Each page yesterday took him just a little more than a minute, so this will take >30 mins.
Between that & the testimony readbacks, also expected to take >30 mins, there will likely be >1 hour this morning w/the jury in the courtroom, not actively deliberating.
Justice #Merchan is done, & now the court reporter will read the #testimony. 2 court reporters will read. The first explains that she is the “lawyer” & that her colleague, on the witness stand is “David Pecker.” They start w/ testimony pertaining to a phone call that #Pecker & #Trump had in June 2016, acc/to Pecker’s testimony.
David #Pecker testified that #Trump acknowledged speaking to #MichaelCohen about the issue & acknowledged knowing #KarenMcDougal, one of the women who was eventually paid to keep quiet during the 2016 campaign about her story of having had an affair w/ Trump.
“Karen is a nice girl,” Trump said on this call, according to Pecker’s testimony.
#Pecker testified that he recommended that #Trump buy #KarenMcDougal’s story. The portion of #testimony ends before the #jury hears what comes next. Pecker testified that #MichaelCohen called him back & told him to buy McDougal’s story on Trump's behalf.
Jurors heard the portion of Pecker's testimony when he said he believed the story of Trump having had an affair w/McDougal was true, & would be embarrassing to Trump.
Next the court reporters read the second part of David #Pecker’s #testimony that the #jurors asked to hear, where he explains that he decided he did not want to be repaid for #KarenMcDougal’s story after purchasing it. The implication was that he was concerned about the #legal consequences of accepting a reimbursement - he testified that the concern was regarding FEC violations.
#Jurors hear #Pecker recall that after he said he wasn’t going to go thru w/the agreement w/ #MichaelCohen, who was to pay him for the rights to #KarenMcDougal’s story using an LLC, Cohen told him: “The boss is going to be very angry at you.”
Court reporters read the 3rd portion of Pecker’s testimony. This part pertains to the Aug 2015 #TrumpTowerMeeting in which Pecker, Michael Cohen & #Trump entered a #conspiracy to suppress negative news about Trump during the #2016election.
#Pecker’s #testimony here is key to prosecution's case. Jurors also asked to hear MichaelCohen’s testimony about the #TrumpTowerMeeting. They will hear that next.
One of the major arguments the defense made during closings also pertained to this meeting, & concerned the idea that the phrase #CatchAndKill was not used during it.
(It’s not used in the charges either. It’s just a characterization not a legal term.)
The #jurors just again heard #Pecker’s #testimony that the reason he was purchasing negative stories on #Trump’s behalf was to benefit his presidential campaign.
Defense atty Emil #Bove cross-examined Pecker, & jurors are hearing part of that cross now. Bove elicited testimony that Pecker misremembered the exact date of the Aug 2015 meeting, & more generally that Pecker was testifying about events from a long time ago.
Testimony readbacks can highlight moments that were seemingly rushed by during trial.
Here, we see that it was very important for the defense for #Bove to call #Pecker’s memory about this meeting into question.
Also the importance of objections becomes very apparent. Any objection that was sustained by the judge — & several were in this cross of Pecker — is not read aloud as the jury considers a potential verdict.
#Pecker testified on cross-examination that the phrase “#CatchAndKill” was not used at the Aug 2015 #TrumpTowerMeeting — & that there was no financial agreement made in concert w/the plan for him to supress negative stories about #Trump AT THAT MEETING.
The defense has argued that both of those data points should cast doubt on the prosecution’s theory.
The end of the cross-examination of #Pecker was less good for the defense. It was just read aloud again. “There was a discussion about that I was going to be the eyes and ears of the campaign,” Pecker testified. “And there was a discussion that I would be notifying Michael Cohen of any women that were in the process of or going to be selling stories.”
Cohen’s testimony matches Pecker’s account closely. #Pecker testified that he had said he would be #Trump’s “eyes & ears” & watch out for negative stories. Cohen recalls him saying he would “keep an eye out for anything negative.”
Tues 29 May 2024 🧵
Good morning! It’s the last day of the #TrumpTrial before jury #deliberations.
Today Justice #Merchan will give #JuryInstructions. Then they will discuss the case among themselves for the first time; they have not been allowed to even discuss it w/each other as yet.
Closing arguments took place yesterday, & the lawyers will have no further opportunity to address the jurors before they determine whether #Trump is #guilty or not guilty of 34 felonies.
Judge #Merchan says jury has a note w/ 4 requests. They just rang the courtroom.
3 of the requests relate to testimony from David #Pecker, the former publisher of The #NationalEnquirer, who prosecutors say was part of the #conspiracy to suppress negative news on #Trump’s behalf during the 2016 election. The other request relates to #MichaelCohen’s testimony.
The phone call #jurors asked for from David Pecker’s testimony was call he testified he had w/ #Trump during an investor meeting, in June 2016, during which Trump acknowledged that he knew #KarenMcDougal.
Jurors may also be looking at the part of the #TrumpTowerMeeting when #Pecker testified that he decided to not collect reimbursement from Trump for his #HushMoney deal w/ McDougal. The wording from the jurors is slightly unclear.
Justice #Merchan is back on the bench. He asks the attys, “Where do we stand?”
Prosecutor #Steinglass says that while they have “made a lot of progress,” they need his help to sort out which portions of the #transcript should be read back to the #jury.
Jurors asked for 4 portions — 3 from #Pecker’s testimony & 1 from #MichaelCohen.
Defense & prosecution aren’t agreeing on Pecker's #TrumpTowerMeeting testimony.
Yes, this just happened, court is still very much in session. Only the jury was dismissed.
There’s agreement on the jurors’ 1st, 2nd & 4th requests.
1st was #Pecker’s testimony about a call he had w/ #Trump in June 2016.
2nd was Pecker’s testimony on financial arrangements for #KarenMcDougal’s #HushMoney.
4th was #MichaelCohen’s testimony on the Aug 2015 #TrumpTowerMeeting w/ Pecker & Trump.
The only portion that is disputed involves Pecker's testimony about the same meeting.
Prosecutors believe the readback should include the part of Pecker’s #testimony about directing #DylanHoward to notify other employees of The #NationalEnquirer they should bring any stories about #Trump to him. #Pecker also testified that he told Howard that the Enquirer employees would have to speak to #MichaelCohen about the arrangement.
Justice Merchan notes that in the same section Pecker testified he told Howard to keep it secret — goes to #intent to #defraud.
Court has now adjourned for the day. Justice #Merchan did not determine exactly which portions of the transcript related to #Pecker’s testimony woll be read aloud to the #jury.
We’ll find out tomorrow morning.
#Trump faces 34 felony counts of falsifying business records in connection w/a #HushMoney payment made to a porn star to influence the 2016 election. The case could be in the jury’s hands as early as Wed.
#Steinglass outlines their theory of the Aug 2015 meeting between #Trump, #MichaelCohen, & David #Pecker, of #NationalEnquirer, in which they agreed to a plot to suppress negative stories about Trump & promote negative stories about his opponents.
Steinglass punctures one of #Blanche’s go-to arguments —that The Enquirer is like all publications & Pecker's arrangement w/Trump wasn’t unusual. There is nothing normal or standard about what the tabloid was doing w/Trump.
#Pecker came off as a genteel & soft-spoken person who still loves #Trump. And he offered some of the most damaging testimony of the trial.
FYI: criminalizing what Pecker & parent co AMI were doing is not part of the charges.
Steinglass shows how their actions & practices went far beyond what reporters actually do. The details of Pecker’s testimony demonstrate that the aim was to help Trump’s candidacy.
#Steinglass now talks# about the 2nd of 3 hush-money deals, which involved #KarenMcDougal & was arranged by The #NationalEnquirer. He says that #Pecker & #DylanHoward of The Enquirer & #KeithDavidson, McDougal's lawyer, spoke in code. But you don’t have to be a codebreaker, he says, to understand what they were talking about
Steinglass also notes that the trio was communicating w/ #MichaelCohen, who testified that he had been charged w/keeping #Trump apprised of their progress
#Steinglass tells the jury that #Pecker was willing to sacrifice his bottom line in service of #Trump’s campaign, & adds that this deal was “the very antithesis of a normal legitimate press function.”
Steinglass shows through call records the degree to which Trump would have had knowledge of the discussions around acquiring #KarenMcDougal’s life rights. Cutting against Blanche’s portrayal of Trump as a dupe who people took advantage of.
#Steinglass, who had stuck to a chronological timeline, goes back to 2016 to connect #Trump to each element that prosecutors say is a #crime. He argues that David #Pecker corroborated the idea that #MichaelCohen had kept Trump up to date on the #HushMoney payments at every step. Cohen, Steinglass says, “is not some rogue actor here.”
Steinglass talks about the infamous tape of Trump & Micahel Cohen discussing the payment to #KarenMcDougal.