Pecker’s Testimony in Trump Hush Money Trial Raises Inconsistency Over Gratitude from President

Rewrite: During the trial of former President Donald Trump for hush money payments made during his 2016 presidential campaign to silence alleged extramarital affairs by two women, a defense attorney grilled David Pecker on Friday regarding inconsistencies in his testimony about whether Trump personally thanked him for suppressing negative stories. The case against Trump is centered around prosecutors’ arguments that he participated in “catch-and-kill” schemes with tabloid publisher American Media Inc.’s (AMI) former CEO, David Pecker, to influence the 2016 presidential election by concealing payments made to two women who wanted to come forward about alleged affairs. The inconsistencies revolve around whether Trump thanked or showed gratitude towards Pecker in January of 2017 for killing a story involving an unproven allegation that he fathered a child out of wedlock with the help of AMI-owned National Enquirer, which paid $30,000 to the doorman. While FBI notes from 2018 stated there was no such expression of gratitude by Trump during this meeting in January 2017, Pecker testified on Thursday that Trump did thank him for helping to conceal stories after winning the election through “catch-and-kill.” However, when defense attorney Emil Bove brought up these discrepancies and emphasized how his accounts appeared changed between court sessions earlier this week, Pecker stuck by what he originally claimed during Tuesday’s trial. “I know what I testified to yesterday, and I know what I remember,” said Pecker as the cross-examination grew more intense with Bove becoming louder before raising further concerns over perjury due to changing one’s testimonial record being considered a criminal offense in court proceedings. As of Friday afternoon, Pecker had been on the stand for four consecutive days and testified about his role during Trump’s 2016 campaign as well as two agreements he made with sources – Karen McDougal and an unnamed doorman – to suppress negative stories involving them while simultaneously publishing positive articles regarding Trump. The defense team has also highlighted how politicians meeting with media organizations is normal, and nondisclosure agreements like those reached by Pecker are legal.