Jurors in former President Donald Trump’s criminal trial in New York are hearing testimony from David Pecker, the former media executive who says he helped shield Trump from negative stories during the 2016 presidential campaign.
Pecker was the CEO of American Media, Inc., which owned the National Enquirer, a position he held until 2020. Prosecutors said he would testify about how he and the tabloid’s editor used a tactic known as “catch and kill” to suppress damaging stories about Trump.
His testimony came after prosecutors and defense attorneys clashed at a hearing over whether Trump should be held in contempt of court for violating a gag order imposed by the judge.
Attorneys from Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s office have asked Judge Juan Merchan to find Trump in contempt for 10 social media posts, many of which attacked likely witnesses in the case, including Stormy Daniels and Michael Cohen. They asked Merchan to impose a $1,000 fine for each post and order Trump to take them down.
The gag order forbids Trump from commenting on witnesses, jurors and others involved in the proceedings.
“His attacks on witnesses clearly violate the order, willfully and flagrantly. The court should now hold him in contempt for each of the 10 posts,” prosecutor Chris Conroy said. “No one is off limits to the defendant. He can attack and seek to intimidate anyone he wants to in service to himself.”
Todd Blanche, an attorney for Trump, argued that his client was responding to political attacks in his posts, and did not believe he was violating the order when reposting or quoting others. The judge seemed unpersuaded, but said he would not make a ruling immediately.
“Mr. Blanche, you’re losing all credibility, you’re losing all credibility with the court,” Merchan said at one point. “Is there any other argument you want to make?”
Trump is charged with 34 counts of falsifying business records in the case and has pleaded not guilty.
The proceedings are not being televised, since New York law doesn’t allow recording of criminal proceedings. CBS News has reporters in the courtroom and in a nearby overflow room watching the trial.
