The “hush money” criminal trial against Trump has been going on in New York. Democrats are trying to convict the former president. Many believe this case, along with all the others, is merely a vendetta against the popular Republican.

The prosecution’s first witness is David Pecker, former publisher of the National Enquirer. Pecker admitted to buying stories about Trump to ensure they didn’t get published.

It appears the prosecution is trying to use Pecker’s testimony to show that Trump was involved in some kind of scheme. But just in the first few minutes of cross-examination, Trump’s lawyer appeared to shatter that claim.

From Daily Caller:
Former President Donald Trump’s lawyer sought to cast doubt on arguments at the core of Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s case just minutes into cross-examining the prosecution’s first witness…

He highlighted multiple instances where Pecker’s magazine suppressed damaging stories for other individuals in the public eye, including for politicians like Rahm Emanuel, current U.S. ambassador to Japan and former Democratic mayor of Chicago, and former Republican California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger.

Defense attorney Emil Bove is starting a line of questioning about AMI’s business model. Pecker agrees it's “checkbook journalism" — different from ABC.

Pecker agrees they sometimes purchase stories to use them as leverage against celebrities.

— Katelynn Richardson (@katesrichardson) April 25, 2024

As it turns out, Pecker was in the business of “checkbook journalism.” Meaning, he would buy stories to protect notable people. Those stories would have been used as leverage against these people. Sometimes, people threaten celebrities with damaging claims (true or otherwise) to blackmail or pressure them.

This could cause tremendous damage to a person’s career, family, or business. That is especially true of elected officials, who might be coerced by people into making decisions. Pecker admitted he did this for many people, including Democrat and former Obama White House Chief of Staff (and current Biden official) Rahm Emanuel as well as Arnold Schwarzenegger, who served as California’s governor.

If Pecker was in the business of doing this for many people, then what he did for Trump was not part of a shady conspiracy, as prosecutors have claimed. Pecker went on to admit that Trump wasn’t involved in payments, only disgraced former Trump staffer Michael Cohen.

This questioning might go a long way in undermining Democrats’ arguments against the former president. If it is standard practice for a publication like Pecker’s to buy stories to protect people, then it will be hard to prove Trump or his staff did anything illegal.

Key Takeaways:

• Trump’s attorney appeared to shatter the prosecutors’ case in a few minutes.
• The first witness admitted he often bought stories to protect celebrities from blackmailers.
• Democrats have accused Trump of a criminal conspiracy to protect his image.

Source: Daily Caller