Trump hush money trial live: First week of testimony concludes – The Independent

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Former president’s historic election interference trial is underway in New York City
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Donald Trump returned to court for the latest instalment of his New Yorkhush money trial on Frida, where the jury heard further testimony from tabloid mogul David Pecker who detailed the “catch-and-kill” scheme to suppress stories about the defendant’s alleged affairs.
The former National Enquirer publisher doubled down on his testimony that he bought and silenced the story of Playboy model Karen McDougal’s affair with Mr Trump to influence the 2016 election.
With cross-examination complete, the court then heard from Trump executive assistant Rhona Graff and Guy Farro of First Republic Bank who set up a wire transfer to Stormy Daniels.
Justice Juan Merchan is yet to rule on whether Mr Trump should be held in contempt and fined $10,000 for allegedly violating a trial gag order by posting about witnesses and jurors on Truth Social.
The trial resumes on Tuesday.
In other legal news, Supreme Court justices heard oral arguments concerning Mr Trump’s “presidential immunity” defence against prosecution in federal cases, and the former president had his latest efforts to overturn the E Jean Carroll defamation verdict against him dismissed.
Alex Woodward is providing live updates from the courthouse in Manhattan.
Former attorney general Bill Barr told Kaitlin Collins on Friday that Donald Trump would sometimes threaten to execute someone when he would lose his temper – but that he did not mean it literally.
“Alyssa Farah Griffin, who was Trump’s communication director, posted yesterday and said that you were present at a moment when Trump suggested executing the person who leaked information that he went to the White House bunker when the George Floyd’s protests were happening outside the White House,” Ms Collins said to Mr Barr on The Sources With Kaitlin Collins.
Mr Barr said he did not recall Mr Trump saying the word “executing” but that he also “wouldn’t dispute” that it happened.
“The president would lose his temper and say things like that, I doubt he would have actually carried that out,” Mr Barr added. “I think people would sometimes take him too literally.”
Hell hath no fury like a Donald Trump forced to spend all day in a dingy, cold courtroom at 100 Centre Street in downtown Manhattan. Here on the 15th floor, he has spent the last two weeks fulminating. But he can’t do that while the court is in session. Here, it is Judge Juan Merchan who is in charge, not the former president. Here, the president has to do what he’s told.
For a man for whom being not just in charge but in total control is so much a part of his heavily curated image, this is proving tough. Defendant Trump turns up when the judge tells him to and leaves at the end of the day. In that sense, he is being treated like any other suspected criminal on trial. In others, of course, this is all totally abnormal.
Jon Sopel writes:
The former president’s public image may take a bruising in New York, writes Jon Sopel, but his eyes will be fixed firmly on the Supreme Court in Washington – and the promise of immunity
A former longtime assistant to Donald Trump at his Trump Organization testified that she has a “vague recollection” of seeing adult film star Stormy Daniels at Trump Tower before his 2016 presidential campaign.
Rhona Graff, who worked at the Trump Organization for more than 30 years, testified on Friday in a Manhattan courtroom across from her former boss – who is currently on trial charged with falsifying 34 business records to cover up payments to Ms Daniels as part of a scheme to bury details of their alleged affair.
In her testimony, Ms Graff revealed new details about Ms Daniels’ apparent ties to the former president, including that he appeared to be considering the adult film star as a contestant on The Celebrity Apprentice.
Alex Woodward filed this report from the courthouse:
Rhona Graff testified that she remembers ‘office chatter’ about the adult film star – and Donald Trump once saying she would be a ‘good contestant’ on The Celebrity Apprentice
San Francisco has earned an unwelcome national reputation for car burglaries that US Rep. Adam Schiff was reminded of the hard way: The Democratic congressman had his luggage swiped from his car while it was parked in a downtown garage.
With his formal clothing gone, Schiff ended up at a fundraising dinner Thursday for his US Senate campaign dressed like he was headed to a Los Angeles Dodgers game — in shirt sleeves and an insulated vest. Others who attended the event were mostly decked out in suit jackets and ties.
Schiff’s campaign confirmed the burglary and declined further comment, citing an ongoing investigation.
Read on…
San Francisco has an unwelcome reputation for car burglaries and visitors are warned not to leave valuables in their vehicles
Donald Trump told followers not to vote for third-party presidential candidate Robert F Kennedy Jr, saying a vote for him would be a “wasted protest vote” and falsely asserted that Mr Kennedy was a “Democratic Plant”.
In a Truth Social post on Friday night, Mr Trump said Mr Kennedy was ‘planted’ by Democrats “to help Crooked Joe Biden… get Re-Elected.”
“A Vote for Junior’ would essentially be a WASTED PROTEST VOTE, that could swing either way, but would only swing against the Democrats if Republicans knew the true story about him,” Mr Trump wrote.
One of the candidates in the running to be Donald Trump’s pick for Vice President has admitted that she once shot a pet puppy that she “hated”.
No, really.
In her new book, due to be released next month, the South Dakota governor described the dog as ‘less than worthless’ and also claimed to have also killed a ‘nasty and mean’ goat
Alex Woodward writes:
Donald Trump’s defence attorneys have tried to undermine trial testimony from one of the alleged architects of the scheme to buy up politically damaging stories about Mr Trump in order to boost his 2016 election chances.
Former National Enquirer publisher David Pecker, the first witness in the former president’s historic hush money trial, faced a barrage of “yes” or “no” questions during cross-examination from Mr Trump’s lawyer Emil Bove on Thursday and Friday 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.
Continue reading…
Former tabloid publisher confirms he helped bury Karen McDougal’s story to help Trump’s election chances
An Arizona grand jury indicted 18 individuals for their role in an alleged scheme to overturn the 2020 election in favour of Donald Trump by falsely certifying the state’s 2020 election results.
The state’s Attorney General Kris Mayes has so far released the names of 16 of those charged, explaining that two of the defendants’ names have been redacted but will be released “after all defendants have been served.”
Kelly Rissman reports on the who’s who of familiar names now tied to another scheme to overturn the 2020 election:
So far, the state’s attorney general’s office has disclosed 16 identities of the 18 people indicted for their role in an alleged scheme to overturn the 2020 presidential election, reports Kelly Rissman
Andrew Feinberg and Eric Garcia report:
President Joe Biden on Friday said he will participate in televised debates with his likely opponent, former president Donald Trump, before the November 5 presidential election.
Biden ended speculation about whether or not he would debate Trump during an hour-long, wide-ranging interview with Sirius-XM radio host Howard Stern.
“I am, somewhere,” he said, in response to a question about whether he was going to debate Trump, adding a second later that he did not know when such debates would take place. The nonpartisan Commission on Presidential Debates has scheduled three sessions for September 16, October 1 and October 9 this year.
“I’m happy to debate him,” he added.
Read on…
Biden expressed openness to debate Trump during a wide-ranging interview on Friday with radio host Howard Stern. Trump soon responded via the far-right social network Truth Social
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David Pecker is questioned by prosecutor Joshua Steinglass during former President Donald Trump’s first criminal trial
REUTERS
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