Crossexamining the prosecutions first witness, former Tabloid Executive if david pecker, this is peckers third day on the stand and today for the very first time, he described the deal that he helped broker with Adult Film Star and director Stormy Daniels, a deal that is at the center of this case, the fusion has used packer to set the scene for the jury, introducing them to keep players in the case. How they all fit together in the story right now, the Defense Tactic in its early questioning is part of a strategy two, strategy to argue the David Pecker Is Work Helping Trump during the 2016 election was nothing new who . Nothing unusual. Also notably today, judge juan merchan so far still has declined to issue a ruling from tuesdays Hearing On Whether Trump has violated his gag order, despite the prosecution arguing that this morning that trump continues to violate this order against disparaging members of the jury and the witton this is of course this is four times over the last three days, the prosecution says, lets discuss what our panel and let me start with you, David Chatterley. And because the trials going on right now, david pecker shrugging, says hes testifying to the best of his knowledge to be truthful because emile bove trumps bowyer is saying what im getting at is these things happened a long time ago, even when youre doing your best to remember things hes hes saying like maybe you dont remember this all that well, this is years and years ago. Peckers in his 70s, et cetera. Trump has his arms folded across his body watching pecker answer his attorneys questions specifically, he was poking holes in the memory of where trump was in august 2015 and you remember thats that consequential meeting between pecker and cohen and trump setting up the whole scheme and the defense here is clearly trying to say youre not quite remembering if trump was in town or not in town. Just trying to bring in this cloud of suspicion around what he presented jury in the prosecutions time in pecker said earlier when presented with the fact that Stormy Daniels had this story out there, this Adult Film Star in directors alleging that she had had an encounter with mr. Trump. Pecker testified, quote, i said, i dont want the National Enquirer to be associated with porn star. He added that walmart was the main distributor of the magazine and it would be very bad for ami, the Publishing Company that produces the National Enquirer, pecker also said, if anyone was going to buy it in terms of buying the story, i thought Michael Cohen and donald trump should buy it. The significance of that. Do you think the idea that pecker is saying that he was reluctant to get involved in the Stormy Daniels case when we know at the end of the day, he didnt actually get involved. It was Michael Cohen who got involved. Right. So i mean, look, i guess the the argument to be made is that that this was unusual, right . It wasnt standard fare for him to be necessarily wasnt his. Consistent with his Business Objectives to be engaged, to kill stories, to kill stories, get it for trump, right . And then fact killing this particular story, i love acquiring the story, wouldnt have made any, make much Business Sense for him. So theyre trying to hill this narrative around him as sort of Working Exclusive Pro Trump and exclusively for the purposes of the election, one of the things he testified about, i believe on direct earlier today was he said that in a meeting with trump, there was no reference to trumps family, right . No reference to trumps family in that meeting, which he wasnt doing this. He wasnt wanting to suppress the Stormy Daniels theyll story where the Karen Mcdougal story on behalf of his wife, protecting his wife or his kids. It was just about his campaign that that is what the das office is going to be saying. And, you know, trump has suggested or as lawyers have suggested that it may have been had something to do with his family, but this is now a trial or evidence has to be adduced, and i dont know who is going to put that into evidence unless its donald trump himself and hes not credible. So the problem prosecutor, right now, this is assisting District Attorney out of steinglass is objecting to trumps attorney and mr. Bove characterizing david pecker is meetings with the das office as a lot because peckers suggested Something Like that. The judge sustained the objection. Whats whats the point of that objection that you see ideal they cooked the story up with the prosecutor. Yeah. Look, this is kind of Textbook Defense Lawyer 1011 of the things that defense is going to try to show is that pecker and probably the other witnesses really did sit down with the prosecutors and laid out the narrative and i dont want to say its a concocted story, but the idea is that theyre basically spelling out the story that the prosecutors want the toll tell. I think what weve seen so far here, jake, today in the early stages of the crossexamination, is that the Trump Defense team is going to follow a strategy of really trying to reframe the whole significance of peckers testimony. The prosecutors want to educate the jury on the catch and kill a process and say, this is how trump and people he worked with typically would try to suppress these types of stories. What the fence is gonna be trying to show today through the crossexamination is that this was done all the time. They did it for all sorts of other celebrities, all sorts of other politicians. So dont draw any conclusions that this was a special deal to protect Donald Trumps. So david pecker just said he remembers meeting with prosecutors five to six times during the summer of 2000 18 gym shorts in your experience does that work because he got the idea of trying to depict a witness that has damaging testimony as having been coached or nudged in a certain way by prosecutors. Does that work with well, theyre gonna attract show that he was incentivized, right . That hes, hes now a witness. He was not a subject the investigation or involved in it and had immunity and all the other things that come along with that and i think theyre also trying to show look that this is they keep using the word Standard Operating Procedure internet for the nephron in the questioning. And i think thats the key to this to say, look, theyve done this all the time. Theyre taking the dirty secrets of that business, saying they leveraged of other celebrities, right . Thats the key that theyve leveraged other celebrities that they do this all the time and they keep using the word Standard Operating Procedure and attacking it from that angle that this is a dirty business thats what theyre going to try and show that this is a dirty business and that when they got caught in it they went to the prosecutors and just follow the prosecutors narrative. So the jury right now, were told inside because theyre not allow cameras in the courtroom, so were trying to bring you a window through narrative from our reporters in the room. The jurors are closely watching trumps attorney, mr. Bove, and the witness, mr. Packer, are some jurors seated closer to the gallery or occasionally looking out into the gallery at the reporters. Jamie, again, just to follow up on my gym said, the reality is david pecker is getting immunity and thats going to come out as an incentive. I would say just going back to direct today, i was looking through all of our Slack Channel for every that was said. Thats thats what were putting on tv. The number of times david pecker was asked and answered that this had to do with the campaign. If you just go through the trans quite a bit, right . Over and over and over again. He says, if he didnt want to do it because it would embarrass mr. Trump or embarrass or hurt the campaign. The campaign, the campaign, the campaign, which is different i guess, than saying yes, we did this with im just going to name a dead actor, so i dont get in trouble. Tyrone power, we hit, we hit all of that Tyrone Powers Dirt just to help him because we had a Good Relationship with him this is different because its helping get somebody elected. Theoretically. And clearly the prosecution is underscoring this over and over. They want to make the case to other things. One is that david pecker and they did this yesterday. Theyre doing it today. Theyre making the connection the david pecker and donald trump were friends david pecker, one point said, the Defense Attorneys are making the argument. Yes. No, no, no, no. The prosecutor prosecutes because they wanted to say david pecker wouldnt be doing this to hurt donald trump. He liked it and he said at one point, i felt that donald trump was my mentor. He helped me throughout my career. I still consider them close even though we havent spoken. I still consider him a friend. So trumps attorney or the Defense Attorney, emile bove, is asking you a series of questions since right now, if david pecker, the witness, about how prosecutors in fact prepared pecker to give, quote, consistent testimony. Every time hes testified, David Chatterley and some very interesting testimony not long ago this afternoon, were david pecker recalled a phone conversation. He had with Trumps White House team at the time according to mr. Packer, hope hicks, and Sarah Huckabee sanders sara was the Communications Director or the press secretary, and hope x was a special assistant to the president. He talked pecker says with hicks and sanders about whether Karen Mcdougals contract it should be extended. So just to remind people, Karen Mcdougal is 1998 playmate of the year, who alleged she had a long term affair and part of the catch and kill was to give her 150,000, david pecker did to have her not tell her story publicly it was not a Script Pecker said going on to confirm he wasnt surprised by any questions from the prosecutor. Thats about the separate issue about whether theyre not the defense or the rather the prosecution has coached him. In any case, Karen Mcdougal had this contract. She was she got 150,000. They bought the rights to her story, including her alleged a with donald trump and then david pecker calls the white house. And so should we, should we extend her contract . Pecker said both of them hope and Serous Anderes said that they thought it was a good idea. Now those are taxpayer funded employees of ours, of the white house at the time giving recommendation that Karen Mcdougals contracts should be extended . Thats thats pretty interesting. I dont think either of them were thinking also about trumps family or embarrassment of that voice inside the white house about what not wanting more stories to come out here hearing peckers telling of how donald trump checked in on Karen Mcdougal with him. I thought was really interesting today. I mean, starting with the initial before the deal was done, before he signed ami sign the deal with mcdougal. But when it was in the works, apparently there was a phone call between in pecker and trump. Peckers out, new jersey, get let me interrupt you. Im going to bring up because i got a graphic and then im going to come right back to you. Okay. So this has to do with it when i got on the phone, this is david pecker talking when i got on the phone, mr. Trump said to me, i spoke i spoke to Michael Cohen. Karen is a nice girl, by the way, just to interrupt here. David pecker confirming than in 2015 and 2016, Michael Cohen was always clear that he was trumps personal attorney. He was not working for the campaign. Well see how significant that is anyway. So pecker says trump gets on the phone with them, says i spoke to michael, karens a nice girl, pecker testifies. I believe that when mr. Trump said that she was a nice girl, i believe that he knew who she was. The prosecutor asked pecker why he told trump they should by the story, to suppress it. Pecker says, i believe the story was true pecker recalls cohen told him about paying for the story, saying the boss will take care of it, pecker clarifies the boss. Was donald trump just now in court, trumps attorney asked pecker to confirm his prior testimony that cohen was always angling for something for himself, but in any case, thats what you were talking about. The compactly conversation that comes i didnt know you had the graphic. Im glad you did, but that conversation donald trump saying shes a nice girl. Now fastforward and now youre in the thank you. Dinner at the white house and we learn again that donald trump is checking in on how karens doing. So when you see donald trump publicly and say things like, i dont even know who this person is this, i mean, this clearly, somebody that he actually had on his mind and i thought pecker revealing that was quite informative. Could i could i just add one thing . I can hear donald trump saying these words because ive actually heard him say these words about somebody else. This is the way he speaks. I was interviewing him at the time he was married tomorrow, maples and we were waiting for her to come and he said, shes a nice girl. She shows up on time about marlin maple . Yes. Its just the way he speaks when when i heard those words, it just jumped out at me. Interesting we it is not unheard of for courts to throw out a conviction. In fact, we just happened in new york today with Harvey Weinstein. Im not comparing these cases, but it just happened today. Where they a higher court ruled that evidence should not have been introduced in a case against Harvey Weinstein. Now hes still in prison for stuff he didnt los angeles, et cetera, they might retry the case, but i wonder jim, if you think introducing this Karen Mcdougal information and the other catch and kill Story Information could later be used to call into question this, this case, its that balancing tests between what is probative and what is prejudicial, right . And those are things that the Appellate Courts are going to look at. I think there are going to be a lot of appellate issues in this case, including the kind of underlying crimes that make it a felony. I think this case is going to have a lot of fodder for appeals on this case. Its going to go for some time after afterwards. If theres a conviction, trumps attorney just ask pecker whether he told agents eyes and thats fbi agents at a july 2018 interview that hope hicks had been at that important meeting in august 2015 at trump tower, were supposedly this scheme has been hatched the Trial Prosecutor Objects to trumps attorney asking that question more, sean sustained. Sustained. The objection. Why would merchan why would the prosecutor object . And why would i can sustain the objection yeah. Im not quite sure i wanted to give an idea well my guess is that what theyre trying to do . The defense team is trying to suggest that the political and the personal were kind of kept segregated. The prosecutors are trying to show that in trumpworld everything was all blended together. And so i think that thats what that line of questioning was aimed to get at. But i think what the judge did here is actually very interesting. In that to the point about not creating a pellet issues the judge is paying attention, listening to the questioning, and making these on the judgment calls about questions that are permissible and questions that are impermissible precisely to ensure that you dont have that kind of Harvey Weinstein problem where the judge allows the prosecutors or the defense to start Opening Doors that shouldnt be opened before the jury. Yeah. Mean, the thing thats catching my eye here is that anytime you have a Defense Lawyer asking a cooperating witness did you tell the agents x, y, or z usually suggest that there may have been some omission during the Debriefing Process and that maybe that fact didnt come out during some its exactly right. Trumps attorneys, perhaps attorney trying to get back or to confirm that he did not mention him so when he first told the story, trump were told is sitting there with his arms crossed, he and his other Defense Attorney, todd blanche, leaning over whispering to each other, standby one and all much more to discuss the breaking new trumps defense team is crossexamining former Tabloid Magnate david pecker. You see the updates coming in on the side of your screen. Well see how much ground is covered in these final minutes. So the trial today, were going to take a quick break. Well be right back how it really happened. Sunday at nine on cnn somebody would ask or something and she would just walk right past didnt know they were talking to her. I just could not here. I was hesitant to get the hearing aids