Politics
Trump's hush money trial begins with opening statements and first witness
Jurors in former President Donald Trump's criminal trial in New York on Monday got their first glimpse of the arguments both sides plan to make during the historic proceedings, with the prosecution and defense teams presenting their opening statements as Trump looked on.
Prosecutors also called their first witness to the stand: David Pecker, the former CEO of American Media Inc., or AMI, the parent company of the National Enquirer. The state claims Pecker helped Trump during the 2016 campaign by burying negative stories about him and attacking his rivals.
Pecker testified for less than half an hour before court adjourned for the day. He will resume his testimony Tuesday, after a hearing on whether Trump should be held in contempt of court for defying a judge-imposed silence order in the case.
Trump is charged with 34 counts of falsifying business records, allegedly to conceal a “hush money” payment before the 2016 election. He has pleaded not guilty. A lawyer for Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg's office said the refunds were part of a scheme that amounted to “outright voter fraud.” Trump's lawyer argued his client did not commit a crime and said he was charged based on flimsy evidence from an unreliable key witness.
Arriving at the courthouse, Trump claimed the lawsuit constituted “election interference” and was part of an effort to keep him off the campaign trail. He called the affair a “witch hunt” and a “shame.”
The proceedings are not televised because New York law does not allow the recording of criminal proceedings. CBS News had reporters in the courtroom and in a nearby overflow room to watch the trial.
Opening statement from prosecutors Former President Donald Trump in Manhattan Criminal Court during his trial on April 22, 2024. ANGELA WEISS/POOL/AFP via Getty Images
Lawyers from Bragg's office had 40 minutes to present opening statements, and Trump's lawyers had 25 minutes. Matthew Colangelo, a member of Bragg's team, kicked off the prosecution, laying out the main allegations in the case.
Just days before the 2016 election, Trump's then-lawyer Michael Cohen paid adult film star Stormy Daniels $130,000 to buy her silence about an alleged sexual encounter she had with Trump years earlier. Trump denies meeting.
Colangelo said Cohen made the payment “at the direction of the defendant and did so to influence the election.” He described the payment as part of a plan concocted by Trump, Cohen and Pecker to bury negative stories about Trump and attack his rivals. The plan was hatched during a meeting at Trump Tower in 2015, Colangelo said.
“Together, they conspired to influence the 2016 presidential election,” Colangelo told the jury, saying Pecker agreed to act as Trump's “eyes and ears” during the 2016 campaign. Pecker should be the first witness called by the prosecution after his opening statements.
Colangelo exposed the “catch and kill” tactic allegedly used by Pecker and Dylan Howard, the editor of the Enquirer, to protect Trump from negative stories. The practice involved purchasing the rights to someone's story and then refusing to publish the story, thereby keeping it hidden. They also used the Enquirer to publish unflattering articles about Trump's rivals.
Prosecutors say AMI, the Enquirer's parent company, used the “catch and kill” tactic twice before the payment to Daniels. One case involved a $150,000 payment to a former Playboy model to secure the rights to her story. The model, Karen McDougal, also alleged an affair with Trump, which he denies. Colangelo told jurors they would hear a recording of Cohen promising to create a shell company to buy the rights to McDougal's story from the Enquirer to reimburse Pecker for the purchase.
In the weeks leading up to the 2016 election, Daniels' attorney also contacted the Enquirer about selling the rights to his story, Colangelo said. Howard put the lawyer in touch with Cohen, who negotiated the $130,000 payment, according to prosecutors. Colangelo said Trump hoped to delay the deal until after the election and then not pay at all. Cohen ultimately wired the money to Daniels' attorney just days before Election Day.
“This was a planned, coordinated, long-term conspiracy to influence the 2016 election in order to help Donald Trump get elected,” Colangelo told the jury. “It was voter fraud, pure and simple.”
Trump reimbursed Cohen for the payment in 12 monthly installments during the first year of his presidency, presenting them as checks for ongoing legal services as part of an illegal scheme to conceal their true purpose, according to prosecutors. Cohen ultimately received $420,000, more than double the $130,000 payment made to Daniels.
“Donald Trump was a very frugal businessman. He believed in making pennies. He believed in watching every dollar. He believed in negotiating every bill. He ran the Trump Organization with control “You'll hear testimony about his relentless focus on substance. With Cohen and the catch-and-kill deal, he didn't negotiate the price down, he doubled it,” Colangelo said. “And you will hear evidence that the Trump Organization did not have a history of paying double what it owed for anything.”
The defense statement
Todd Blanche, Trump's lawyer, delivered the defense's opening statement after Colangelo. He said the jury “is going to learn it wasn't revenge.”
“Think for a moment about what the people just told you. President Trump did not repay Mr. Cohen $130,000. President Trump paid Michael Cohen $420,000,” Blanche said, while Trump looked at him. “Would a frugal businessman, a man who “pinches pennies,” pay off a $130,000 debt to the tune of $420,000?”
He said the $35,000 Cohen received each month was for his services as Trump's personal lawyer, not a reimbursement of Daniels' payment. He argued that Trump “had nothing to do with the 34 pieces of paper… except that he signed them at the White House, while he was running the country.” Each charge in the indictment refers to a file created to document a payment to Cohen.
“There's nothing wrong with trying to influence an election. It's called democracy. They've made this idea something sinister, like it's a crime,” Blanche continued. “President Trump fought back as he always does and as he has the right to do. To protect his family, his reputation and his brand. And that is not a crime.”
Blanche said Cohen was “obsessed” with Trump and had been for “many, many years.” He argued that Cohen decided to “blame President Trump for all his problems” when he was arrested on federal charges in 2018.
“He spoke at length about his desire to see President Trump go to prison. He spoke at length about his desire to see President Trump's family go to prison,” Blanche said.
“He has one goal and one obsession: to get Trump,” he continued, later adding: “I submit to you that he cannot be trusted.”
Blanche later noted that Cohen had lied under oath and said Daniels had a grudge against Trump after not being cast on “The Apprentice” in 2007. Blanche claimed Daniels had profited from her allegations.
“I will also say something else about his testimony: It doesn’t matter,” Blanche said, telling jurors she had “no idea” about the alleged crimes at the center of the case. “His testimony, although salacious, is immaterial.”
Eventually, he turned to the “catch and kill” tactic, saying it was not illegal and not a conspiracy.
“It's not a scheme, unless a scheme means something that doesn't matter, that isn't illegal, that isn't against the law,” Blanche said.
The testimony of David Pecker
On the stand, Pecker testified extensively about AMI's operations and Howard's role as editor of the National Enquirer. Pecker left the company in 2020.
Under questioning by prosecutor Joshua Steinglass, Pecker said he had the final say on what Steinglass described as particularly “juicy” stories.
“We used checkbook journalism,” Pecker said, describing how editors were allowed to spend up to $10,000 to research stories, but that larger expenditures “would have to be reviewed and submitted for my approval.”
Pecker confirmed that Howard “kind of ran the network of sources for all of AMI's publications.”
“As the editor of a tabloid magazine, over the years you develop a pool of sources, and those sources might be people who work in hotels, people who work for lawyers, people who work on different aspects that a celebrity can use – for example, like a limousine service.
Pecker said he had heard that Howard was now living in his native Australia, with a spinal condition that makes international travel impossible.
After less than 30 minutes, Merchan adjourned court for the day and implored jurors not to discuss the case outside the courthouse.
“Please forget this matter,” he said. “Don't think about it. Don't talk about it. And don't read about it.”
Trump investigates more Graham Kates
|
Sources 2/ https://www.cbsnews.com/news/trump-hush-money-trial-opening-statements-witness-testimony/ The mention sources can contact us to remove/changing this article |
What Are The Main Benefits Of Comparing Car Insurance Quotes Online
LOS ANGELES, CA / ACCESSWIRE / June 24, 2020, / Compare-autoinsurance.Org has launched a new blog post that presents the main benefits of comparing multiple car insurance quotes. For more info and free online quotes, please visit https://compare-autoinsurance.Org/the-advantages-of-comparing-prices-with-car-insurance-quotes-online/ The modern society has numerous technological advantages. One important advantage is the speed at which information is sent and received. With the help of the internet, the shopping habits of many persons have drastically changed. The car insurance industry hasn't remained untouched by these changes. On the internet, drivers can compare insurance prices and find out which sellers have the best offers. View photos The advantages of comparing online car insurance quotes are the following: Online quotes can be obtained from anywhere and at any time. Unlike physical insurance agencies, websites don't have a specific schedule and they are available at any time. Drivers that have busy working schedules, can compare quotes from anywhere and at any time, even at midnight. Multiple choices. Almost all insurance providers, no matter if they are well-known brands or just local insurers, have an online presence. Online quotes will allow policyholders the chance to discover multiple insurance companies and check their prices. Drivers are no longer required to get quotes from just a few known insurance companies. Also, local and regional insurers can provide lower insurance rates for the same services. Accurate insurance estimates. Online quotes can only be accurate if the customers provide accurate and real info about their car models and driving history. Lying about past driving incidents can make the price estimates to be lower, but when dealing with an insurance company lying to them is useless. Usually, insurance companies will do research about a potential customer before granting him coverage. Online quotes can be sorted easily. Although drivers are recommended to not choose a policy just based on its price, drivers can easily sort quotes by insurance price. Using brokerage websites will allow drivers to get quotes from multiple insurers, thus making the comparison faster and easier. For additional info, money-saving tips, and free car insurance quotes, visit https://compare-autoinsurance.Org/ Compare-autoinsurance.Org is an online provider of life, home, health, and auto insurance quotes. This website is unique because it does not simply stick to one kind of insurance provider, but brings the clients the best deals from many different online insurance carriers. In this way, clients have access to offers from multiple carriers all in one place: this website. On this site, customers have access to quotes for insurance plans from various agencies, such as local or nationwide agencies, brand names insurance companies, etc. "Online quotes can easily help drivers obtain better car insurance deals. All they have to do is to complete an online form with accurate and real info, then compare prices", said Russell Rabichev, Marketing Director of Internet Marketing Company. CONTACT: Company Name: Internet Marketing CompanyPerson for contact Name: Gurgu CPhone Number: (818) 359-3898Email: [email protected]: https://compare-autoinsurance.Org/ SOURCE: Compare-autoinsurance.Org View source version on accesswire.Com:https://www.Accesswire.Com/595055/What-Are-The-Main-Benefits-Of-Comparing-Car-Insurance-Quotes-Online View photos
to request, modification Contact us at Here or [email protected]
 |
 |
 |
