Both sides in Donald Trump’s trial say that the case, which technically concerns the crime of falsifying business records, is truly about politics. The prosecution said in its opening argument that Trump had “orchestrated a criminal scheme to corrupt the 2016 presidential election.” The following week, Trump’s attorney Todd Blanche said he and his client “very much believe that this is a political persecution, that it’s a political trial.” While that message may resonate with Trump’s audience outside the courtroom, the jury has been hearing a very different kind of story over the past two weeks. The trial narrative is less about any election than it is about secrets—a crime of gossip.
The first two major witnesses, David Pecker, the former chief executive of American Media, Inc., which owns the National Enquirer, and Keith Davidson, a Hollywood lawyer who makes his living from scandals, have offered the jurors a tutorial in the way professionals obtain secrets, assess their value, and put them to use. It’s a trade that powerful men have long used to protect themselves and undermine one another. Pecker testified that in 2015, he went to Trump Tower to meet with the candidate, an old friend and Enquirer staple, and proposed to act as Trump’s “eyes and ears,” watching out for any damaging stories “in the marketplace.” Davidson picked up the narrative in June 2016, when, by his own telling, the caper began with a late-night text message.
“I have a blockbuster trump story,” he wrote to Dylan Howard, the chief content officer of American Media, who edited the Enquirer.
この記事は New York magazine の May 06, 2024 版に掲載されています。
7 日間の Magzter GOLD 無料トライアルを開始して、何千もの厳選されたプレミアム ストーリー、8,500 以上の雑誌や新聞にアクセスしてください。
すでに購読者です ? サインイン
この記事は New York magazine の May 06, 2024 版に掲載されています。
7 日間の Magzter GOLD 無料トライアルを開始して、何千もの厳選されたプレミアム ストーリー、8,500 以上の雑誌や新聞にアクセスしてください。
すでに購読者です? サインイン
Reality Check
Joseph O'Neill's realist novel embodies the best and worst of the genre.
An Atlas Who Can't Carry
J.Lo's AI-friendly flick flattens its own world.
Billie Doesn't Have to Do It All
The singer's gleefully disorienting third album doesn't hit every note it reaches for.
A Hollywood Family's Grudges
In Griffin Dunne's memoir, The Friday Afternoon Club-about growing up the son of Dominick Dunne and the nephew of John Gregory Dunne and Joan Didion-both acid and names are dropped.
Quite the Tomato
A summer appetizer from a seriously ambitious restaurant.
This Cooking Can't Be Pinned Down
Theodora's menu is all over the map. That's what makes it great.
Answered Prayers
Brooklynites Cristiana Peña and Nick Porter had a dream to live in an old church upstate.
INDUSTRY Goes for Broke
With a new Sunday-night time slot and Game of Thrones's Kit Harington co-starring, can this buzzy GEN-Z FINANCE DRAMA finally break out?
THE SECRET SAUCE
As Marcus on THE BEAR, LIONEL BOYCE is the guy everyone wants to be around. He's having that effect on Hollywood too.
The Love Machine
LOVE IS BLIND creator CHRIS COELEN drops a new group of singles into his strange experiment-and wrestles with all the lawsuits against the series.