Former President Trump's secret court case on hold until ThursdayExBulletin

In a New York courtroom on Tuesday, jurors heard testimony from a former tabloid media executive. And former President Donald Trump is awaiting a ruling on whether he violated an order of silence.

LEILA FADEL, HOST:

The New York jury charged with evaluating the criminal charges against Donald Trump has now heard from the trial's first witness.

MICHEL MARTIN, HOST:

We're talking about David Pecker. He is the former CEO of American Media, which published the National Enquirer tabloid, and Mr. Pecker is still at the helm after two days. Meanwhile, the former president, who is a daily presence in the courtroom, awaits a decision on whether he violated his silence.

FADELExBulletin political reporter Ximena Bustillo went to the courthouse. Good morning.

XIMENA BUSTILLO, BYLINE: Hello.

FADEL: So the first witness is this former managing editor, David Pecker, someone that Trump has known for decades, right? So what has his testimony revealed so far?

BUSTILLO: Well, Pecker testified that he was called to a meeting with Trump and Michael Cohen, who is Trump's former fixer, in August 2015. He said he was asked how he could help the Trump campaign, and he said he agreed to use his magazine to do three things: first, publish positive stories about Trump as he runs for president for the first time; second, publishing negative articles about Trump's opponents; and third, he said he could, quote, “be the eyes and ears.” This means that if he heard that there might be negative stories about Trump, he would inform Michael Cohen, especially stories from women.

FADEL: And so the implication here is that these would be stories that could hurt Trump's 2016 presidential campaign.

BUSTILLO: Yes. And Pecker testified that he became aware of several stories, including allegations of affairs with Playboy model Karen McDougal and unsubstantiated allegations from a doorman that Trump fathered an illegitimate child. And he testified that he reported these stories to Cohen. During yesterday's testimony, we also saw emails and documents providing for payment for the purchase of these items from the sources. This is what the prosecution called “catch and kill,” in that they would pay to capture the stories and then kill them so they would never escape.

FADEL: Now Pecker is saying all of this, testifying, with Trump in the courtroom. How did Trump react?

BUSTILLO: Well, Trump was pretty attentive during his testimony. He looked at Pecker during his testimony and gave details of private conversations the two allegedly had. Yesterday, at the very beginning of testimony, Pecker was asked to identify and describe what Trump was wearing in the crowd, and Trump appeared to look up and smile. But overall he's not having a good time. To reporters, he keeps complaining about the cold temperatures in the courtroom and not being able to be on the road.

FADEL: Now, there is also this order of silence that was imposed by Judge Juan Merchan to protect those involved in this trial from verbal attacks. And prosecutors accused Trump of raping her?

BUSTILLO: Yeah. They made 10 posts on Truth Social, Trump's social media platform, as well as the Trump campaign website. These were posts that, in some cases, republished articles discrediting Michael Cohen and Stormy Daniels, who are potential witnesses. Another article referenced a quote from a Fox News host accusing potential jurors of being, quote, “undercover liberal activists.” Trump was not happy about it. Here he speaks to reporters outside the courtroom at the end of the day.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

DONALD TRUMP: I don't have the right to speak, but people have the right to talk about me. So they can talk about me, they can say whatever they want, they can lie, but I'm not allowed to say anything.

BUSTILLO: Now Trump's lawyer, Todd Blanche, also claims that Trump was simply defending himself.

FADEL: Today, Trump was fined thousands of dollars for breaking his silence in other trials. What is the penalty here?

BUSTILLO: Prosecutors have asked Merchan to impose a $10,000 fine, requested the removal of the post and warned Trump that incarceration is an option for violating the order.

FADEL: And the court is not sitting today. The trial will resume tomorrow and we will give you more news. NPR's Ximena Bustillo in New York. Thank you Xiména.

BUSTILLO: Thank you.

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