Trump’s history-making hush-money trial begins ...

Well in America we have this thing called the post office, when the EC sends you a letter letting you know they are investigating you for Campaign Finance Violation, they write it up, put it in an envelope, stamp that bad boy and walla it magically appears in your mailbox. I understand that may be a lot to take in but hopefully they answers your question and that's what Pecker said happened to him but wasn't charged.

Pecker, nor trump were ever charged with a campaign finance violation. No Trump cannot be charged with a federal campaign I can't play with anyone so ignorant of what we're dealing with. SeeYa Noone, enjoy your evening.

 

The court is ignorant of this stuff! So are all of the lawyers! Trump is exonerated yet again!

 

They may have gotten a letter from the Campaign Finance investigators, but not from the Campaign Finance investagating.

Well, he has now. (which I've pointed out before and documented)

You (my question)
Has trump been charged for breaking NY campaign finance laws?


Copilot
Using the web
Yes, former President Donald Trump has been charged with breaking New York campaign finance laws. The charges are related to alleged hush money payments made during his 2016 presidential campaign123.

Wuuuut? Why would he be charged with a "federal campaign"?

You doing a great job.

I am.

 

Yaknow, he got a letter from the FEC! This means that he’s super innocent and stuff! This means that the state of NY can’t do anything to the Orange Heman!

Why hasn’t the court figured this out?

 

Evidently, this must be the Fox line. It seems to be breaking out. It’s a retread,too!

 

It’s amazing how juvenile this stuff gets.

 

You can almost quote the Faux tag lines from what the right is posting here.

I expect that they'll all show up at court one morning and Merchan we'll drop the gavel and say

Faux news says tRaitor tRump is innocent and even IF he isn't we can't prosecute.

 

That is true, Trump is like a caged animal being in the New York courtroom. It is a fact that he has to be there or else he goes to jail and you and I could imagine what could happen to him if he were in jail during this trial. He would be a caged animal, struggling to survive. He could lose his freedom that way. There are incarcerated people in prisons that spent most of their lives there. If Trump gets incarcerated by chance, we will be curios to want to know he he'll manage to adjust to prison life. He'll struggle to control himself all right and how he'll adjust will be another matter. Good luck Trump if you get locked up.

 

Don’t worry, trump, like most other celebrity inmates, will be treated with kid gloves.
It’s not like he’s George Floyd.

 

2 min ago
Trump attorney begins cross-examination of David Pecker


Trump's attorney Emil Bove is at the lectern and is beginning his cross examination of Pecker.



3 min ago
David Pecker is back on the stand
Witness David Pecker is back on the stand to continue to be cross-examined by the defense.

As he made his way to the witness stand, Pecker walked past Trump's table without glancing over.

The jury is entering the courtroom. Each juror walked to the jury box with their heads facing forward with no apparent glance at Trump.



3 min ago
Trump attorney says he will apologize to Pecker for not being clear enough in questioning about FBI interview
Prosecutor Joshua Steinglass is asking whether the judge will instruct the jury about misleading Pecker about his FBI interview and whether Hope Hicks was in the August 2015 Trump Tower meeting.

Trump attorney Emil Bove says he will apologize to Pecker at the start of testimony for not being clear enough yesterday, and direct him to the relevant part of the FBI interview.

The judge agrees this is sufficient.

Steinglass has also asked the judge to additionally give the jury a curative instruction about how they should consider the references to Pecker's meetings with prosecutors ahead of trial.

Steinglass also asked that Bove be clear when distinguishing between federal prosecutors and state prosecutors in questioning Pecker.

5 min ago
Trump sitting back in his chair as he listens to attorneys and judge
Trump is sitting back in his chair as the lawyers go back and forth with the judge about a series of proposed redactions to text messages that were discussed during Thursday's proceedings.

Prosecutor Joshua Steinglass said the district attorney's office sent proposed redactions to the Dylan Howard text messages to the defense team. These texts were disputed yesterday.

For now, Judge Juan Merchan said Trump’s team should continue to object to text messages as the prosecutors try to admit them into evidence. Merchan said he’ll go case by case but said he agrees with Trump’s lawyers generally that at some point the messages could become "cumulatively prejudicial" to Trump.





https://www.cnn.com/politics/live-news/trump-hush-money-trial-04-26-24/index.html

 

2 min ago
Trump sits back in his chair with eyes closed as Pecker testifies about August 2015 meeting


Trump is once again sitting back in his chair with his eyes closed while witness Pecker is testifying about the August 2015 Trump Tower meeting.



5 min ago
Pecker reviews portion of grand jury testimony
Pecker is reviewing a portion of a transcript of his grand jury testimony.

Bove is focusing on the August 2015 meeting.





2 min ago
Trump continues to make false claims about courthouse security and access
From CNN's Kate Sullivan

Former President Donald Trump on Friday continued to make false claims about security and access at the Manhattan courthouse where his criminal hush money trial is taking place, saying “security is that of Fort Knox” and that “MAGA will not be able to attend this trial.”

“I’m at the heavily guarded Courthouse. Security is that of Fort Knox, all so that MAGA will not be able to attend this trial, presided over by a highly conflicted pawn of the Democrat Party. It is a sight to behold! Getting ready to do my Courthouse presser. Two minutes!” Trump posted on Truth Social.

While there are various security measures in place around the courthouse, including some street closures enforced by police officers and barricades, people are permitted to drive right up to the front of the courthouse and walk into the building, which remains open to the public. If people show up early enough in the morning, they can even get into the trial courtroom itself or the overflow room that shows near-live video of the proceedings.

Trump has made several false claims about his supporters not being able to get near the courthouse. The designated protest zone for the trial is at a park directly across the street from the courthouse, and only a handful of Trump supporters have shown up to demonstrate near the building.

cont:
https://www.cnn.com/politics/live-news/trump-hush-money-trial-04-26-24/index.html

 

This is all Bove's got?
We all know that the NE paid for stories and paid to kill them.
Along with making up bogus stories when the agenda fit.

Pecker & Trump ilk's motive was election interference.

5 min ago
Trump attorney zeroes in on stories about Trump's primary opponents in the National Enquirer


Bove is asking Pecker about the negative stories about Trump's primary opponents in the National Enquirer.

Bove confirms with Pecker that it's "standard operating procedure" for the National Enquirer to recycle content from other outlets.

He shows the jury five headlines about Ben Carson, an exhibit prosecutors used earlier in the week

"There was already negative information in the public domain about Ben Carson, and so you ran it in the National Enquirer, right?" Bove asks. "Yes," Pecker says.

Bove asks if Pecker would have done it even without a conversation with Trump. "Yes," Pecker agrees.

Bove confirms with Pecker that other outlets covered malpractice claims against Carson in May 2015, months before the meeting at Trump Tower.

cont:
https://www.cnn.com/politics/live-news/trump-hush-money-trial-04-26-24/index.html

 

2 min ago
Bove is now talking about National Enquirer's articles on Marco Rubio


Bove has moved on to the National Enquirer articles about Marco Rubio.

Bove says these articles are also based on information "not exclusive" to the National Enquirer. "Yes," Pecker confirms.

Trump is whispering with attorney Susan Necheles as copies of the article in question are handed out.

"The National Enquirer was recycling information from other publications because it was cost efficient and made business sense?" Bove asks. "Yes," Pecker testifies.

https://www.cnn.com/politics/live-news/trump-hush-money-trial-04-26-24/index.html

 

6 min ago
Ex-tabloid boss confirms National Enquirer recycled stories from other publications


Defense attorney Emil Bove is questioning ex-publisher David Pecker about the National Enquirer's practice of publishing stories based on other news organizations' reporting, as he continues a line of questioning around the tabloid's coverage of Trump's political foes.

"The National Enquirer was recycling information from other publications because it was cost-efficient and made business sense?" Bove asks. "Yes," Pecker testifies.

Bove notes that the tabloid's work included cultivating a network of sources. "But that's not what was happening" with these articles, he says.

"Yes," Pecker says.



4 min ago
"Catch-and-kill" concept was not discussed at August 2015 Trump Tower meeting, Pecker confirms
Bove is showing the Wall Street Journal story about Karen McDougal published just before the 2016 election, saying it shows that American Media Inc.'s help for Trump was out there.

Bove cites a line in the story that said that since last year, the National Enquirer "has supported Mr Trump's presidential bid, endorsing him and publishing negative articles about some of his opponents."

Bove asks Pecker to confirm that the concept of "catch and kill" was not discussed at the August 2015 meeting at Trump Tower.

Pecker confirms to Bove that Trump and Cohen did not pay AMI any money in connection with the Dino Sajudin story. Sajudin was a former doorman at Trump Tower.

Pecker also confirms that AMI has executed "hundreds of thousands" of source agreements like the ones used for Sajudin and McDougal "over the years."

https://www.cnn.com/politics/live-news/trump-hush-money-trial-04-26-24/index.html

 

2 min ago
Bove digs into Pecker's discussions with Trump


Bove notes Pecker testified that he wanted to keep the August 2015 meeting discussions "highly, highly confidential" and "quiet" but says it became public before the election. Pecker agrees.

Bove: "But it actually became public prior to the election that you were doing those things for President Trump."
Pecker: "Yes."
Bove: "People picked up on it."
Pecker: "Right."
Bove asks, "Nothing was hidden correct?"
Merchan sustained a prosecutor's objection to that question.

Pecker's voice has become softer as he is responding and agreeing with the defense.


https://www.cnn.com/politics/live-news/trump-hush-money-trial-04-26-24/index.html

 

3 min ago
Pecker agrees story from Trump Tower doorman, if true, could have been one of the tabloid's "biggest" ever


Defense attorney Emil Bove asks ex-National Enquirer publisher David Pecker whether a story from Dino Sajudin, a Trump Tower doorman who was selling information about Donald Trump allegedly fathering a son, could have been "the biggest National Enquirer article ever."

Pecker agrees that it could have been.

Bove then asks, “So if this story was true you were going to run it right.”

Pecker answers, "Uh, yes.”

2 min ago
"He wasn't President Trump," prosecution objects to defense referring to Trump as president in 2016
Prosecutor Joshua Steinglass has objected repeatedly when Bove has referred to Donald Trump as President Trump as he discusses events about 2016.

"He wasn't President Trump," Steinglass said

The judge sustained the objection.

Trump did not react at all during this back and forth. He is leaned back in his chair, his head cocked to look at Pecker, as he's answering questions.



2 min ago
Pecker confirms he thought there was small chance McDougal's story could be true
Bove is moving on to former Playboy model Karen McDougal's agreement now.

Pecker confirms that when an amended agreement was signed giving AMI exclusivity rights in perpetuity, Pecker still thought there was a small chance it could be true.

Bove asks, "You could not walk away from that possibility" that it was true, "however small it might be?" Pecker agrees.

Bove is emphasizing that McDougal's main interest was that she didn't want her story published. Pecker agrees.

https://www.cnn.com/politics/live-news/trump-hush-money-trial-04-26-24/index.html

 

1 min ago
Pecker recounts phone call with Trump about former Playboy model


Ex-National Enquirer boss David Pecker has been asked to recount a phone call with Donald Trump in which Trump asked about former Playboy model Karen McDougal, who alleged she had an affair with the former president.

In June 2016, Pecker left a company meeting when he was informed by his assistant that he got a call from Trump.

On the call, Trump said, “I spoke to Michael (Cohen) and I want to talk to you about Karen McDougal," Pecker testifies.
Trump attorney Emil Bove asks if the former publisher recalls telling Trump, "She doesn't want her story published."

"Yes, I remember saying that," Pecker said.

Pecker hesitated at times in the testimony, appearing to lose his train of thought, and explained after one long pause that he "just wanted to make sure" he remembered.

https://www.cnn.com/politics/live-news/trump-hush-money-trial-04-26-24/index.html

 

1 min ago
Pecker describes when Trump told him not to buy stories because it "always gets out"


Pecker is recounting his previous testimony, where Pecker says that Trump told him he did not buy stories because that "always gets out."

https://www.cnn.com/politics/live-news/trump-hush-money-trial-04-26-24/index.html

 

2 min ago
Bove is showing Pecker the agreement with McDougal


Bove is now showing Pecker the AMI agreement with former Playboy model Karen McDougal.



https://www.cnn.com/politics/live-news/trump-hush-money-trial-04-26-24/index.html

 

I might've objected to the question about whether McDougal's story was true or not. That would require Pecker to speculate.

 

14m ago / 10:22 AM EDT
Bove tries — and fails — to establish that Pecker knew McDougal earlier

Lisa Rubin

Bove just tried — and failed — to establish that Pecker knew about McDougal years prior because she had been one of the first female cover models on Men’s Fitness, shortly after his arrival at AMI in 1999. Pecker explained he didn’t know her and didn't know of her.

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/do...-money-case-live-updates-rcna149466#rcrd40206

 

8m ago / 10:30 AM EDT
Bove zeroes in on the ties between Pecker and Cohen

Lisa Rubin

The point Bove appears to be driving at is that Pecker and Cohen were especially close — but that Pecker was well aware that Cohen was not well regarded even among his own business associates.

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/do...-money-case-live-updates-rcna149466#rcrd40206

 

1 min ago
Bove showing invoice for McDougal's $150,000 agreement


Bove is now showing Pecker the invoice from Karen McDougal's attorney Keith Davidson for her $150,000 agreement.

Pecker confirms he did not personally process the invoice and wire transfer to McDougal's attorney. Pecker confirms he trusted his accounting department to do that clerical work as "standard operating procedure."

https://www.cnn.com/politics/live-news/trump-hush-money-trial-04-26-24/index.html





2 min ago
Ex-tabloid boss says Michael Cohen asked him to send paparazzi to his meeting with Mark Cuban
In summer 2016, then-Trump attorney Michael Cohen told National Enquirer publisher David Pecker he was looking to work with business mogul Mark Cuban, Pecker testified.

Cohen asked Pecker to send paparazzi to a meeting the attorney had with Cuban, Pecker says.

Defense attorney Emil Bove pushes Pecker to agree that photographing such a meeting would "put a little pressure" on Trump by elevating Cohen. Pecker says Cohen never told him that, but he agrees that it would have been a consequence.

Remember: Cohen's testimony is expected to play a key role in the hush money criminal case, and prosecutors has warned the jury that the defense will "go to great lengths to get you to reject his testimony" by highlighting his past wrongdoing.


https://www.cnn.com/politics/live-news/trump-hush-money-trial-04-26-24/index.html

 

Oh no! Michael Cohen liked attention! How does that damage his credibility when you have the ultimate attention whore sitting next to you? An attention whore I don’t think takes the stand…