Trump Hush Money Trial: Witnesses Testify on Payments Made During 2016 Campaign with Agreement to Conceal Accusations Against Former President, Including David Pecker’s Pressure on Cohen and Daniels & McDougal Payments via ‘Catch-and-Kill’

Here is a summary of the witness testimony in former President Donald Trump’s criminal trial for hush money payments made during his 2016 presidential campaign. The main witnesses included:

– David Pecker, former publisher of the National Enquirer and close friend of Trump, who testified that he put pressure on Cohen to reimburse him for paying off Stormy Daniels in order to keep her story from coming out during the election. He also acknowledged trying to suppress a similar claim by Karen McDougal but claimed there was no agreement made with Trump regarding this payment.
– Michael Cohen, former lawyer and “fixer” of Trump’s who arranged payments for both Daniels and McDougal in order to keep their alleged affairs from becoming public knowledge during the election campaign. He pleaded guilty in 2018 over these payments but now claims he made them at the behest of his then-client, Donald J. Trump.
– Stormy Daniels, adult film actress who claimed she had an affair with Trump that produced a daughter more than a decade ago (Trump denies this claim). She received $130,000 from Cohen in exchange for signing a non-disclosure agreement during the election campaign to keep her story quiet.
– Karen McDougal, former Playboy model who claimed she had an affair with Trump more than a decade ago (Trump denies this claim). She was paid $150,000 by American Media Inc., publisher of the National Enquirer and several fitness magazines, in exchange for signing a non-disclosure agreement during the election campaign. This payment also appeared as part of a ‘catch-and-kill’ arrangement to keep her story from coming out during the election campaign.
– Hope Hicks, former White House communications director who served under both Trump and Melania Trump (Trump’s wife). She is appearing in court but has not yet testified at this stage.

The trial centers around allegations that payments were made to Daniels and McDougal during the election campaign with an agreement to hide or bury the accusation so it did not negatively impact Trump’s chances of winning, which would be a violation of New York state’s campaign finance laws. The indictment against Trump was brought by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg and makes him the first former president in U.S history to face criminal charges.