to your point. i would say, you know, michael avenue neat, if he testifies, could you know, undermine the entire government's case how this deal was negotiated with michael cohen. make a really good point. >> ainsley: it's not illegal if you are an outlet like the national inquirer and decide later on you are not going to air it or run. it is it illegal for him to say to stormy daniels, okay, i don't want this story coming out, i'm going to give you money. i never talk about it. i'll never talk about it. >> this is important thing. nondisclosure agreements are entered into all the time. they are suggesting it was only done in an tis pace of the 2016 elections. and, obviously, saying the story
well, the former president has continually slammed this case saying the payments to cohen were legit. >> i called a -- i was paying a lawyer and marked it down as a legal expense, some accountant, didn't know, marked it down as a legal expense. that's exactly what it was. and you get indicted over that? >> but prosecutor josh stein glass told prospective jurors quote this case is about the rule of law and whether or not donald trump broke it. reports say that first witness, yes, will be david pecker, the former publisher of the national inquirer he says he paid playboy playmate karen macdougall for her silence. lawyers for trump say prosecutors have it wrong. >> we believe the facts are absolutely on our side that they're absolutely exxonner racism of the president. and as long as the jury focuses on the facts and see through all
scandals. >> 34 false statements made to cover up other crimes. these are felony crimes in new york state. no matter who you are. we cannot and will not normalize serious criminal conduct. >> prosecutors say the so-called catch and kill scheme by the national inquirer was intended intendoppress karen mcmacdougals story. pecker, the former head of american media incorporated the tabloid's publisher is expected to be their first witness today. he will likely testify about his conversations with trump and michael cohen about the payoff scheme. daniels, karen macdougall and cohen are expected to be key prosecution witnesses against the former president. but, you know trump's attorneys will try hammer cohen's credibility by pointing out that he served time in federal prison for tax evasion, campaign
and donald trump with the prosecutors are looking to outline to the jury is that he was made aware from michael cohen and the editor in chief of the "national enquirer" that an additional woman, stormy daniels had a story that she wanted to be published and sell, and the "national enquirer" was in discussions with stormy daniels about potentially being the one to buy her story. but in the intervening days, the prosecution says, that michael cohen was put in touch via the national inquirer with stormy daniels and her attorney, and that is when the $130,000 payment was arranged. we want to be very clear what is significant in the last two minutes about this is is that the prosecution is explicitly telling the jury they will present to them in the upcoming weeks that donald trump was intimately aware of the stormy daniels story in october of 2016 and the payment to silence her from having that story go public. >> vaughn hillyard, thank you very much.
national inquirer. left me go to you first, andrew, to find out what you think about this choice. does it tell you anything about where bragg is starting? >> andrew, we can't hear you. jonna, your thoughts. >> he is starting out in left field. you have to remember david pecker, he is quote, unquote, responsible for catching and killing some stories allegedly on behalf of donald trump. which, number one, is not a crime. number two, unless they are charged with conspiracy, we know that's not the case, has nothing to do with anything that donald trump did and the story in question doesn't involve stormy daniels. so already the prosecutor is going to be starting with this wide breadth that are related to
"national enquirer" spent on as witness to describe what is called an illegal scheme with donald trump to buy negative stories about him to help the trump election campaign. pecker explain the process at the tabloid how the stories are prepared and their case sometime spot and how it was up to him to okay paying for the "juicy stories." one of those juicy stories was from former "playboy" playmate karen mcdougal to. they claim she had an affair with trump which the inquirer bought for $150,000 but did not run as part of that catch and kill scheme. trump defense lawyer told the jury that the former president did not violate the law. the former president thought that checks to the lawyer michael cohen over his legal expenses and not his prosecutors claim to reimburse cohen to pay stormy daniels. "i have a spoiler alert. there is nothing wrong with trying to influence an election. it's called democracy.
other for years. they have large estates in palm beach and go back a long time in terms of trading information that went right into the national inquirer. they had a very mutually beneficial relationship for years and i think the jury will hear a lot about that. >> why is that not a story of biased press? and it is instead a story that prosecutors said was effectively an illegal conspiracy? a criminal conspiracy to influence the election? how does money make it a different thing? >> you hear a lot about the national inquirer storying. david has paid a fine already to the federal election commission because he paid them money to karen mcduogal. it was a violation of laws
contender journalism i showed you. they described the arrangement between trump an the national inquirer. in 2016 as an unlawful conspiracy to influence a united states election. judge the judge rule head will allow the introduction of that evidence of the scheme donald trump cooked up with the national inquirer of all places. as a legal matter, how does that help the prosecution win their place? why is that legally relevant? that's next. legally relevant? that's next. sometimes your work shirt needs to be for more than just work. like when it needs to be a big, soft shoulder to cry on. which is why downy does more to make clothes softer, fresher, and better. downy. breathe life into your laundry. sup? -who are you?
little bloomberg. weird kaine. mob connections. shady billion dollar deals. gay double life! boy, that really does sound like pulitzer material. that was also around the time they broke the big news of hillary clinton's ten deadly secrets that every american must know. her ten deadly secrets. jail clinton now. donald trump says give them the pulitzer prize, of course they should. that was what a publication called the national inquirer gave donald trump during the 2016 election. today, on day one of trump's criminal trial in new york, in which he is accuse of using his business records to cover up a payment to influence the election, prosecutors asked the judge if they could introduce evidence related to trump's arrangement with the national inquirer. an arrangement that didn't just provide the kind of pulitzer
us in the studio in just moments. in this saturation coverage of donald trump's first criminal trial, it's clear that the manhattan prosecutors are trying to cram in every last salacious details. now, that's breaking news. portraying trump as a playboy? nobody on the planet if had any idea, right? young juan merchan gave the trump side a couple of minor victories, he barred prosecutors from playing the infamous access hollywood tape, but they can talk about it. and the judge won't allow accusations by women that he calls rumors while it focuses on stormy daniel, another woman who got catch and kill money through the national inquirer, karen mc mcdougal, will be able to testify. trump denies both encounters. with mainly sketches from the courthouse and reports by journalists, the former president has a shaped the narrative by frequently addressing the media mob. >> i should be right now in pennsylvania, in florida, in many other states, north