for each breach.

"The fine is not going to be a deterrent at all. The other issue is imprisonment. (If Trump was imprisoned for breaking the gag order) the judge could delay the trial," LaDoris Hazzard Cordell, a retired Superior Court of California judge, told CNN.

Trump’s lawyers deny that their client broke the gag order.

An unflinching Donald Trump refused to show "one flicker of fear or weakness" during the start of the hush money trial in New York which could test his "alpha traits" to their limits, a body language expert has claimed.

The former president remained calm, expressionless and unblinking as he stared down the media's cameras during the opening statements between the prosecution and defense.

The trial advances after a difficult jury pick process where several jurors were queried about social media posts or dismissed due to prejudice.

Departing the Trump Tower for the Manhattan court this morning, Trump was seen enacting a fist pump.

As he made his way into the court, he reiterated claims that the case was nothing more than a "witch hunt". He labeled it "unfair" that he had to be in court when he could potentially be out on the campaign trail for this year's presidential election.

Body language expert Judi James told The Mirror that the real estate moguls "alpha traits and behaviours" might be "challenged to their core" within the courtroom climate. However, she observed that Trump appeared determined not to show "one flicker of fear or weakness" ahead of the court proceeding.

Good afternoon. Chris Samuel here bringing you the latest on day two of Donald Trump's hush money trial following opening statements that began on Monday. Follow this blog for all of the important updates.