Donald Trump’s defence team yesterday attacked the credibility of the prosecution’s first witness in his hush money case, seeking to discredit testimony detailing a scheme between Mr Trump and a tabloid to bury negative stories to protect the Republican’s 2016 presidential campaign.
Former National Enquirer publisher David Pecker, the first witness in the former president’s historic trial, faced a barrage of “yes” or “no” questions during cross-examination from Mr Trump’s lawyer Emil Bove in an attempt to poke holes in his week-long testimony.
But Mr Bove’s attempts to impeach Mr Pecker’s credibility fell flat, as the former publisher repeatedly affirmed his under-oath descriptions of his meetings with Mr Trump. At one point yesterday, Mr Bove tried to get Mr Pecker to admit that he either lied on the witness stand or to federal law enforcement about Mr Trump “thanking” him for his help burying stories of Mr Trump’s alleged affairs.
“Was that a mistake?” Mr Bove asked. “Do you believe Trump said that to you as we sit here right now?”
Mr Bove then handed Mr Pecker a report from his interview with federal prosecutors and the FBI in 2018, alleging that Mr Pecker’s prior testimony contradicted his earlier interview.
“This is the FBI’s interview, is that correct? These are the FBI notes? The FBI notes, some of these here, are wrong. I know what I testified to yesterday,” Mr Pecker responded. “I know what the truth is,” he added. “I can’t state why it’s written this way.”
This story is from the April 27, 2024 edition of The Independent.
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This story is from the April 27, 2024 edition of The Independent.
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