4 takeaways from the 1st week of testimony in Trump's hush money trial

Tuesday, April 30, 2024 2:35AMin New York centers on dozens of business records, testimony from witnesses who prosecutors acknowledge might have "baggage," and a maze of emails and text messages that prosecutors hope to weave into a sturdy case against the former president.

"President Trump fought back, like he always does, and like he's entitled to do, to protect his family, his reputation and his brand, and that is not a crime," defense lawyer Todd Blanche said. "There is nothing wrong with trying to influence an election. It's called democracy," Blanche said. The prosecution, he said, "put something sinister on this idea, as if it was a crime. You'll learn it's not."

"He's not just our former President. He's not just Donald Trump that you've seen on TV and read about and seen photos of," Blanche said. "He's also a man. He's a husband. He's a father. And he's a person, just like you and just like me."In deciding on their first witness -- a choice that often sets the tone for the trial -- prosecutors turned to former National Enquirer publisher David Pecker.

Pecker testified that his company, American Media Inc., paid a former Trump Tower doorman $30,000 for a false story that Trump had an illegitimate child, and former Playboy model Karen McDougal $150,000 for the exclusive rights to her story of a months-long affair with Trump, which he has denied. While Pecker said that AMI coordinated hundreds of thousands of nondisclosure agreements, he testified that the Trump arrangement was unique.

Graff also testified that she had a "vague recollection" of seeing Daniels in Trump Tower on the same floor as the former president's office. She suggested that Trump was considering casting Daniels on the Celebrity Apprentice at the time. "Sometimes, if it was a long day in the office ... he poked his head in and would say, 'Go home to your family," Graff said. "It was very thoughtful of him."

Source: Law Daily Report (lawdailyreport.net)

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