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Donald Trump’s criminal hush money trial is now well underway with the prosecution and defence teams having presented their opening statements on Monday.
Tabloid media mogul David Pecker, who published The National Enquirer and was part of the “catch-and-kill” scheme at the heart of the case, has given testimony about specific instances of ensuring stories of an alleged love child and an affair with a Playboy model were never published.
Judge Juan Merchan will soon rule on complaints raised by Manhattan district attorney Alvin Bragg’s team about numerous instances of Mr Trump allegedly violating the terms of his gag order in posts on his Truth Social platform.
The defendant has continued to complain about the case outside of the courtroom and lash out at the judge and prosecutors on social media.
Elsewhere on the legal front, an agreement has been reached over Mr Trump’s $175m bond to appeal the civil fraud trial ruling against him; witness statements in the classified documents case have been made public; and on Thursday the Supreme Court will hear arguments on presidential immunity defence against prosecution.
Alex Woodward is providing live updates from the courthouse throughout the trial.
FBI papers reveal Trump valet Walt Nauta ‘promised a pardon if ex-President got re-elected for second term’
Donald Trump‘s valet, Walt Nauta, was reportedly told he would be pardoned during a potential second Trump administration if he was charged with lying to the FBI.
Mr Nauta was charged in June 2023 for lying to the FBI and for obstructing the agency’s investigation into the classified government documents Mr Trump had stored at Mar-a-Lago after his presidency.
Oliver O’Connell23 April 2024 20:00
Watch: Trump complains about gag order after day in court
Oliver O’Connell23 April 2024 19:45
Marjorie Taylor Greene makes wild claim that Democrats want Trump to be ‘murdered in jail’
Oliver O’Connell23 April 2024 19:30
The trial will resume on Thursday at 9.30am.
Donald Trump appeared in the hallway and spoke at the assembled media while brandishing printouts of op-ed articles that claim the case against him is a sham.
He also complained that the courtroom was freezing and yet again claimed that all the court cases brought against him were orchestrated by President Joe Biden. Which they are not.
Trump spoke in the hallway next to attorney Todd Blanche for just over three minutes, calling the courtroom “totally freezing,” and answered one question by a pooler on what his thoughts were of the gag order, which he called “totally unconstitutional.”
Trump on gag order: “It’s totally unconstitutional. I’m not allowed to talk but people are allowed to talk about me.”
He later said, “I’d love to say everything on my mind.”
He then went on again to rant about Joe Biden.
Oliver O’Connell23 April 2024 19:10
Cohen seemed “very agitated” during that time, Pecker says.
“He kept on calling and each time he called he seemed more anxious.”
Asked where he thinks that pressure came from, he said he assumed it came from his conversations with Trump.
We’re breaking for the day.
Alex Woodward23 April 2024 19:01
David Pecker tells the court that Cohen told him that “we shouldn’t be talking about this over a landline” and “we should use Signal”.
Pecker suggested to Trump that he buy up the story. “I said I still believe we should take this story off the market,” despite Trump thinking it would only bring more attention.
“He said, let me think about it and I’ll have Michael Cohen call you back in a few days.”
Dylan Howard meanwhile went to Los Angeles to meet with Ms McDougal’s attorney Keith Davidson.
“Dylan was going to sit down and do the interview and he would call us when he was there.”
Alex Woodward23 April 2024 18:59
What you need to know about Karen McDougal
Karen McDougal, a 53-year-old model and actor best known for appearing in Playboy magazine, claims she had a nine-month-long affair with Mr Trump in 2006.
She was paid $150,000 by AMI for the exclusive rights to her story before the 2016 presidential election and to feature her on two magazine covers and publish over 100 articles she authored.
Cohen considered buying the exclusive rights to Ms McDougal’s story from AMI, but that deal fell through.
AMI later admitted to prosecutors that it bought the exclusive rights to the story so that Ms McDougal could not share it elsewhere – but had never intended to publish her story. Instead, the so-called “catch-and-kill scheme” involved suppressing her story altogether in a bid to ward off any harm to Mr Trump’s presidential campaign.
Ms McDougal could also be a witness for the district attorney.
Oliver O’Connell23 April 2024 18:53
“Dylan came to me in early June 2016 and said he received a call from one of his major sources in California that there’s a Playboy model who is trying to sell a story about a relationship with Donald Trump,” says Pecker.
“I called Michael Cohen and I told him exactly what Dylan told me about this Playboy model.”
Pecker continued: “I think we should vet this story out first” and “Michael Cohen said ‘I think that’s a good idea … I’ll let you know what our next steps are gonna be.’”
Alex Woodward23 April 2024 18:51
An exhibit appears on a screen in court but is removed after an objection from defence attorney Emil Bove.
There is a brief sidebar and Judge Merchan tells the court: “Subject to the redaction that we discussed, the exhibit can be displayed.”
Pecker confirms that Cohen convinced him to keep Dino Sajudin’s exclusivity agreement until after the election.
We see an email from an AMI rep sent to Mr Saludin that AMI “has no objection” to him selling his story elsewhere. That email was sent on 9 December 2016, more than a year after the initial agreement and a month after election day.
Testimony is now turning to 1998 Playboy playmate of the year Karen McDougal…
Alex Woodward23 April 2024 18:49
Pecker explains: “A typical source payment would be $250 to $5,000 or if it’s a bigger celebrity up to $10,000 … I made the decision to buy the story because of the potential embarrassment to the campaign and Mr Trump.”
Liquidated damages of $1m also is not typical, Pecker says, but he added that as well as the “in perpetuity” clause based on his conversations with Cohen.
Alex Woodward23 April 2024 18:39
