Trial Trouble Will Start Early For Trump As David Pecker To Be First Witness

Former National Enquirer publisher David Pecker will be the first witness for the prosecution at Trump’s hush money trial.

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The New York Times reported:

Mr. Bragg’s prosecutors will seek to turn that 2016 campaign strategy against Mr. Trump: The tactics that helped propel him to victory will be admitted as evidence and reconsidered far beyond the courtroom. Aides and friends who lied on Mr. Trump’s behalf will take the witness stand to testify against him.

They include: David Pecker, the tabloid publisher who bought and buried damaging stories about Mr. Trump; Hope Hicks, a spokeswoman who tried to spin reporters; and Mr. Cohen, the fixer who paid Ms. Daniels. Mr. Pecker, who ran the company that owned The National Enquirer, is set to go first, and is expected to recount for the jury several conversations with Mr. Trump about the hush money, according to a person familiar with the plan.

You never know how a jury will take and process witnesses and information, but David Pecker could be the most important witness at Trump’s trial because he was directly communicating with Trump and Michael Cohen while playing a central role in the hush money scheme to keep damaging information about Trump away from voters before the 2016 election.

David Pecker can recount first hand conversations with Trump as the criminal plot was hatched. Pecker has direct knowledge and information, and his testimony will back up Michael Cohen. Trump’s defense is that everyone else is lying and out to get him.

Trump is trying to get at least one juror to believe him over the evidence.

It is not enough for prosecutors to have a mountain of evidence. The prosecution has to convince a jury that the evidence proves beyond a reasonable doubt that Donald Trump is guilty. The testimony of David Pecker is the first step toward making that case.

Jason Easley

Jason is the managing editor. He is also a White House Press Pool and a Congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.

Awards and  Professional Memberships

Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association