{"id":2226602,"date":"2024-04-21T16:56:09","date_gmt":"2024-04-21T20:56:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/who-is-david-pecker-media-mogul-reported-to-be-first-testimony-in-trump-trial\/"},"modified":"2024-04-21T17:00:39","modified_gmt":"2024-04-21T21:00:39","slug":"who-is-david-pecker-media-mogul-reported-to-be-first-testimony-in-trump-trial","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/who-is-david-pecker-media-mogul-reported-to-be-first-testimony-in-trump-trial\/","title":{"rendered":"David Pecker, a media mogul, is reportedly set to be the first witness in the Trump trial"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">34<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fwho-is-david-pecker-media-mogul-reported-to-be-first-testimony-in-trump-trial%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2226602&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>David Pecker, a central figure in the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/double-booked-trump-rumored-to-make-appearances-at-two-huge-hearings-in-different-states\/\" title=\"Trump may attend two major hearings in different states, causing a double booking\">hush money \u200bcase<\/a> against Donald Trump,\u2062 is set to be the first witness in Trump&#8217;s New York criminal trial. Pecker, former \u200cCEO of the company \u2063behind\u200c The \u2064National Enquirer, is \u2063expected to provide crucial \u2063testimony regarding hush money dealings. Prosecutors aim to corroborate\u200d key\u2062 details through Pecker&#8217;s testimony. David Pecker, a pivotal figure\u2064 in the hush money case involving Donald Trump, is poised \u2063to be the \u200cprimary witness \u200bin\u2062 Trump&#8217;s criminal trial in New York. As the ex-CEO of The National Enquirer&#8217;s parent company, Pecker&#8217;s testimony is anticipated\u200c to shed light on critical details of the \u2062hush money \u200dtransactions. Prosecutors\u2062 are counting on Pecker\u200c to\u200d verify essential information during the trial.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<div>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/857209\/former-newspaper-publisher-testifies-in-trump-indictment-hearing-for-second-time-report\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"David Pecker\">David Pecker<\/a>, a key figure in the hush money case against <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/author\/donald-trump\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"David Pecker\">Donald Trump<\/a>, is reportedly slated to be the first witness to testify against the former president at his New York criminal trial.<\/p>\n<p>Pecker is the former CEO of the company that published The <em><em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/national-enquirer\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">National Enquirer<\/a><\/em> <\/em>and is expected to deliver the first testimony against Trump after <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/a-predator-prowling-the-streets-the-trial-of-ghislaine-maxwell\/\" title=\"\u2018A Predator Prowling The Streets\u2019: The Trial Of Ghislaine Maxwell\">opening arguments begin<\/a> in his trial on Monday, a source familiar with the matter <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2024\/04\/21\/nyregion\/trump-trial-hush-money-evidence.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"told\">told<\/a> the <em>New York Times<\/em>. <\/p>\n<p>Prosecutors say Pecker\u2019s hush money relationship with Trump and his former attorney and fixer Michael Cohen began at Trump Tower in August 2015, when he agreed to help Trump\u2019s campaign identify negative stories about him.<\/p>\n<figure><figcaption>FILE \u2013 David Pecker, Chairman and CEO of American Media, addresses those attending the Shape &#038; Men\u2019s Fitness Super Bowl Party in New York, on Jan. 31, 2014. (Marion Curtis via AP, File)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Trump\u2019s trial centers on allegations that his company\u2019s internal records were obscured to hide reimbursement payments to his former fixer and attorney <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/Michael-Cohen\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>Michael Cohen<\/a>, who arranged hush\u00a0money payments to hide negative stories about him during the 2016 presidential race. The former president has pleaded not guilty to the 34 Class E felonies he faces, which can amount to four years or less in prison if he is convicted, or a lesser sentence like probation.<\/p>\n<p>While Cohen\u2019s payments to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/jenna-jameson-marilyn-manson-fantasized-about-burning-me-alive\/\" title=\"Jenna Jameson: Marilyn Manson \u2018Fantasized About Burning Me Alive\u2019\">porn star<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/Stormy-Daniels\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>Stormy Daniels<\/a> serve as the case\u2019s primary focus, the indictment against Trump details two other deals, including one with former Playboy model Karen McDougal and another with a former Trump Tower doorman, who claimed the then-presidential candidate had fathered a child out of wedlock.<\/p>\n<p>Pecker and his tabloid purchased the silence of the doorman, whose narrative about the child out of wedlock turned out to be proven false. The media mogul also bought the rights to the story about McDougal and never published it, a practice the indictment describes as \u201ccatch and kill.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure><figcaption>FILE \u2013 This combination of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/members-of-congress-speak-out-on-financial-literacy-education-and-reform\/\" title=\"Members of Congress speak out on financial literacy education and reform\">file photo shows<\/a>, from left, President Donald Trump, attorney Michael Cohen and adult film actress Stormy Daniels. Search warrants unsealed Thursday, July 18, 2019, shed new light on the president\u2019s role as his campaign scrambled to respond to media inquiries about hush money paid to two women who said they had affairs with him. The investigation involved payments Cohen helped orchestrate to Daniels and Playboy centerfold Karen McDougal. (AP Photo\/File)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>In <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/2016-elections\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>October 2016<\/a>, when Daniels was preparing to go public and sell her story about an alleged sexual encounter with Trump, the former president\u2019s campaign had just been jolted by the release of the infamous <em>Access Hollywood <\/em>tape, in which Trump boasted about grabbing women \u201cby the p****.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Cohen eventually reached a deal with Pecker to silence the story about Daniels\u2019s allegations for $130,000. While Trump has acknowledged reimbursing Cohen, he contends he didn\u2019t know the details about what Cohen was doing.<\/p>\n<p>The former attorney and fixer is expected to be the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/trump-trial-begins-here-are-the-hush-money-case-weaknesses-trump-could-exploit\/\" title=\"Trump's trial commences: Exploring the potential weaknesses in the hush money case\">prosecutors\u2019 star witness<\/a> because his payments to the porn star are at the very center of Bragg\u2019s indictment. But the problem for prosecutors, which Trump has already made loud and clear, is that Cohen appears to have lied to multiple branches of the federal government in just the past few years.<\/p>\n<p>Manhattan District Attorney <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/Alvin-Bragg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>Alvin Bragg<\/a>\u2018s team will utilize Pecker\u2019s testimony to help corroborate much of what the former attorney is expected to testify about, and also has plans to invite McDougal and Daniels to the stand. Trump has repeatedly said he would testify in his own defense.<\/p>\n<p>Trump, who is under a gag order and is facing potential fines for speaking about Cohen, has heavily criticized the veracity of his testimony. He posted to social media on Sunday, calling on Justice Juan Merchan to \u201cREMOVE THE GAG ORDER!!!\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWHAT DO YOU HAVE TO HIDE???\u201d Trump added in his post. Merchan is slated to hold a hearing on Tuesday about prosecutors\u2019 allegations that Trump has violated the gag order ten times since the trial began last Monday and that he should be fined $1,000 per violation.<\/p>\n<p>The revelation by the <em>Times <\/em>that Pecker would be the first witness comes as prosecutor Joshua Steinglass said Friday <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/justice\/2972781\/trump-trial-prosecutors-withhold-witness-lineup-trump-team\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"he would like Trump to remain clueless\">he would like Trump to remain clueless<\/a> about who will testify on Monday, or at least until Sunday evening. Trump\u2019s attorney, Todd Blanche, had asked on Thursday if Steinglass could tell him who the first three would be.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMr. Trump has been tweeting about the witnesses,\u201d Steinglass told Merchan last week. \u201cWe\u2019re not telling them who the witnesses are.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Attorney Karen Agnifilo, a Trump critic who formerly worked in top positions in the Manhattan DA\u2019s office, told the <em>Washington Examiner<\/em> in an email that prosecutors denying defense <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/lawyers\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>attorneys<\/a> notice about their witness order was abnormal, but she also indicated that she viewed it as justifiable.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe threatens\u00a0witnesses so when that happens that is what they do,\u201d Agnifilo said.<\/p>\n<p id=\"gmail-block-a64717b1-65a0-485a-860a-0fb7ff037631\">Opening arguments will begin on Monday at around 9:30 a.m. local time, following a tumultuous first week of the trial, which included interviews with nearly 300 potential jurors \u2014 many of whom were immediately dismissed after they said they could not judge the case impartially.<\/p>\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The selection process resumed on Thursday with two previously sworn-in jurors who were subsequently dismissed for separate reasons. The court was able to seat all 12 jurors and six alternates just before the end of the day on Friday.<\/p>\n<p>A spokeswoman for Bragg\u2019s office did not respond to a request for comment. The <em>Washington Examiner <\/em>reached out to both Trump\u2019s legal and campaign team for comment.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>David Pecker, a central figure in the hush money case involving Donald Trump, is expected to be the initial witness against the former president in his New York criminal trial. Pecker, the ex-CEO of The National Enquirer&#8217;s parent company, is anticipated to provide crucial testimony<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2633,"featured_media":2226603,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/wex-s3.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/AP23087778326411-1024x683.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[538],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2226602","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-washington-examiner"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/wex-s3.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/AP23087778326411-1024x683.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2226602","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2633"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2226602"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2226602\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2226603"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2226602"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2226602"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2226602"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}